When It Comes To 'Direct Deposit,’
We’re At 96 Percent, And Climbing

Talk about nearly across-the-board, unanimous participation: as of the last day of the previous millennium--or, to be more traditional, as of December 31, 1999--96 percent of USDA employees were receiving their USDA salary payments via 'electronic funds transfer.’

According to Dale Theurer, the asset management team leader in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, this means that nearly all employees were receiving their salary through an electronic 'Direct Deposit’ to their designated bank, credit union, or other financial institution. He said this figure compares with 92 percent employee participation at the end of calendar year 1998.

Theurer acknowledged that participation in electronic funds transfer isn’t exactly voluntary. In fact, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 required that most federal payments--with the exception of tax refunds--must be made by electronic funds transfer, effective January 1999.

“But the law also allowed some room for exceptions in the case of hardship,” he pointed out. “In fact, the law advised that if receiving a federal payment electronically, instead of through a paper check, would cause that recipient a financial hardship--to include such reasons as geography, lack of a bank account, language, literacy barrier, or physical or mental disability-- then that person could qualify for a 'hardship waiver’ established by the U.S. Treasury Department. The individual could then be permitted to receive his/her federal payment by check.”

OCFO staff accountant Mel Robinson said that Treasury Department officials wanted to strike the right balance between accomplishing the significant cost savings from Direct Deposit while still protecting the recipients from a possible hardship or burden, and not forcing them into choices that were not right for them.

“Direct Deposit of your USDA salary has become increasingly popular,” he said. “It’s safer and more secure, it costs the taxpayer less in processing expenses, and, for most, it’s more convenient than paper checks.”

In addition, Theurer noted that the date that an employee’s pay could be electronically credited to his/her account has speeded up over the years. The January-February 1994 issue of the USDA News carried a story about that accelerated posting.

“In our fast-paced, rush rush, hectic lives these days--both in urban and rural America,” he affirmed, “receiving our USDA salary payments through Direct Deposit is one way we can simplify our lives a bit.”

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