February 1999 For years, agencies have had the option of using electronic fund transfer (EFT) payments to grant cash awards to Federal employees. It simply makes sense that if an employee uses direct deposit for their pay check, they can efficiently and effectively receive other payments the same way. Now, because of the Debt Collection Improvement Act, all Federal payments, with the exception of tax refunds, should be made by EFT after January 2, 1999. This includes monetary awards (unless a waiver is obtained for a specific employee). The Act is another step toward making all Federal payments as simple as the direct deposit of paychecks.
EFT also provides benefits for the Government. When problems do occur with EFT payments, the problems are much easier to correct and are often resolved in less than 24 hours (as compared to 2 weeks for paper checks). Last year alone, the Government experienced $60 million in forged checks, $2 million in counterfeit checks, and $3 million in altered checks. These issues no longer will be a problem when Federal payments are made by EFT. Finally, the Government will realize savings in excess of $1 million a year when all eligible payments are converted to EFT. The Government will have a greatly improved cash management system that is easier to audit and that will enable it to provide better customer service. |