JACKSONVILLE, Fla – It has been nearly two weeks since VyStar began experiencing issues with online banking.
The system went down on May 13 for a planned conversion to a new platform -- the bank says all funds are secure.
Earlier this week, some members were able to get into their accounts after waiting in virtual lines of more than 10-thousand members.
Alison Rockwell says like a lot of people, her family lives day to day — especially as inflation is driving up basic costs.
“So we need to know what’s going you know, what’s gone through what is pending,” Rockwell said. “If we can afford to put gas in our car, buy groceries.”
But she says it close to impossible to see her money in VyStar online, “I logged on. And I was 74,584.”
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Rockwell said around 5:15 Thursday morning, there was a line of less than a thousand on the website, but then, “it redirected me and then just sat there and that swirling ball of just waiting, waiting, waiting,” Rockwell said. “And I never was able to connect this morning.”
She said been checking her balance using ATMS, but can’t see her transactions, only the balance.
News4JAX previously reported VyStar is using local banking tech firm Nymbus to launch the new platform -- selecting it as its digital banking partner a few months after investing $20 million in the company.
As the system lags, Adam Lee says he came to ATM to do his business during his lunch break rather than waiting in a queue of 21,000 people.
“I feel like they need to get their money back,” Lee said.
VyStar CEO, Brian Wolfburg, told News4JAX Tuesday that they’ve been working to design the new program over the past two years—and despite testing, when the program went live, it quote- “took on a higher load or computer usage than we had planned because more people came in at the same time.”
“We are allowing, you know, 200ish sign-ins every single minute,” Wolfburg said. “And we have about 1000 to 1500 members in the program at any one time.”
VyStar serves more than 800,000 members, according to its website — so that means as of Tuesday, well below one percent of customers could get on their accounts at any given time.
“That’s ridiculous,” VyStar member Paul Fejfar said. “I just think it’s ridiculous, you know, because it’s supposed to be one of the biggest banks out there, so I don’t understand how something like this could happen.”
Fejfar said he still cant get on the website Thursday.
On Tuesday, Wolfburg said they will loosen sign in restrictions to let more than 200 members sign in per minute.
Wolfburg said he expects VyStar to have a fully functional online and mobile banking system next week.