The Fine Feel of Money

For 32 million Americans, one of the most anticipated pieces of mail every month is the sturdy brown envelope bearing a Social Security check. But mailing the money creates problems. About 35,000 checks a year get stolen. And the amount of clerical work is overwhelming. Says Treasury Official Les Plumly: "We have to print them, stuff them, seal them and mail them. If we don't find some other way, the sheer volume will sink the system."

So, starting on the West Coast in August and moving along to the East Coast by October, the Treasury will give Social Security recipients the option of having their checks sent directly to their banks. Then, to grapple with the mountain of mail to banks, the Treasury plans next year to introduce "electronic funds transfer" (EFT). Through the marvels of computers and electronics, money will automatically be credited to the bank account of any Social Security beneficiary who wants it that way.

Nobody would ever see a check--and that, it turns out, is another problem. Says one Treasury official: "Some people have a feeling that if they don't touch the money, then the money's not really theirs." The Treasury would like to make all of its payments this way, including salaries of federal employees. But the Government estimates that EFT will be chosen by only 40% of the people on its many payrolls by 1980. The rest will put up with inconveniences just to get their hands on those familiar envelopes containing those welcome Government checks.

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