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The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, which handles the state's unemployment benefits, plans to move all recipients to debit cards or direct deposit by the end of the year, Carrie Moritomo, public information officer for the department, tells CardLine. "We will be virtually check free by the end of the year," Moritomo says. The department began offering the Bank of America-issued, Visa-branded cards on Monday and plans to begin the direct-deposit program by the end of the year, Moritomo says. Current benefit recipients still will receive checks until their benefits expire, she says. "We're estimating that we would save about $1.5 million over a calendar year by going to the debit card and direct deposit programs," Moritomo says. The savings will result from lower postage costs and less staff time taken up by preparing the checks and mailing them, she says. New Mexico joins several other states, including Iowa (CardLine 10/21) and Kansas (CardLine 10/15), in moving unemployment benefits away from checks.
