(CNN) Equifax data breach victims who filed for a $125 settlement check will have an opportunity to change their selection and opt for free credit monitoring instead. The move follows a torrent of consumer requests for cash payments from the embattled credit company.

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday consumers who have already requested their checks — which are meant as subsidies for outside credit monitoring services — will soon be contacted by the third party administrator handling Equifax settlement claims. The administrator will provide consumers with the chance to switch benefits, the FTC said.

Regulators this week have been pleading with consumers to take the offer of free credit monitoring over the cash subsidy, due to an "overwhelming" amount of interest in a limited pool of funds earmarked for direct monetary relief.

So many Americans have filed for the cash reimbursements that each individual check is likely to be vanishingly small — "nowhere near" the $125 maximum payment that was held out initially, the FTC said.

"The option to obtain reimbursement for alternative credit monitoring, as set forth originally in the class action settlement, was never intended to be a cash payout for all affected consumers," the FTC said in a statement.

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