Direct Deposit for Providers

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You are on this page: Direct Deposit for Providers

General Information

Direct Deposit for Child Care Assistance allows New York (in-state) providers to receive their child care assistance payments directly into their bank account. There is no wait for mailing of the check, no need to make a bank deposit or to pay a check cashing fee to access your funds. The money will be available to the provider as soon as the payment is posted to their account.

Which payments are eligible for direct deposit?

Only child care assistance payments sent directly to the provider by the county are eligible for direct deposit. Child care assistance payments sent directly to the parent are not eligible for direct deposit. Only providers in New York State will be eligible for direct deposit. New York City and Steuben County are not included because there is already a different direct deposit option in place.

Direct Deposit Rollout

Direct deposit will be rolled out to the counties in three phases. Please wait to register for direct deposit until you have been notified via email that direct deposit is available for your county.

Phase 1 Counties (Anticipated deployment July 2024):
Allegany, Chemung, Chenango, Franklin, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Saratoga, Tioga, Yates.
Phase 2 Counties (Anticipated deployment October 2024):
Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Columbia, Erie, Genesee, Greene, Jefferson, Livingston, Lewis, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Rockland, Saint Lawrence, Seneca, Tompkins, Wayne.
Phase 3 Counties (Anticipated deployment December 2024):
Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Westchester, Wyoming.
  1. If your county is not on the list of currently deployed counties, please wait to register for direct deposit until you have been notified via email that direct deposit is available for your county.

Setting Up Direct Deposit

Infographic outlining the direct deposit opt-in process
NOTE: DO NOT sign up for Direct Deposit until you are notified via email that direct deposit is available for the county from which you receive child care assistance payments.
  1. Click the link in the Direct Deposit email you receive from FAMS to opt-in to direct deposit.
    • If you already have a FAMS account, the link in the email will transfer you to your FAMS Dashboard.
    • If you have not registered with FAMS yet, the link in your email will transfer you to the FAMS Business Account page through NY.GOV, where you can finish creating your account.
  2. After you have opted-in through FAMS, enter your direct deposit banking information in NYePay.

    NOTE: No payment can be processed, including by method of paper check, until you or an authorized representative log into NYePay and submit your bank account information or you opt out of direct deposit. Payments in process will be made based on what you have chosen in the system at the time the payment was set up by the district.

Once you have completed the direct deposit opt-in process, the banking institution will need to verify your direct deposit account before any deposits are made into that account. Please allow six (6) business days for this process.

Banking Information

Before logging into NYePay, it can be helpful to have the bank routing number and bank account number of the account where you would like child care assistance payments deposited. This information is available on your bank’s website or on a check from your bank.

Only U.S. banks are eligible for direct deposit, and only regular checking and savings accounts can be used.

Examples of Routing and Account Numbers

KeyBank checking account page with routing number and account number highlighted.
Figure 1: Example of finding an account number on a bank's web site.
Example check with routing number and account number highlighted.
Figure 2: Example of finding an account number on a check.

Direct Deposit Resources

Quick Reference Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my program opt in to receive child care assistance payments by direct deposit?

Yes, if you want the convenience of receiving child care assistance payments through direct deposit and meet the following criteria:

  • You are a licensed/registered or enrolled legally exempt provider located in New York State,
  • There is at least one child in your program that receives child care assistance,
  • Your program’s child care assistance payments are sent directly to the program and not to the parents of the child(ren),
  • And you receive payments from a county for which child care direct deposit has been deployed according to the schedule above.

No, if your program’s child care assistance payments are sent directly to the parent.

No, if your program wants to continue to receive their child care assistance payments by paper check.

Who can access my program's bank information?

Only one person from your program can be designated in FAMS as the authorized user to access the New York State Electronic Payment System. (NYePay)

What if my program's bank account information changes?

Your program’s authorized user can log into NYePay to change bank account information and view payments.

What if my program's authorized representative changes?

Your program's account holder will be able to log into FAMS and select another authorized user. That new authorized user will be invited to register for FAMS and complete a new survey and then be given access to NYePay for your program.

What if my program wants to return to child care assistance payments being processed by paper check?

Log into FAMS and change your direct deposit answer to “No.” It may take two to three pay cycles for the updated payment method to take effect. An alert may appear in FAMS that you cannot opt for a paper check at this time. You may have to wait for the processes started in NYePay to finish in order to be able to return to receiving payments through paper check.

Direct Deposit Assistance

For general questions about child care assistance:

Please reach out to your Local Department of Social Services (LDSS).

NYS Office of Children and Family Services Call Center: 518-474-9454
Hours: M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

For Assistance with FAMS

Please reach out to your Regulator or the NYS Office of Children and Family Services Call Center: 518-474-9454
Hours: M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

For Assistance with NYePay

NYS Office of Children and Family Services Call Center: 518-474-9454
Hours: M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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