Direct Deposit

Duke strongly encourages all employees and non-compensatory recipients to enroll in direct deposit for payments issued by Duke.  It is the safest and most timely method for receiving payments. Benefits of enrolling in direct deposit include the following:

• Safe and confidential.
• Funds are deposited directly into a checking or savings account for any institution in the continental U.S. based upon the financial institution’s deposit schedule.
• Pay is accessible earlier – no waiting in line or waiting for a check to clear.
• Lost or stolen checks are no longer an issue.

Many departments make direct deposit a condition of employment in the department. Contact your manager or departmental payroll representative to confirm your department's direct deposit policy.

Establishing Direct Deposit

All employees must enroll in direct deposit using Duke's employee self service site Duke@Work. Using his/her NetID and password, an employee can log into Duke@Work and use the bank routing number and his/her personal account number to quickly enroll.

After completing the four step enrollment process, employees receive a confirmation which provides the effective date of the change. The direct deposit will be effective for the next available pay day after the confirmation date. The Federal Reserve requires Duke University to verify all account information. The verification process is completed by depositing a penny into the bank account. This process can take up to 30 days.

Non-compensatory recipients, excluding Postdocs, should update their direct deposit information using the Duke Hub.

• Any updates to direct deposit must be recorded through the Duke Hub prior to the 15th of each month and the student must have an active Non-compensatory record, in order to affect the current month’s payment.
• If students receiving Non-compensatory payments elect to change bank accounts, they should plan to leave the old account open until payments are posted to the new account to avoid any timing issues.
• If there is a need to cancel direct deposit for any reason, students can do so by using the Direct Deposit Form posted on the Corporate Payroll Services website.

Foreign national employees or non-compensatory recipients cannot establish direct deposit until they have provided Corporate Payroll Services with a valid social security number or individual tax identification number as appropriate for the individual's status.

Changing Bank Accounts

Duke@Work must be used to change direct deposit account numbers. Changing account numbers follows the same process as new authorization and requires the same verification by the Federal Reserve. Current account information may remain in effect for up to 30 days after submitting new account information; therefore, it is critical that employees not close their current account prior to the confirmation date received upon completing the change.  Since confirmations are not provided for paper transactions, non-compensatory recipients should use the 30 day verification time line as a guide.  To ensure a smooth transition of funds between accounts, Corporate Payroll Services recommends that individuals do not close an old account until a payment has been deposited into the new account.

Direct Deposit Cancellation

If a situation arises where direct deposit needs to be canceled, a paper direct deposit form must be submitted to Corporate Payroll Services.  Cancellations cannot be completed via Duke@Work. Once received, Corporate Payroll Services will cancel the direct deposit for the next available pay period. Please note: based upon how payrolls are executed, the next available pay period may not be the next pay period that occurs.

Closed Accounts

Closing a bank account with a financial institution, does not cancel/change the direct deposit account information in Duke's payroll system.  The individual must update the account information in the payroll system either through Duke@Work or via a paper form. If an account is closed and Duke sends funds to that account via an ACH transaction (direct deposit), the funds will be returned to Duke; however, it typically takes two-three business days before funds are returned. Duke will issue a live pay check to the employee or non-compensatory recipient once the funds have been returned to Duke.