Government benefit checks to go paperless by 2013

The treasury department announced yesterday that it will start sending the majority of its 136 million benefit checks through a system of direct deposits, eliminating the use of paper checks and postage. The move will likely save the U.S. government approximately $303 million during the first five years after the switch, and about $49 million dollars in postage.

In this conversation with Eric Dash, banking reporter for The New York Times, we learn what this switch will mean to the government, the U.S. taxpayer, and perhaps most importantly, to the many people who receive benefit checks but don’t use a traditional bank.