Unemployment debit card

If anyone is currently on unemployment, how long did it take for you to get your debit card after you signed up for benefits? The website says 7-10 business days. I was wondering if it really takes that long or does it take longer?

Ours came in a timely manner, probably within that 7 day window.

Trixie, I would just use a credit card to pay for the new tattoo. Then you have plenty of time to wait for the unemployment debit card, and you can use it to pay off your credit card. JMHO.

Unblievable! you got money to get a tattoo but you sighed up for unemployment.IDIOT!

It is about working. If you work long enough, pay enough into the fund, and lose your job you get unemployment. You can stay on it for months if you want, or it is discontinued when you return to work. It is no one's business what you buy with your money.

I am not on unemployment, I am in school. I was asking for a friend because he is laid off from work. What else do you want to know? Besides, I don't remember asking you to pay for my tattoo...

This is why people hate Braidwood. Because people like to ASSUME they know your business. What is the old saying about ASSUME? People who ASSUME make an ASS out of U and Me.

You get the debit card in about a week, but you have to activate it by phone and there will not be a balance on it yet. He probably has a 'wait week' from the date of filing - so for that week he will not get benefits. After that he should get, but he still has to 'call in' every 2 weeks. Also he can choose direct deposit instead of the debit card.

Trixie wrote:

If anyone is currently on unemployment, how long did it take for you to get your debit card after you signed up for benefits? The website says 7-10 business days. I was wondering if it really takes that long or does it take longer?

I just started my unemployment and I would suggest to your friend that after he receives his debit card to go back online and request direct deposit. That is of course he has a banking account. I have found that I am unable to use my card at Shell and a few other places. Also when you take cash out at a cash station you are subject to all the fee's, some of them $2.00 or $2.50. I received my debit card on a Friday, I called in to activate the card and there was a $0 balance. The money was deposited onto the card sometime on Monday.
Hope this helps.

it only a few days to get mine. I called in on a tuesday and i recieved my card that thursday. I would rather have it direct deposit but they sent me the card before i had the chance to get it done.

when i recieved it,i had it activated then i went to the atm to get it out so i could deposit it in my account but it wouldnt let so i went inside and recieved a cash advance for the whole amount and then i deposited it. It even charges you to call and see what your balance is.Pain in the butt is what it is.

Yeah, I knew their had to be a catch to this card. The financial institution whose name is stamped on the card will be making a lot of money from this. I went to the IDES website and read the FAQ and yes they charge you to withdraw, to do a balance inquiry and some other fee. If my friend cannot withdraw cash from the card after his funds are to be deposited, he will be one pi&&ed off person!!

Just found out that my friend received his IDES Debit card, so it only took 5 business days for him to get it in the mail. Does anyone know how quick they deposit the money onto the card after he calls in? His call in day is the 6th. So it should take 2 days,(according to the website) but someone told my friend that it should be deposited the next day. I just don't want him to get his hopes up and then be let down for days. It stinks this time of the year for a lot of people that work construction because they depend on their unemployment checks and they aren't used to making that "little" of an amount.

trixie it does take two days this is my second year with the card. my call in day is monday and my money has always been there on wednesday morning at 8am. and i also agree if you or your friend wants to get a tatoo or anything else with the money it's they're own business. unemployment is not welfare, taxpayers are not paying for it, the employers pay into a fund that the benefits are drawn from. hope i helped.

Unemployment benefits ARE a form of welfare. It's a government system that forces one group of people to give money to another group of people.

As a (very) small business owner with no employees, I still have to pay Federal Unemployment taxes, as well as State Unemployment Taxes ever quarter. I make less than $30k a year, so I'm far from wealthy.

And even as a tiny business, I have to figure taxes into my prices. If I didn't factor unemployment taxes into the cost of goods sold, the business would lose money. If you think bigger businesses are simply "eating" the cost of unemployment, you are naive. They pass that cost on to the consumer.

Another thing you're not considering is the taxpayer money required to fund Federal and State Unemployment programs. Who do you think is paying the salaries of those government employees? The taxpayers. A lot of government work goes into processing unemployment claims.

If you think that leaching off the government is a victimless crime, you are sadly mistaken. Currency does not generate itself. The value of money results from hard work. So, if you're getting money without working, you can be sure someone else IS working for it.

just some info wrote:

trixie it does take two days this is my second year with the card. my call in day is monday and my money has always been there on wednesday morning at 8am. and i also agree if you or your friend wants to get a tatoo or anything else with the money it's they're own business. unemployment is not welfare, taxpayers are not paying for it, the employers pay into a fund that the benefits are drawn from. hope i helped.

I so agree!! I just lost my job after 13 yrs from a layoff, and I am not ashamed to be using unemployment.

And that folks is the reason why this country is so financially illiterate! Using a credit card to get a tattoo and then using your unemployment benefits to pay off the credit card is not a very good idea. The purpose of unemployment is to assist with buying the necessities,like FOOD. How does getting a tat keep you fed??

Trisha wrote:

Trixie, I would just use a credit card to pay for the new tattoo. Then you have plenty of time to wait for the unemployment debit card, and you can use it to pay off your credit card. JMHO.

First of all I am the one inquiring about a tattoo. I am not on unemployment. My friend, who does not have a computer, who does not know how to use a computer was asking me if I know anything about the new way they are dispensing the funds for unemployed workers. I was just doing a favor for a friend. Now I am being accused of using the system to get a tattoo because I don't want to work. Amazing. Funny how people just read bits and pieces of these comments and questions and then come up their own conclusion about someone they don't even know. Thank you to those that understood what I was asking.

uh helloooo, I was just giving Trixie some advice. If she wants to get a tattoo that is her business. Just because youre unemployed doesn't mean you can't treat yourself to some ink every once and awhile.

Braidwood IL wrote:

And that folks is the reason why this country is so financially illiterate! Using a credit card to get a tattoo and then using your unemployment benefits to pay off the credit card is not a very good idea. The purpose of unemployment is to assist with buying the necessities,like FOOD. How does getting a tat keep you fed??

i just got my card and want to take out the cash. is there a bank i can withdraw the money at with out paying the atm fee.