Americans who will not be using direct deposit to get their second coronavirus pandemic stimulus payment need to keep a close eye on their mail. They may also need to be patient.
The Internal Revenue Service said Monday that the payments of $600 for most individual Americans started being issued last week.
For those getting a direct deposit, payments may have already started appearing in their accounts as pending or provisional. The scheduled date of payment was Monday -- the first day the funds would be available to use.
But for those getting a physical check or an Economic Impact Payment debit card, they'll have to wait for it to show up in the mail. Those started going out last month and will continue through January, the IRS said.
"Mailed payments will require more processing and mailing time," the IRS said. "Those who reside abroad will have longer wait times for checks as disruptions to air travel and mail delivery in some countries will slow delivery."
Some people who got a check with their first stimulus payment may get a card this time while some who got a card last time could receive a check this time, the IRS said.
For those receiving an EIP card, it will show up in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services," the IRS said. It will have the Visa name on the front of the card and the issuing bank, "MetaBank, N.A." on the back.
The new round of stimulus payments are $600 for individuals who earned up to $75,000 or $1,200 for couples who earned up to $150,000, plus an additional $600 for each qualifying dependent child.
The IRS re-launched the Get My Payment tool Monday for people to track the status of their payments. But there may be some delays initially due to high demand. The program was taken offline for several days before it could offer information about the second coronavirus stimulus check.
