Government benefits delayed as state sends money to wrong bank

PROVIDENCE ( AP) — The Rhode Island Department of Labor says it sent money to pay temporary disability insurance claims to the wrong bank, delaying payments for about 300 people.

Department spokesman Michael Healey said Friday the payments for last week's disability insurance claims were mistakenly sent to Chase Bank instead of KeyBank.

The department changed vendors for the prepaid cards that some people use to receive their weekly benefits. Healey says Chase Bank stopped handling prepaid cards for government benefits so the department switched to KeyBank on Monday.

Healey says people started calling the office this week to report they couldn't use their prepaid card. He says the cards should be working by Wednesday. Most people have their benefits deposited directly to their bank account.