JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–“Reputational risk” and the power of social media are frequently mentioned within credit unions, and no credit union has gotten a more sobering reminder of the power of that combination than VyStar Credit Union since the crash of its online and mobile banking solutions.
The systems went down in mid-May during a conversion to Nymbus, a CUSO in which VyStar has a significant stake, and while it has restored some functionality, angry members have been filling social media with negative comments ever since.
Case in point: Following a recent update by News 4 Jacksonville that reported VyStar CU was calling off its plans to buy a Georgia bank, as CUToday.info reported here, the web page on the story was soon filled with nearly 100 mostly negative comments. Its own Facebook page has been overwhelmed with thousands of members posting complaints, as well.
Indeed, VyStar CU says on its website it has limited who can comment.
‘I Have Had It’
Among the comments made on the News 4 Jacksonville site, which can be found here:
- “LOL I have had it....moving to another credit union tomorrow. I can’t see the details of transactions like I used to, my deposits don’t show up on time, I can’t log in half the time, I can no longer make principal payments......I have had it. I can’t believe that someone has not been fired over this.”
- “No surprise. It seems doubtful that regulatory approval would have been forthcoming given VyStar's extraordinary failure to implement its online and mobile banking services. This failure is indicative of incompetent management. Among other things, regulators consider the quality of management when evaluating merger and acquisition applications.”
- “I'm sure the decision had nothing to do with the online banking fiasco.”
- “You will be taken to the Online Banking login as soon as it's available. Please keep this window open until that time. Your position in line: 4791 Last status update: Back to this again!!!!!!”
- “They are sure taking advantage of their members again.”
- “Glad I switched to Community First CU.”
- “I would think the CEO and some other top level management need to be replaced sooner than later. I don’t see how this big a flop can go unpunished. It is obvious that due diligence and backup plans were not seriously considered before the fiasco that transpired with Vystar!”
- “The CEO may be negotiating his severance package with the board. The regulators may be pressuring the board to take some form of disciplinary action against the CEO as well as some other execs such as the chief information officer, general counsel/chief risk officer and chief compliance officer among others.”
- “Translation: "We know a dumpster fire when we see one and we know to run the other way. Sincerely, HSBI."
- “Interesting that VyStar is saying it's keeping its members updated via email. I opened a trouble ticket with them over 3 weeks ago due to no emails being received from them regarding any of the issues or status updates. I called yesterday to get an update and the ticket is in a pending status - nothing has been done. I'm about done, though.”
- “VyStar put a lot of time, energy, and money into this merger. This and the Nymbus fiasco are two major embarrassments for a once-proud credit union. VyStar members should demand that their credit union be more focused on their needs, and not in foolish investments.”
- “In all of the high flying merger/acquisition talk, VyStar forgot it was OUR money they were playing with.”
- “I've been a 30 year member but i'm about thru. Any suggestions on a better bank? I know Bank of America sucks big time.”
- “My neighbors, whose debit cards were eaten by the machine, still haven't gotten new cards, or answers. They're getting money out by going in to another branch. The reps at that bank said they can't order the cards, it has to be done online. And another person said their loans have a zero balance, so they are keeping records so if the bank tries to come after them they have proof they loans have a zero balance.”
- “So a good IT test would be to have ALL members logging on to vystarcu.org at 4:20 the day it becomes available. Same time Real time...‘show me my money.’"
‘Extra Pile of Gross’
Messages posted on VyStar’s Facebook page are equally negative, with the credit union stating it has limited who can comment on its post. One post that offered an update on its online banking platform indicates more than 500 comments have been made.
Among the comments that can be seen:
- Sending out delinquent payment notices when people couldn't log in for weeks to make payments was just an extra pile of gross on top of the dumpster fire. You focus on helping people transition to new banks and blow it all up
- A comment made by the “Bike Men of Flagler County,” reads, “Website still not fully functioning; Mobile app not functioning; Working with Quicken not functioning; Zelle may or may not be working. I think we are about done with Vystar as this snafu continues. Them sending out an uninformative email on June 2 was lame and contained no positive indication of when they will have this working again. I am convinced Vystar will never get this right no matter how much "reasonable" time they are given. You are now causing our charity group to interrupt their operations to find another bank and reset our donation payments & parts purchasing accounts to this new bank. What a royal pain this is going to be. - Thank you Vystar NOT
- “How am I supposed to pay my car loan (with no online access). I’m out of state and customer service is hanging up after an hour wait. Are my late fees going to be (taken) care of?”
- “This post is a lie.”
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