Direct payments of $500 a month to land in the accounts of Americans this month – who is eligible?

AMERICANS living in Minneapolis, Minnesota will soon be receiving $500 a month, but they had to qualify to receive the money.

The direct payments come in the form of the city's newest guaranteed income pilot program, which is set to send its first payments this month.

The city of Minneapolis said families are in the process of completing their enrollment for payments.

Many of the families do not have bank accounts, which is not required to be chosen for the program, but a local bank is offering the option of savings and checking accounts.

Program goals

The program will run from Spring 2022 to Spring 2024.

Enrolled families will receive $500 every month for two years.

It comes with no strings attached. Families can use the money how they see fit.

There will be no check-in process to see how people are using the guaranteed income.

The program hopes the cash infusion will help with rent and food, or long-term investments, such as tuition, college savings or car repairs.

Who is eligible?

The eligible participants had to meet the following requirements:

• Must be 18 years old
• Affected by the pandemic, such as job loss, reduced hours, higher healthcare payments, loss of access to child care, technology or transportation
• Annual income is at or below 50% of the area median income for Minneapolis, which is $52,450 for a family of four
• Live in one of the following zip codes:
  • 55403
  • 55404
  • 55405
  • 55407
  • 55411
  • 55412
  • 55413
  • 55430
  • 55454

The city said about 13,000 applications were filled out but not everyone qualified.

People who met the above requirements were then selected through a randomized process.

Guaranteed income programs across America

Minneapolis joins its neighboring city, St. Paul, which has a guaranteed income program in place.

St. Paul's program is part of a partnership with Mayors for Guaranteed Income.

That's a coalition of mayors across the US who support a guaranteed income program.

Participating mayors have started pilots in their various cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The Sun explains how hundreds of moms are getting monthly $1,000 payments.

Plus, how one mom thought the guaranteed income program was a scam and now she's getting $1,000 a month.