Direct Deposit and Payroll Card Requirements in New York

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Part 192 covers four payment methods for covered private employment

New York's regulation permits cash, check, direct deposit, and payroll debit card payment. Labor Law § 190 excludes governmental agencies from the Article 6 employer definition and excludes certain minor-league baseball players working under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement. Labor Law § 192 and the Part 192 employee definition also exclude bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employees earning more than $1,300 per week and farm workers not connected with a factory.

Direct deposit requires advance voluntary consent and employee bank choice

Labor Law § 192 requires advance written consent. Under 12 NYCRR § 192-1.2, § 192-1.3, and § 192-2.2, the employer must first give written notice describing the available payment options and all terms and conditions. Consent must be express, advance, written, informed, and voluntary; neither direct deposit nor a payroll card may be a condition of hire or continued employment.

The employee selects the direct-deposit financial institution. The employer must give the employee a copy of the consent and retain it throughout employment and for six years after the final direct-deposit payment. Notice and consent may be electronic if the employee can view and print both at work without cost and is told of that right.

Consent may be withdrawn at any time. The employer then has no more than two full pay periods to complete the change. A worker who does not consent must be paid by cash or check.

Payroll cards add timing, access, fee, and account safeguards

Under 12 NYCRR § 192-2.3, payroll-card consent cannot take effect until at least seven business days after the employer provides the required information and receives consent. The employer must identify nearby no-cost withdrawal locations, provide local access to a no-cost ATM, and provide at least one way to withdraw all wages for the pay period or the remaining card balance without a fee.

The regulation bars charges for receiving wages, purchases, overdraft or low- balance status, inactivity, maintenance, customer service, in-network balance information, covered statements or histories, reasonable-interval replacement, account closing, remaining-balance payment, and certain declined transactions. It also bars fees not identified by type and dollar amount in the employer- issuer contract or the terms given to the employee.

A card cannot be linked to credit or an advance on future pay. The employer cannot pass its card-program costs to employees or receive a kickback. Card funds cannot expire, subject to the rule's notice-and-refund process for an inactive account. A terms or fee change requires at least 30 days' written notice; an employee charged a new or increased fee too early must be reimbursed.

The Labor Commissioner can enforce method violations

Part 192 does not create a separate payment-method rule for final wages. A payment-method choice does not itself answer when final wages are due.

Labor Law § 218 authorizes the Commissioner of Labor to order compliance with Article 6 and its regulations. A method-of-payment violation that does not involve unpaid wages can carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000 for a second, and $3,000 for a third or later violation. If the problem also leaves wages unpaid, Article 6's unpaid-wage remedies apply.

What trips people up

The 2017 revocation is not the current result. The Industrial Board of Appeals initially revoked Part 192 before its scheduled effective date. In Matter of Reardon v. Global Cash Card, Inc., the courts annulled that revocation, and the Appellate Division affirmed in 2020. New York's current Department of Labor pages apply Part 192 today.

Payroll-card consent has an extra waiting period. Both electronic methods require advance voluntary written consent, but a card cannot be used until the seven-business-day period has run.

The fee list is not a promise that every listed service will exist. Section 192-2.3(c) says its list does not independently require each service. The employer must nevertheless provide the local no-cost ATM and one no-fee method for withdrawing the full wage amount or remaining balance.

Common questions

Can a payroll card be linked to a wage advance or other credit?

No. The card account cannot be linked to a loan against future wages, a cash advance on future wages, or another form of credit. A no-charge, occasional inadvertent overdraft may be covered by the issuer.

Does a union agreement replace the employee's own consent?

No. When a valid collective bargaining agreement expressly provides the wage- payment method, § 192-2.3(h) requires union approval in addition to the employee-consent requirements.

What happens if a card fee increases before the 30-day notice period ends?

The employer must reimburse the employee for a new or increased fee charged before 30 days have passed after the required written notice.

Statutes and sources

• N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 190 and 192. Article 6 coverage, advance written consent, and the executive, administrative, professional, and farm-worker exclusions. Official § 190 and official § 192 (accessed July 14, 2026).
• 12 NYCRR §§ 192-1.1 to 192-2.3. Permitted methods, notice and consent, bank choice, revocation, payroll-card access, fees, account terms, and change notices. Current Part 192 publication and official NYDOL methods guidance (accessed July 14, 2026).
• N.Y. Lab. Law § 218. Compliance orders and civil penalties. Official current text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• Matter of Reardon v. Global Cash Card, Inc., 179 A.D.3d 1228 (3d Dep't 2020). Annulment of the Industrial Board's Part 192 revocation. Official opinion (accessed July 14, 2026).