The SurePayroll direct deposit authorization form is the one-page document you give your employer so your wages are deposited electronically into up to three bank accounts instead of paid by paper check. You enter your banking details for each account, choose a fixed dollar amount or a percentage for any accounts you want to split pay between, sign and date it, attach a voided check or bank letter, and hand it to your payroll administrator. After a short verification step, your pay starts arriving in your account on payday.
What to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out
Pull these together first. Working from a check or your bank’s app is faster than guessing and fixing it later.
- The full name of each bank or credit union you want to use.
- The account type for each one — checking or savings.
- The nine-digit ABA routing number for each bank. On a personal check it’s the first set of numbers along the bottom-left; online banks list it in account settings.1American Bankers Association. ABA Routing Number
- Your account number, which follows the routing number along the bottom of a check.
- A voided check or a direct deposit verification letter from your bank. Write “VOID” in large letters across a blank check, or ask the bank for a letter. If you use an online-only bank with no paper checks, the letter is your only option.
Check every digit twice. One wrong number in the routing or account field can send your paycheck somewhere else or bounce it back, and sorting that out typically costs a full pay cycle.
How to Get the Form
The form is part of the SurePayroll employee setup packet and is usually available as a PDF through the employer’s SurePayroll portal. If you don’t have portal access, ask your payroll administrator or HR for a printed or emailed copy. It may also be tucked into the onboarding paperwork you received when you were hired.
Filling In Each Account
The form has room for up to three accounts, and each row asks for the same information.2Moneris SurePayroll. Employee Setup Information For every account you want to use, enter:
- A dollar amount (for example, $500) or a percentage of net pay (for example, 80%) to route to that account.
- The nine-digit routing number.
- Your account number at that bank.
- The bank’s name.
- A checkmark for either checking or savings.
If you leave the direct deposit section blank, SurePayroll defaults to issuing a paper check.2Moneris SurePayroll. Employee Setup Information
Splitting Pay Across Two or Three Accounts
If you want part of your paycheck in savings and the rest in checking, enter the fixed amount or percentage for the first account and list the account you want the leftover to land in last. The remainder of your net pay always goes to the final account on the form.2Moneris SurePayroll. Employee Setup Information So if row one says “$200 to savings,” put checking in row two or three and the balance will post there automatically. No math on your end.
Signing
Sign and date the bottom of the form. Federal rules require a direct deposit authorization to be in writing and signed (or electronically authenticated) by you, and the party collecting it must give you a copy.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Section 1005.10 Preauthorized Transfers Without a signature the authorization isn’t valid and your employer can’t start the deposits. Hold on to your copy in case a question comes up later.
Where to Submit It
Give the signed form and your voided check or bank letter to your payroll administrator. They enter the banking details into SurePayroll, which kicks off a verification step before any live money moves.
When Your First Deposit Will Actually Arrive
Before the first real paycheck posts electronically, SurePayroll sends a prenote: a zero-dollar test through the ACH network that confirms your routing and account numbers are valid and the account can receive deposits. ACH rules require at least three banking days between the prenote and the first live deposit.
Factoring in payroll schedules and processing windows, most employees see their first electronic deposit within one to two pay cycles after submitting the form. During the gap, employers usually pay by paper check so you don’t miss a payday. Once an electronic deposit lands in your account, the setup is complete.
Changing or Canceling Your Direct Deposit
Switching banks, closing an account, or going back to paper checks all require a new authorization form or a written cancellation to payroll. Submit it with enough lead time to beat the next payroll run. If you’re moving to a new bank, keep the old account open until you’ve confirmed the first deposit has posted at the new one, or your pay could bounce back with nowhere to go.
Federal law also gives you the right to stop a preauthorized electronic transfer by notifying your bank at least three business days before the scheduled deposit. You can do this orally or in writing, though the bank may ask for written confirmation within 14 days of an oral request.4eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.10 – Preauthorized Transfers
If a Deposit Doesn’t Show Up
Start with the simple checks. Confirm with payroll that the authorization was processed and the prenote cleared. Banks post deposits at different times of day, so a few hours of lag on payday isn’t unusual.
If the money is genuinely missing, ask payroll for the ACH trace number. Every ACH transaction has a unique 15-digit identifier that your bank can use to track the payment. Give that number to your bank and they can tell you whether the deposit was received, rejected, or still in transit. The usual causes of a rejected deposit are a mistyped account number, a closed account, or a mismatch between the account type marked on the form and the actual account at the bank.
What Your Employer Can and Can’t Require
Federal law prohibits an employer from requiring you to open an account at a specific bank as a condition of employment.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693k – Compulsory Use of Electronic Fund Transfers You can pick any bank or credit union you want. Whether an employer can require direct deposit at all, instead of offering a paper check option, is governed by state law, so check with your state labor department if that matters to you.
If your employer offers a payroll card instead of a bank account, federal rules require the card provider to disclose all fees, in both a short summary of key costs and a full list, before you agree to receive wages on the card.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If My Employer Offers Me a Payroll Card, Do I Have to Accept It? You don’t have to accept a payroll card if another payment method is available.