What is a payroll card?

An employer arranges with a bank or other financial institution to pay its employees with a payroll card. The employee’s pay is loaded directly onto the payroll card rather than directly deposited into the employee’s bank account or paid by paper check.

Your employer can’t require you to receive your wages on a payroll card. Your employer has to offer you at least one alternative to a payroll card. For example, your employer might offer you a choice between direct deposit to your own bank account or a prepaid card you choose, or a payroll card.