How to Open a Rep Payee Bank Account in 2026
- Purple
- 5m
- 2 min read
If you’ve been appointed as a representative payee by the Social Security Administration (SSA), your next step is critical: opening a dedicated rep payee bank account.
In this post, we’ll break down how to do it in 2026 — step by step.
✅ What You’ll Need Before You Open the Account
To open a compliant rep payee account, you’ll need:
SSA Appointment Letter (your official notice that you’ve been approved as the payee)
Social Security Number of both you and the beneficiary
Proof of identity
Contact info for both you and the beneficiary
The beneficiary’s SSA or SSI/SSDI payment info
Some banks may also ask for additional documentation to verify the rep payee relationship.
🏦 Where to Open a Rep Payee Account
Not all banks are equipped to handle rep payee accounts properly.
You can try:
Traditional banks (but many won’t title the account correctly or understand the SSA rules)
Credit unions (but service varies widely)
Fintechs like Purple, built specifically for SSA beneficiaries and their support teams
Most rep payees find traditional options frustrating — from confusing account setup to high fees and zero tools to manage the SSA’s required tracking.
🔏 The Required Account Titling Format
The SSA has strict rules about how the account must be titled. It must clearly show:
That the money belongs to the beneficiary, not the payee
That the payee is acting on behalf of the beneficiary
Example format:
“John Smith by Jane Doe, representative payee"
“Jane Doe, representative payee for John Smith”
This tells the SSA (and any auditor) exactly who the money belongs to — and who’s responsible for it.
💼 Opening a Rep Payee Account with Purple
At Purple, we’ve built an account just for representative payees. That means:
SSA-compliant account titling is automatic
No monthly fees eating into the beneficiary’s funds
You can log receipts, add notes, and even track spending by month
Tools to help you stay organized for annual SSA reporting
A dedicated dashboard for families and organizations managing multiple people
You can open a rep payee account through the Purple app in just a few minutes.
📅 What Happens After the Account Is Open?
Once your rep payee account is ready:
Contact SSA and give them the new account and routing number.
SSA will begin depositing the beneficiary’s funds into the new account.
Start using the account only for the beneficiary’s expenses.
Track all spending and save receipts in case of a future audit.
Make It Easy with Purple
You’re already doing the hard work of supporting someone on benefits. Don’t let the bank be the next challenge.
Purple makes it easy, fast, and SSA-compliant.
Purple is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by OMB Bank, Member FDIC. The Purple Mastercard® Debit Card is issued by OMB Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license from Mastercard.
¹ Early access is not guaranteed and depends on payer timing. We generally make funds available on the day we receive the payment file, which may be up to 4 days early for government benefits like SSI or SSDI, and up to 2 days early for other deposits. Early access is available at no additional cost.
² See our fee schedule for complete details.