What bank do unemployment use for NYS Department of Labor payments - need to update my info
I've been getting my unemployment benefits on a debit card but I want to switch to direct deposit instead. Does anyone know what bank the NYS Department of Labor actually uses for processing payments? I'm trying to figure out if there's any issues with certain banks not accepting the transfers. My credit union said they need to know the originating bank info and I have no idea what to tell them. Anyone dealt with this before?
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Natalie Khan
the debit card is through KeyBank but for direct deposit its different I think, they use some kind of federal processing system
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Rudy Cenizo
•Oh that's helpful! So KeyBank is just for the cards, not the actual direct deposits?
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Daryl Bright
NYS Department of Labor uses multiple banking partners depending on the payment method. The ReliaCard (debit card) is issued through U.S. Bank, not KeyBank. For direct deposit, payments are processed through the state's treasury system which uses various federal banking networks. Your credit union should be able to accept any ACH transfer - they don't need specific originating bank details, just your account and routing numbers.
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Rudy Cenizo
•Wait, so it's U.S. Bank for the cards? That's different from what the other person said. I'm getting confused now.
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Daryl Bright
•Yes, as of 2024 the ReliaCard switched to U.S. Bank. There was a transition period that caused some confusion. For direct deposit setup, just provide your bank account info through your my.ny.gov portal.
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Sienna Gomez
I had trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor about this exact issue last month. The phone lines are always busy and I kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent who explained the whole banking setup. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.
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Rudy Cenizo
•That sounds really helpful! Did they charge you a lot for that service?
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Sienna Gomez
•They focus more on getting you connected quickly rather than being expensive. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about your payments.
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Kirsuktow DarkBlade
ugh this whole system is SO confusing!! why cant they just use normal banks like everyone else instead of all these weird federal processing things
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Abigail bergen
The reason they use specialized systems is for security and to handle the volume of payments. Millions of people receive unemployment benefits so they need banking partners that can process that scale reliably. If you're switching to direct deposit, it usually takes 1-2 weeks for the change to take effect, so plan accordingly.
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Rudy Cenizo
•Good point about the timing! I'll make sure to keep using the card until I see the first direct deposit go through.
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Ahooker-Equator
same here with the credit union thing, they always want more info than you have
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Anastasia Popova
I just switched to direct deposit last month and can confirm what others are saying - you don't need to give your credit union any special bank info about NYS DOL. Just log into your my.ny.gov account, go to the payment preferences section, and enter your routing and account numbers. The state treasury handles it all on the backend. My credit union initially asked the same questions but once I explained it was a government ACH transfer, they said that was fine and didn't need any originating bank details.
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PaulineW
•This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I was getting stressed about what to tell my credit union but knowing that "government ACH transfer" explanation worked for you makes me feel much better. I'll log into my.ny.gov tonight and get this set up.
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