I think it's got no sinister intent. If they don't have a bank account on file for you from 2019, they have to default to 2018. If there's nothing there as far as direct deposit info, you default to a paper check that can take months. They are not going to have the staff capacity to process an avalanche of tax forms coming in, so the computerized services' ones will (I presume) be the ones that get the data updated for this first pass.
The Daughter and I filed our paper copies weeks ago. This year she was due no refund, so did not include her bank info. In 2018 she did get a refund direct deposited. So it will be interesting to see if they get our returns processed before two weeks are up (from now), and if they default to her 2018 return for bank info. Otherwise, the thought of a paper check in the mail to Scotland is just... it'll never make it.
It's not a lot of money. But if shopped carefully, it can buy a lot of groceries. Not so much medicine, but some. It's not meant to cover the rent or other bills, really.