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EagleCash offers alternative to carrying cash

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clark Staehle
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Deployed servicemembers can access their funds 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the 379th Comptroller Squadron's EagleCash Program. 

The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is the first Air Force site to stand up EagleCash., which is co-sponsored by the Army and the Department of the Treasury. 

"EagleCash helps you actually control your spending," said Senior Master Sgt. Juanita Osby, 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron superintendent. "You go to the kiosk, log into your bank account and put money on your card. You can use it at all the base concessionaires, so you can make transactions without using cash." 

The program uses a type of payment card referred to as a Stored Value Card along with six automated kiosk devices which are located around the base - the base exchange, Desert Eagle Lounge, finance office, passenger terminal, and Opstown Shoppette. Cardholders enrolled in the program can access their personal checking or savings accounts by swiping the card in the kiosk machine. 

"It's actually a better deal, because you can plan and budget. It gives 24/7 access to the cash you have on that card," Sergeant Osby said, who is deployed here from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
Once money is loaded or transferred o
n to their EagleCash card, participants pay for their transaction by swiping their card in a machine, similar to swiping a debit or credit card. The amount of the sale is electronically subtracted from the amount of money the individual has loaded on the card. 

When the card's balance is low, the individual can go back to the self-serve kiosk 24/7 and recharge the card with more cash, taking this money from his or her bank or credit union. 

EagleCash has been in existence since 1999, when the program came about as a way to reduce currency demands and limit the amount of money going to Army posts overseas. Now the program is being used in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, and can be found at more than 45 military installations in at least 10 countries around the world. 

"It reduces the cash we need to have on base, so it's kind of force-protection measure too," Sergeant Osby said. "The less cash we have circulating, the better."
EagleCash also helps the military save money because it can be expensive to transport money overseas and provide its security while in flight. 

To date, more than 125,000 cards have been issued and have been used to process more than 4.5 million transactions valued at more than $436 million. About one third of the Desert Eagle Team has a card. 

Servicemembers can get EagleCash cards at the 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron's finance office, as well as contractors whose companies have check-cashing agreements with the U.S. military. The process takes about 10 minutes
Finance is located in Memorial Plaza in Coalition Compound, adjacent to the coffee shop. Customer service hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 




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