Why did Washington ESD send me an empty unemployment debit card?

Yes that's totally normal! Washington ESD sends the debit card as soon as your claim is approved but it can take 7-10 business days for your first payment to actually hit the card. Did you file your first weekly claim yet?

The timing is usually: approval → debit card mailed → first weekly claim processed → payment appears on card. So you're probably just waiting for that first payment to process. Mine took about 2 weeks total from approval to first payment.

If you're having trouble checking your payment status or need to talk to someone at Washington ESD about delays, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to agents on the phone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Way better than trying to call yourself and getting the busy signal for hours.

Your first payment might be delayed if Washington ESD is doing any kind of verification check. Sometimes they randomly verify employment history or wages even after approval. Check your secure messages on the website to see if they need anything from you.

The Washington ESD system is so backwards... why send an empty card??? Just wait until there's actually money to put on it! Makes no sense and just confuses people.

Check the KeyBank website or app, sometimes the balance shows up there before you get any text notifications about deposits. Also make sure your weekly claims are showing as 'processed' not just 'submitted'.

I had the same panic when I got my empty card! Turns out Washington ESD was just slow processing my weekly claims. Took 3 weeks total from approval to first payment but then it was smooth sailing after that.

Make sure you're filing your weekly claims on the right day too. If you file too early or too late it can delay processing. Washington ESD is pretty strict about the timing.

If it's been more than 2 weeks since your last weekly claim and still no payment, that's when I'd start calling Washington ESD. Could be an issue with your claim that needs to be resolved.

The debit card system is actually pretty convenient once payments start. You can use it anywhere and transfer money to your bank account. Just annoying that they don't explain the timing better.

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that I called Washington ESD using that Claimyr service someone mentioned and found out my claim had a small issue that was holding up payments. Agent fixed it in 5 minutes and said I should see my back payments within 2 business days!

For anyone else in this situation - don't panic! Empty debit card is normal. Just keep filing your weekly claims and check your account online every few days. The money will show up eventually.

Just went through this exact same thing last month! Got my KeyBank card and immediately panicked when I saw $0.00. Turns out Washington ESD has this weird process where they mail the card right after approval but payments don't start until after you've completed your first weekly claim AND they've processed it. The whole thing took about 12 days from getting the card to seeing my first deposit. Hang in there - once that first payment hits, the rest come like clockwork every week!