Has anyone got an ATM card that you have to activate as a substitute for check or Direct Deposit from the IRS?

It is legitimate. I found out many are being mailed in this manner. Who knew.

We got a check. My grandson got direct deposit. He just got his first unemployment payment and it says that money can be transferred to his account so you may want to see if that can be done.

Be careful, unemployment fraud is very common. In that case, cards are issued. I would call to check on it. I have not heard that any second payments have been made. They are not expected until mid February at the earliest.

If you call to activate do not give any personal information, they already have it or you would not have received the card..

DD1 got the card as a scam, had to file a police report and freeze her credit.

HR director has received at least ten false unemployment claims. Son is in HR at a college nearby and he has received more than 100 false claims.

My husband and I got checks the first round and for this round as well. This is good information if anyone we know gets a card and has questions.

AlvaDeer: Not a scam. DH and I received debit card first time around. Activated online. No problem. Expect to get same now.

There are no checks being sent out this time around. It's all debit cards or direct deposit.

I still can't figure out why they choose one or another -- the IRS has had our bank info forever, but they sent a debit card the first time around, and I expect they'll do it again. Supposedly it was mailed January 6, and it still isn't here, so I'm not holding my breath. The first one took 2 1/2 months after the day it was mailed to arrive, and that was only after two calls to my member of Congress and three with the IRS.

Whoops, hit post too soon.
Worked the same way as any debit card, was accepted in stores and by phone order. No problems whatsoever with it.

My mother got a debit card for the first stimulus payment.

Jules, thanks, and from what I am reading, yes, some are getting debit cards. Odd. Who knew. Seems that these are legitimate. Will let you know if my friend has any trouble. According to websites this is OK.

That's the bank they use for debit cards. Have her use the IRS where is my payment tool on the IRS website for how it was disbursed. Should be Meta not Mata.

U.S. Secretary to the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said a $600 COVID-19 relief payment would be hitting Americans' bank accounts as early as Tuesday night. ... If you receive a debit card, it will be issued by MetaBank, and they will arrive in a white envelope that prominently displays the U.S. Treasury Department's seal.

I didn’t get one but I read that some people were in fact getting debit cards.