Bank of America vs. Money Network EDD debit card fees - important withdrawal info

OMG THANK YOU for posting this!! I've been freaking out because I switched from BofA to Money Network last month and couldn't figure out why I got charged fees. Nobody at EDD warned me about this! The website is super confusing too and doesn't clearly explain any of this. Did they tell you which ATMs let you take out $800 at once?? That would be super helpful because I hate making multiple trips!

Thanks for sharing this information. To add some clarity, the Money Network card replaced the Bank of America debit cards for all EDD benefit programs (SDI, UI, PFL) in late 2024. A few important points for SDI recipients: - You can check your Money Network balance and transaction history through the Money Network mobile app or at moneynetwork.com - Direct deposit to your personal bank account is still the fastest option (1-2 days faster than the card) - For fee-free ATM withdrawals, use ATMs in the MoneyPass or Allpoint networks - There's a daily ATM withdrawal limit of $1,000 total (not just $800 per transaction) If you haven't activated your card yet, call the number on the sticker immediately after receiving it. Your SDI payments may be delayed if you don't activate promptly.

Just to clarify - I had a similar issue but found that you can avoid ALL fees by setting up direct deposit from your Money Network card to your personal bank account. It's under the "Move Money" option in their app/website. Takes 1-2 business days but zero fees. Much better than dealing with ATM hassles! BTW - if you need to call EDD about any payment issues (like if your payment is delayed), I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you through to a live EDD agent instead of waiting on hold for hours. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd

i just use the walmart money center to cash out my disability payments cuz i dont trust banks lol. they charge like $4 but whatever its worth it to get cash right away

I ran into a similar situation with my pregnancy disability payments on the Money Network card. Something important that wasn't mentioned is that you only get 2 free bank teller withdrawals per month, then it's $3.00 per withdrawal after that. I found this out the hard way! Also, if you call the Money Network customer service, the wait times are WAY shorter early in the morning (before 8am). I waited 5 minutes versus the 45+ minutes when I called midday. One more tip: you can set up text alerts to notify you when your disability payment hits your card. Super helpful for planning bill payments!

To address the question about which card new disability claimants receive: As of November 2024, all new EDD benefit payments (including State Disability Insurance) are issued on Money Network cards, not Bank of America. If you were approved for SDI recently, you'll receive a Money Network card in the mail within 7-10 business days of your first payment approval. If you previously had a Bank of America EDD card and are filing a new disability claim, you'll still receive a Money Network card. The Bank of America cards are being phased out completely.

@profile5 - Yes, Claimyr definitely works! I was skeptical too but after trying to call EDD for DAYS about my disability payments getting delayed, I tried it and got through to someone in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to fix my certification issue right away. Totally worth it and saved me so much stress during an already stressful time.

I just remembered another important detail about the Money Network card that might help people - if you're on long-term disability like me, you can set up automatic transfers to your bank account for each payment. Go to Money Network website > Profile > Payment Preferences > Automatic Transfer. This way you don't have to manually transfer each disability payment! It took me forever to find this option in their confusing website, but it's been a game-changer.

Ok but lets talk about how EDD switched from BofA to Money Network without properly informing anyone?? My wife had to call SIX TIMES to figure out why her disability payments suddenly stopped - turns out they sent the Money Network card to our old address even though we updated our address in the system! So frustrating dealing with this while she's recovering from surgery.