Colorado & Denver News

DENVER (CBS4) ― For tens of thousands of unemployed Coloradans, the check is no longer in the mail.

"It's a program that we were very excited about here at the Colorado Department of Labor," said Alice Johnson, Unemployment Insurance Staff Services branch director for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The program is the "Colorado Automated Payment," or CAP Card. On May 12, the state started directly depositing unemployment benefits into accounts at Chase Bank. The only way to access the money is using a debit card.

"Being able to provide services to our customers in a more efficient and quicker time frame and also being able to save money at the same time, so I think it's a great benefit not only to our customers but also to the state of Colorado," Johnson added.

In its first year, the Department of Labor and Employment estimates the CAP Card will save them $250,000 in postage and check processing. But benefits recipients say the new program is costing them precious money.

"I believe that when we went in the first time to use it, and we went in to verify how much was in the account, they took a charge for that," said Nancy DeSimone, an unemployment benefits recipient.

Desimone has a receipt showing she was charged 50 cents just to check the balance in her unemployment account.

When you start to read the fine print on the CAP card, there are more charges:

-- $1.50 for using a non-Chase ATM
-- $5.00 for a teller transaction at a non-Chase bank
-- $12.50 to write a check on the account

"I don't want to see them come out making profits off of people who are unemployed," DeSimone added.

"There is information available via the online system with Chase as well as the IVR where they can check their balance at no charge," Johnson explained.

Kim Bruck was laid off from her bookkeeping job in March.

"I think I got three checks, maybe four, and then I got the information and the card in the mail and I broke down and cried when I got it," Bruck told CBS4.

She worried about how she was going to get the money from the debit card into her regular checking account at another bank.

"I can't take my debit card to my lease office to pay my rent ... and say, 'Here' ... that doesn't work," Bruck said.

She has to go to an ATM get her money out in cash and carry it to her own bank.

"I'm just not comfortable with it," Bruck said.

Lori Halpenny was also laid off this year. She's uncomfortable giving her personal information to a bank where she doesn't have an account.

"Which was frightening to me because of all the problems with identity theft," Halpenny told CBS4.

She says she not only have her social security number and other information to Chase, but she had to agree to allow the information to be shared with "third party affiliates" as well.

"I didn't understand how the state of Colorado would basically sell us out to Chase Bank," Halpenny added.

"Because it's a new program for our customers, I believe that's where some of the frustration is, because it's brand new and it takes some time to adjust to the new system," Johnson said.

All the beneficiaries CBS4 talked to said they would be happy with a direct deposit system where the money goes directly into their personal bank accounts, much like the way the federal government distributed the stimulous checks.

Alice Johnson says direct deposit will be the next phase of this project.

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