I am delighted to tell you that Seattle Credit Union has agreed to on-line set up of new accounts for people experiencing homelessness and/or on the margin so they can use the IRS direct deposit for their Economic Impact Payment.  Theresa Power-Drutis, Executive Director of New Connections, has agreed to partner with Seattle CU to test the process and work out any glitches that may occur.  I decided to ask Theresa to do this because they have a small, discrete program and because she has years of experience.  Once we are confident the process works and have a clear set of directions, we will open it to everyone interested.

Applicants will need their social security number, a way to go on-line, an email account that is theirs because that is how Seattle CU will transmit their account number and routing number, a way to take a picture of their ID and send it to Seattle CU, and a snail mail address so they can receive their debit card.

Shelters and homeless programs are acceptable addresses but will require a telephone call as part of the application process.  In some cases, staff may have to verify the use of the address.  

If you have questions, please email them to me.  

I know this won't serve everyone and I know it probably won't be perfect but it IS an option we didn't have a couple of hours ago!  

Thank you for your work,

Maureen
--