Kansans who receive their Social Security benefits as a paper check in the mailbox will have another option beginning today. August checks will be mailed with information about a new prepaid debit card option.

The Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card — designed as a safe, convenient alternative to paper checks — is being introduced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service to Social Security recipients in Kansas and 13 other Midwestern states. The program started in mid-April in the South and already 52,000 people have signed up, according to Alvina McHale, public affairs director for FMS.

The Direct Express card is an option for people who do not have a bank account, but are looking for a no-cost or low-cost alternative to using check-cashing facilities and carrying large amounts of cash. The cards are PIN-protected and funds are FDIC-insured.

There is no sign-up fee and no bank account or credit check is required to enroll. Cardholders can make purchases, pay bills and get cash at thousands of ATM and retail locations nationwide.

To sign up, call toll-free 1-877-212-9991 or visit www.USDirectExpress.com. More information is also available at the website.

Money is automatically posted to card accounts on the usual payment date each month. There’s no danger of the check being delayed in the mail or stolen. Last year, 700,000 Social Security and SSI paper checks were reported lost or stolen or had to be reissued.

There are no hidden fees, McHale said. Most services are free. Some services, like a second ATM withdrawal or withdrawal from a non-network ATM, do carry a fee, however there are so many ways a person can get cash, most won’t ever need to use an ATM, she said. A monthly paper statement can be mailed at a cost of 75 cents, but customer service calls and Web account access is free. A person can be notified when the balance reaches a pre-selected figure, without charge.

More than 10 million people in the U.S. receive a paper check each month. If all switched to an electronic system, either the Direct Express debit card or direct deposit into their own bank accounts, the government could save $100 million, McHale said.

“We want people to have a safer, more reliable method of getting payments,” she said. “With baby boomers coming into the system we cannot continue operating in a paper check world. We can do better.”