Beneficiaries will no longer lose their money

Retirees, the disabled and others who receive Social Security and other benefits in Connecticut, 12 other states and the District of Columbia are going to use new DirectExpress debit card offered by the credit card company MasterCard.

The information concerning the new product will be provided to about 2.4 million Social Security recipients in this area in July with their monthly checks.

24,000 citizens in 10 southern and southeastern US states have been using the card since April.

The new system of benefits will bring significant advantages to the recipients. Today 18% of Connecticut residents receive benefits by checks which means that 119,000 checks are distributed in Connecticut. A large number of those recipients often meet various difficulties such as absence of bank accounts, check loss or high fees charged by the agencies where they can cash the checks. Cardholders of DirectExpress debit card may use it to access money deposited at Comerica Bank.