PayPal Preps for Tax Season With Snail-Mail-Free Refunds

(Bloomberg) -- With the U.S. tax season in full swing ahead of the April 15 deadline, PayPal wants its users to know they don’t have to wait around the mailbox for those refund checks.

To opt into the service, users need PayPal’s Cash Mastercard, then have to sign up to receive direct deposit payments, the company says on its website. As soon as the refund is processed -- usually less than 21 days -- it is automatically added to the user’s PayPal balance.

Really in a rush? The IRS itself has an app for that. The tax agency can send the funds via direct deposit to your bank account, and answer questions through its IRS2GO app and online at IRS.gov.

“The fastest way to get a refund is to use IRS e-file and direct deposit,” the IRS said on the website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nathan Crooks in Miami at ncrooks@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clementine Fletcher at cfletcher5@bloomberg.net

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