The US Treasury department is going to hand out tax refunds this year on prepaid debit cards to low income taxpayers who don’t have a bank account.  Its a new pilot program.  The Treasury department is going to send out some 600 k letters to households asking them if they want to take part in the pilot program.

For those without bank accounts, the debit cards will allow them to avoid check-cashing fees or costly refund anticipation loans and checks. Direct deposit is also faster. It takes 10 days or fewer for the IRS to process a tax return and deposit a refund electronically. A mailed paper check may not reach a taxpayer for up to six weeks.

I live this idea and hope it works out.  It is nice to see some progressive thinking finally kicking in.