On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal disbursements to be made electronically by September 30, 2025. This directive impacts a wide range of federal payments, including tax refunds, Social Security and veterans' benefits, vendor payments, and intragovernmental transfers.
Key provisions of the order include:
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All executive departments and agencies must transition to electronic funds transfer (EFT) methods such as direct deposit, debit/credit card payments, digital wallets, and real-time transfers.
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Payments made to the federal government—such as taxes, fines, fees, and loan payments—must also be processed electronically, where permissible by law.
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The U.S. Treasury Department will lead a public awareness campaign to provide guidance on accessing and setting up electronic payment options.
The administration cited both security and cost efficiency as primary motivations. Treasury checks are 16 times more likely than EFTs to be lost, stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered. Additionally, in FY 2024, the cost of maintaining the infrastructure to issue and process paper checks exceeded $657 million.
What This Means for Taxpayers
Roughly 456,000 Social Security recipients currently receive paper checks, and over 1.5 million tax refunds were issued via paper check as of March 14, 2025. These individuals will need to transition to an electronic payment method ahead of the deadline.
Exceptions will be granted to those without access to banking services and in certain emergency situations. The Treasury’s campaign will assist affected individuals in navigating this transition.
Clients, particularly those accustomed to paper refund checks, should begin to prepare for this significant change and contact their professional to ensure they are set up to receive and remit payments electronically.
It’s important to note that the executive order does not authorize or establish a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
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