The continued use of paper-based payments by the Federal Government, including checks and money orders, flowing into and out of the United States General Fund, which might be thought of as Americas bank account, imposes unnecessary costs; delays; and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies. Mail theft complaints have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, Department of the Treasury checks are 16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered than an electronic funds transfer (EFT). Maintaining the physical infrastructure and specialized technology for digitizing paper records cost the American taxpayer over $657 million in Fiscal Year 2024 alone. This order promotes operational efficiency by mandating the transition to electronic payments for all Federal disbursements and receipts by digitizing payments to the extent permissible under applicable law (but not, for avoidance of doubt, to establish a Central Bank Digital Currency).
Section 2 of the EO establishes the following:
It is the policy of the United States to defend against financial fraud and improper payments, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the security of Federal payments.
Section 3 calls for:
Phase Out of Paper Check Disbursements and Receipts.
This phase out includes stopping paper checks for all Federal payments including within government payments, as well as benefits, vendor, and tax refund payments (but there are exclusions in Section 4). All government will transition to electronic funds (EFT) methods of payments (direct deposit, prepaid cards, other digital payment options). This section also calls for elimination of physical lockbox services requiring the transition to EFT. The Secretary of the Treasury is tasked to provide access to
. . . governmental agencies for direct deposits, debit and credit card payments, digital wallets and real-time payment systems, and other modern electronic payment options.
Section 4 covers exceptions and accommodations of this EO. Exceptions to this EO include:
(i) individuals who do not have access to banking services or electronic payment systems;
(ii) certain emergency payments where electronic disbursement would cause undue hardship, as contemplated in 31 C.F.R. Part 208;
(iii) national security- or law enforcement-related activities where non-EFT transactions are necessary or desirable; and
(iv) other circumstances as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, as reflected in regulations or other guidance.
Section 5 requires a "comprehensive public awareness campaign" to educate the US population.
Section 6 requires all agency heads to submit a compliance plan to the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) within 90 days. It also requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to the President within 180 days with details of progress on this order.
PHASING OUT PAPER CHECKS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to modernize how the government handles money, switching from old-fashioned paper-based payments to fast, secure electronic payments.
The Order mandates that, effective September 30, 2025, the Federal government will cease issuing paper checks for all disbursements, including intragovernmental payments, benefits, vendor payments, and tax refunds.
All executive departments and agencies must transition to modern, electronic funds transfer (EFT) methods like direct deposit, debit/credit card payments, digital wallets, and real-time transfers.
Payments made to the Federal government, such as fees, fines, loans, and taxes, must also be processed electronically where permissible under existing law.
Treasury will phase out physical lockbox services and expedite electronic collection of Federal receipts.
A comprehensive public awareness campaign will be launched to inform Federal payment recipients of the shift to electronic options and offer guidance on setting up digital payments.
Exceptions will be made for people without banking or electronic payment access, certain emergency payments, certain law enforcement activities, and other special cases qualifying for an exception under the Order or other existing law.
This Executive Order does not establish a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
DEFENDING AGAINST FINANCIAL FRAUD AND IMPROPER PAYMENTS: President Trump is cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in government by modernizing outdated paper-based payment systems that impose unnecessary costs, delays, and security risks.
Paper-based payments, such as checks and money orders, impose unnecessary costs, delays, and risks of fraud, lost payments, theft, and inefficiencies.
Mail theft complaints have increased substantially since 2020.
Historically, Treasury checks are 16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered than an electronic funds transfer.
Maintaining the physical infrastructure and specialized technology for digitizing paper records cost the American taxpayer over $657 million in fiscal year 2024 alone.
Check fraud is becoming more common, with banks issuing about 680,000 reports of check fraud in 2022 nearly double the number from 2021.
Digital payments are more efficient, less costly, and less vulnerable to fraud.
MODERNIZING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: President Trump is making government work better for the American people.
President Trump has long championed the need for replacing outdated technology, saying government needs to catch up with the technology revolution.
I think it interesting that the EO directly addressed the idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC):
Federal disbursements and receipts by digitizing payments to the extent permissible under applicable law (but not, for avoidance of doubt, to establish a Central Bank Digital Currency).
This EO is removing the ability to pay by check (a 'paper-based' method of payment) in your government interactions. How then to pay? Well, electronically, of course. Which means EFT, credit cards, debit cards, direct deposit from your bank account, or other EFT app. Thing is, most of us are already using EFT payments via our credit and/or debit cards especially those who participate in online purchasing from online businesses.
What about those who do not have bank accounts, credit or debit cards, cell phones with various payment apps, or have access to them but simply CHOOSE to NOT use them and prefer to use CASH? I am sure there will be some kind of 'free accounts' established for those who do not have bank accounts (which will then ultimately wind up costing the individual after the account has been established for whatever amount of time the banks can get away with for charging fees).
I remember that the first Federal covid stimulus payment was sent directly to bank accounts using your IRS tax refund info. The second Federal covid stimulus payment was sent as a "gift card". When I received the "gift card" I thought it was a scam, so I set it aside. A few weeks later, I received a government letter telling me the "gift card" was the "covid stimulus payment" and that I needed to use it. Why the change? Well, in my view, with a direct deposit, one could simply withdraw the stimulus payment in cash and then go spend it however you wished. With the "gift card", they would have a record of what you bought (and where you bought it) with the money and you were not supposed to be able to "get cash" from the card. It effectively provided an additional layer of surveillance for how people spent the money. Not quite CBDC, but definitely not cash either.
While this EO does NOT directly address CASH, the fact that it has been left off with a focus on doing all monetary transactions with the Federal government via EFT leads one to think that once EFT is established federally, cash may no longer be accepted by your government. After all, cash is the quintessential "paper-based" method of payment.
Those are some of the exact words used by Googles censors, aka 'Orwelliancontent police,' in describing many of our controversial stories.Stories later proven to be truthful and light years ahead of the mainstream media. But because we reported those 'inconvenient truths' they're trying to bankrupt ANP.
