ESD approved my claim but weekly payments still pending - when will money arrive?

this happens ALL the time with ESD. My claim was approved in sept and i had to wait almost 2 weeks b4 the money actually hit my account. They dont tell u this but theres another processing step after approval. Just keep filing ur weekly claims and be patient

There's often a gap between approval and payment. A few things to check: 1. Make sure you've completed all weekly certifications correctly 2. Verify your payment method is set up properly in eServices (direct deposit or debit card) 3. Check if there are any alerts or action items in your account If everything looks correct, the first payment typically processes within 7-10 business days after approval. The system needs to calculate your benefit amount based on your wages, apply any waiting week, and process the payment. Subsequent payments are much faster if you file weekly claims consistently.

I had almost the exact same situation in January. Approved on paper but stuck in 'pending' purgatory for my payments. I finally called ESD after trying for 3 days straight. Turns out there was a flag on my account for 'verification' that wasn't showing up in my online portal. The agent fixed it in 10 minutes and my payments started processing the next day. If you're still seeing 'pending' by end of this week, I'd definitely try to reach them by phone. The regular number is nearly impossible to get through on though.

The ESD system is a complete joke. They approve you then make you KEEP WAITING with zero explanation. My determination letter came in February and I didn't see a dime until almost MARCH!! I called them 37 times (yes I counted) and never got through. Meanwhile my electricity got shut off. Thanks for nothing ESD!!! They NEVER tell you about the stupid processing time between approval and payment. It's criminal how they treat people who are already struggling.

When you got your determination letter, did they mention anything about a waiting week? Washington state has a mandatory unpaid waiting week for unemployment claims. So if you filed your first weekly claim right after applying, that week might be your waiting week and you won't get paid for it. Your payment would start with the second weekly claim you filed. Also, check your correspondence tab in eServices to see if there are any other notices or requests for information you might have missed. Sometimes ESD needs additional verification even after approving the basic claim.

my brother had his claim apprved in august and got paid the same week so i dont think its normal for it to take that long tbh. did u check that u entered your direct deposit info right? he said they never called him or anything the money just showed up

If ur still waiting by Friday, you need to talk to a real person at ESD but good luck with that lol. I spent 2 days trying to get thru on their regular line before I finally used Claimyr.com to get a callback. They got me connected to an ESD agent in like an hour when I couldnt get thru for days on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Cost me a few bucks but was worth it to finally get some answers and get my claim moving.

Just to clarify about the waiting week since you mentioned it in a comment - yes, the first week you're eligible is the unpaid waiting week. So if you filed your initial application on October 25th for example, and your first weekly claim was for the week ending October 29th, that would be your waiting week (no payment). Your first payable week would be the one ending November 5th. If you've filed claims for multiple weeks after the waiting week and they're all still pending, then there might be something else happening. At this point, I'd recommend waiting until 10 business days have passed since your approval letter (so roughly November 16th). If you still haven't received payment by then, definitely contact ESD directly as there could be a technical issue with your claim.

Just checking back - has there been any movement on your pending payments yet? Sometimes they process a bunch of claims all at once on certain days of the week.