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How We Pay You
Direct Deposit ... Convenient and Safe
Most payments to investors holding Treasury bills, notes, bonds, or TIPS in an account with us are made by direct deposit. So, when you establish your account, you must designate a bank account to receive your payments. (For brevity's sake, we'll call it a "bank" account; actually, the account could be at a bank, credit union, savings and loan, or other financial institution.)Once you specify the bank account, TreasuryDirect will notify the bank that it will be receiving electronic payments into that account. Each time we make a payment to you, whether the payment is a refund, interest, or principal, it will be deposited directly into that account.
If we owe you money before we have confirmed your direct deposit arrangements, we will pay you by check.
Changing Directions
The payment instructions you give for your account with us will apply to any securities held in that account, unless and until a customer contact center or the Bureau of the Public Debt receives one of the following:
- a Transaction Request
(PD F 5178) on which you change the instructions
(download
or order the form), or
- a request from your bank to change the instructions (because of a
merger, for instance), or
- a report from your bank saying your account at the bank has been
closed, or
- notice of a change in your status (such as, a legal guardian has been appointed to handle your estate).
Final Words
Here are a couple more things you should know about designating an account at your financial institution:
- If your account with us is in the name of an individual,
then the person named on the account with us must be named on the
account at the bank. If your account with us is in the name of multiple individuals,
then at least one of those individuals must be named on the account at the bank.
- When you establish your account with us, you will be asked for your bank's routing number. You can ask the bank for this number or look it up yourself on the bottom line of a check; it's often in the lower left corner.