Direct deposit is the most common way to pay employees. But businesses can also pay employees by issuing a live check or payment card.  Direct deposit is the fastest and often safest way to pay employees, but it does require your employees to have a bank account. Checks and prepaid debit cards don’t require your staff to have a bank account, but employees may incur extra fees for cashing checks or withdrawing cash from an ATM card. They may also run into issues if the checks or cards get lost or stolen.