Welcome to the Direct Deposit Information Page

As part of the Department of Labor's continuing effort to provide better service to New Yorkers, we now offer Unemployment Insurance recipients the option of receiving benefit payments via Direct Deposit, rather then via a Direct Payment Card.

Direct Deposit is an electronic transfer of your weekly Unemployment Insurance payments into your bank checking account. It offers increased convenience and allows you to access your funds via your own bank account. Claimants can have their benefits electronically deposited into their checking account as long as their financial institution participates in the direct deposit program. Claimants who do not have a bank account or do not choose to have their benefits directly deposited, will receive their benefits payments via a Direct Payment Card. 

Claimants will have the option to begin or cancel Direct Deposit or update their bank information after they login at the Benefits Online Page, from 7:30 am until midnight Monday through Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. Please have a check with you so you can enter your checking account number and the bank routing number when registering for Direct Deposit. If the claimant chooses to cancel direct deposit, he/she will receive their benefits via a Direct Payment Card.

Initial registration for Direct Deposit will take approximately five business days from the time the claimant's account information is received. Generally, once Direct Deposit is established, benefits are deposited into a claimant's checking account within three business days after payments are released by the Department of Labor.

For more information about Direct Deposit, please read the Frequently Asked Questions.To apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits, go to the Unemployment Insurance section of this web site, or call the Telephone Claims Center toll-free at 1-888-209-8124 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, EST. If you are calling from outside of New York State, call 1-877-358-5306.