
Thousands of Vystar online banking users were left frustrated and unable to access their accounts due to a system-wide outage.
The outage occurred on a typical Monday morning, catching many off guard and leaving them scrambling to find alternative ways to manage their finances.
According to reports, the issue started at around 9:00 AM ET, with many users taking to social media to express their frustration and disappointment.
The outage lasted for several hours, with some users reporting that they were unable to access their accounts until around 2:00 PM ET.
Related reading: Vystar Credit Union Banking Platform Outage
VyStar Online Banking Issues
VyStar's online banking system crashed upon launch in May 2022 due to premature rollout and lack of critical processes.
This caused customers to incur costs and fees, and some features were unavailable for weeks or months. The new system was taken offline soon after launch, but when it was brought back online, it still lacked key banking services.
Consider reading: Regions Bank and Bill Have Partnered to Launch Regions Cashflowiq.
VyStar has approximately $14.75 billion in total assets and over 980,000 members, making it one of the largest credit unions in the country.
Customers found themselves unable to manage their accounts, access their funds, or make online bill payments. This resulted in financial harm to their credit union members.
The CFPB has ordered VyStar to make all its customers whole and pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the bureau's victims relief fund.
VyStar has continued to make significant changes to its technical infrastructure, information security, and digital services to prevent such issues in the future.
The CFPB found that VyStar violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act by depriving consumers of access to their money and accounts, and rushing a new platform online without proper testing.
VyStar must refund fees to affected consumers and clean up its process for updating its systems to minimize the impact on consumers' ability to use its banking platform.
In related news, recent research has shown that mobile and online banking are consumers' most-used self-service banking option, with over 60% of credit union members relying on mobile and online banking the most.
Check this out: What Is Financial Asset Management Systems
VyStar News and Accusations
VyStar Credit Union has been in the news for its botched online banking rollout. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken action against the credit union.
The new online banking system crashed upon launch in May 2022, leaving members without access to their accounts and funds for weeks or months. This was due to VyStar bringing the system online prematurely and failing to establish or follow critical processes to ensure its success.
VyStar's senior management has been accused of bungling the rollout and leaving customers stranded without online access to their accounts. The CFPB found that the credit union violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act by depriving consumers of access to their money and accounts.
The CFPB has ordered VyStar to refund fees to affected consumers and pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the bureau's victims relief fund. VyStar must also clean up its broken process for updating its systems to minimize the impact on consumers.
VyStar has approximately $14.75 billion in total assets and over 980,000 members, making it one of the largest credit unions in the country. The credit union has 70 branches in Florida and 10 branches in Georgia.
Additional reading: Commercial vs Consumer Banking
Customer Experience
The Vystar online banking outage has left many customers frustrated, and it's clear that their customer experience has taken a hit.
Vystar customers reported difficulty accessing their accounts, with some even trying to call the bank's customer service number, only to be met with a busy signal.
The bank's website was also down, leaving customers unable to check their balances or make transactions.
Customers are usually able to access their accounts 24/7, but the outage has disrupted this service.
The bank's customer service team has been working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Discover more: Bank of America Issues Warning to Customers
Sources
- https://www.jacksonville.com/story/business/2022/05/24/vystar-credit-union-customers-say-they-will-leave-bank-after-continued-outage/9905667002/
- https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2022/05/24/vystar-online-banking-issues-fixed-mobile-banking-still-down/9905636002/
- https://financialregnews.com/cfpb-fines-florida-credit-union-for-botched-online-banking-rollout/
- https://www.pymnts.com/news/regulation/2024/cfpb-vystar-hurt-customers-with-botched-online-banking-rollout/
- https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/vystar-online-banking-issues-reaches-6-days/77-35bfd537-6557-4500-884f-75faa5c64716
Featured Images: pexels.com