The PLS direct deposit authorization form links your paycheck or government benefits to your Xpectations! Plus Debit Mastercard so money arrives electronically instead of as a paper check. Download the pre-filled form from the Xpectations! Plus mobile app or from PLScard.com, add your employer’s information and signature, and give it to your payroll department or benefits provider.1PLS Financial Services. How Do I Set Up Direct Deposit? Setting up direct deposit also unlocks early pay and can eliminate the card’s monthly fee.
Where to Download the Form
Log into your Xpectations! Plus account in the app or at PLScard.com. Tap “Move Money,” then “Direct Deposit,” then “Download direct deposit form.” The form generates with your routing and account numbers already printed on it, so you don’t need to look them up separately.1PLS Financial Services. How Do I Set Up Direct Deposit?
If you just need the numbers without the full form, the same screen shows both.2PLS Financial Services. How Do I Find My Account/Routing Number? The banking behind Xpectations! Plus is handled by partner institutions like Republic Bank & Trust Company, so the routing number on your form belongs to that bank rather than to PLS itself.
What to Fill In
The pre-filled form already has the banking fields complete. You add the pieces your employer needs:
- Employer name and address. Use your company’s legal business name and payroll department address. A recent pay stub usually shows both.
- Account type. Select checking. Prepaid card accounts with direct deposit capability register as checking accounts in the ACH system.
- Deposit amount. Choose your full paycheck or a specific dollar amount. If you split deposits between accounts, enter only the portion going to your PLS card.
- Signature and date. A handwritten signature authorizes the transfer. Without it, most payroll departments will reject the form.
If your employer hands you their own direct deposit form instead of accepting the PLS version, copy the routing number and account number from your app by hand. Double-check every digit. A single wrong number can send your pay to someone else’s account or bounce the transfer back to your employer, delaying your paycheck by a full pay cycle.
The name on your PLS account has to match the name on your payroll records exactly. PLS flags this for its early direct deposit feature: the name, Social Security number, or ID on file with your employer must match your Xpectations! Plus account, or fraud restrictions can freeze the deposit.3PLS Financial Services. PLS Card
How to Submit the Form
Hand the completed form to your employer’s human resources or payroll department. Some companies accept a scanned PDF uploaded through an employee portal. Others have their own ACH setup screen where you type the routing and account numbers directly. Ask your payroll contact which method they prefer.
Prepaid cards don’t come with a checkbook, so employers sometimes ask for a voided check to verify the account. The PLS authorization form is designed to serve as that verification. If your employer still insists on a voided check, show them the pre-filled form from the app with the routing and account numbers printed by PLS. That typically satisfies the requirement.
Government benefits work differently. For Social Security, update your direct deposit through your my Social Security account online, by calling the Treasury’s Electronic Payment Solution Center at 1-800-333-1795, or by visiting your local Social Security office.4Social Security Administration. Social Security Direct Deposit You’ll give the agency the same routing and account numbers from your PLS app. The SSA also offers its own prepaid option called the Direct Express Debit Mastercard, but routing benefits to your Xpectations! Plus card works the same as routing them to any checking account.5Social Security Administration. Update Direct Deposit
How Long Before Deposits Start
Expect one to two full pay cycles before electronic deposits start arriving. During this window, your employer’s bank often sends a prenote, a zero-dollar test transaction that confirms the routing and account numbers are valid and the account is open. A prenote takes about three business days to clear. If it fails, your payroll department gets an error code and has to fix the information before trying again. You’ll likely receive at least one more paper check while this plays out.
Not every employer sends a prenote, but many do as a fraud-prevention step. Ask payroll whether they use prenotes so you know what to expect. Once the test clears and your first real deposit hits, you should get a notification through the PLS app or by text alert.
Federal holidays and weekends can shift the timing. Banks don’t process ACH transfers on days they’re closed, so a payday that falls on a holiday may arrive a day early or a day late depending on how your employer schedules payroll runs.
Early Pay Once Direct Deposit Is Active
PLS advertises that Xpectations! Plus cardholders can receive payroll up to two days early and government benefits up to four days early. PLS credits your account as soon as it receives the incoming ACH file from your employer’s bank, rather than waiting for the official settlement date.3PLS Financial Services. PLS Card
The timing isn’t guaranteed every pay period. PLS notes that early availability depends on when your employer submits payroll, the payment instructions they use, and bank fraud checks. Some pay periods you might see funds two days early; others it might be one day or not early at all. The feature turns on automatically once direct deposit is active. There’s nothing extra to sign up for.
Direct Deposit and the Monthly Fee
The Xpectations! Plus card charges a $5 monthly fee, but the fee drops to zero whenever you receive $500 or more in eligible direct deposits (payroll or government benefits) during the previous statement period.6PLS Financial Services. Xpectations! PLUS Debit Mastercard For most people getting a regular paycheck deposited, the monthly fee effectively goes away. Purchase transactions carry no per-use fee regardless of deposit activity.
If a Deposit Doesn’t Show Up
If payday arrives and your balance hasn’t changed, start with the basics. Confirm that the routing and account numbers your employer has on file match what the PLS app shows. A single transposed digit is the most common cause of a missing deposit.
If the numbers are correct, ask your payroll department for the ACH trace number. Every ACH transaction gets a 15-digit trace number that banks use to track where the money went. Give that number to PLS customer service or to the partner bank, and they can follow the payment through the network to see whether it was returned, delayed, or sent to the wrong account. Trace requests are the fastest way to locate a stuck payment.
When a deposit is returned because of an account mismatch or a closed account, the funds go back to your employer’s bank. Your payroll department then typically reissues the payment once you correct the account details. That round-trip can add another full pay cycle to the delay, which is why getting the numbers right the first time matters more than anything else on the form.