Company stops processing allotments

By Jaems Brabenec, Fort Sill CannoneerApril 10, 2014

FORT SILL, Okla. (April 10, 2014) -- People who are using military allotments to repay loans, should be aware that one of the largest allotment processors, Military Assistance Corporation (MAC), stopped processing allotments as of March 31.

This stoppage only applies for allotments used to pay commercial or consumer loans, such as those for furniture or electronics. This will not affect MAC allotments for housing.

People using MAC's service must make alternative payment arrangements for the loan previously paid by allotment. Contact your creditor (the company that sold you the product or made the loan) immediately.

To verify whether or not your military allotment is with this corporation, check the bill pay service. If attached to MAC it may be referred to as "MAC Ease bill payment service" and is likely going to Citizens Union Bank.

For those who have affected MAC allotments, MAC will no longer accept the allotment amount from your payroll processor as of March 31. Your payroll processor will then likely route the allotment amount back to you via your regular pay. As a result, you may see an increase in pay. Remember, this money was previously allocated by you to pay a bill, it's not extra money. You must make alternate arrangements to continuing paying the bill.

To make alternate arrangements, talk to your creditor, but you can usually arrange for an alternative automatic payment arrangement, like an automated clearing house (ACH) payment from your bank or credit union account. Setting up a recurring ACH allows the creditor to pull the money owed each month using your bank account and routing number. Alternatively, you can ask the bank or credit union to send the money to your creditor electronically by using a free online bill pay service.

Also, people should go to their MyPay account and turn off the allotment that was going to MAC/Citizens Union. For more information, visit www.allotment.net/. Don't contact MAC unless you need their help identifying your creditor.