BNY Appointed as Financial Agent for Direct Express® Program Serving 3.4 Million Americans

BNY (The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, NYSE: BK) has secured a significant role managing the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Direct Express® prepaid debit card initiative. Effective January 3, 2025, the five-year mandate reflects the institution’s capability in delivering financial services at scale to underserved populations.

Scope of the Program

The Direct Express® platform currently provides payment access to approximately 3.4 million Americans receiving federal benefits. The program represents one of the largest initiatives in the U.S. government’s financial inclusion strategy, offering secure pathways for benefit disbursement to vulnerable populations including seniors, disabled individuals, and welfare recipients.

Why BNY Won the Contract

The Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service evaluated multiple financial institutions before selecting BNY. The decision centered on BNY’s comprehensive technology stack and customer service infrastructure—capabilities that align with the program’s diverse user base. According to Jennifer Barker, Global Head of Treasury Services and Depositary Receipts at BNY, “The appointment reflects our commitment to advancing financial services accessibility and our proven track record serving communities across the financial ecosystem.”

Enhanced User Experience Features

BNY’s tenure will introduce a modernized customer experience framework encompassing:

• Digital-first funds access with online account management
• Contactless payment and emergency fund retrieval
• Multi-channel support (chat, text, online, and in-person services)
• Dispute resolution through digital filing systems
• Cardless ATM transactions and bill payment integration

These enhancements target the program’s user demographic, which often faces barriers to traditional banking services.

Ecosystem Partnerships

The Direct Express® program operates through a collaborative infrastructure. Mastercard® continues as the payment network partner since the program’s 2008 launch. Additional service providers include Galileo Financial Technologies for payment processing, MoCaFi for financial services solutions, Senture for platform support, Sunrise Banks for banking infrastructure, and Ubiquity Global Services for operational logistics.

Implications for Financial Services

This appointment underscores BNY’s positioning as a critical player in government-scale financial infrastructure. The bank’s 52.1 trillion dollars in assets under custody and 2.1 trillion in assets under management demonstrate institutional depth required for such missions. With over 50,000 employees globally and 240 years of operational history, BNY brings institutional stability to an initiative affecting millions of households.

For beneficiaries seeking program information or account access, www.usdirectexpress.com serves as the primary resource portal.