DENVER—Fees for using Colorado-issued debit cards for unemployment benefits are shrinking.
The Colorado labor department said Thursday it renegotiated its contract with JP Morgan Chase & Co. to reduce or eliminate several fees associated with the cards. The department estimates card users will collectively save $500,000 annually from the changes.
“Point-of-sale” fees for each transaction are now gone.
There is also a change in the 75-cent fee for when a debit card is denied. Now, card users will get one free denied transaction for each deposit the Unemployment Insurance Program makes on an account.
The department had introduced the debit cards to reduce costs of printing and mailing checks.
Claimants can choose to have their unemployment benefits deposited directly in bank or credit union accounts instead of using the cards.
