The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered VyStar to pay the civil penalty to the watchdog’s victims relief fund. It has also told the credit union to make sure that all members that incurred fees and costs as a result of the problems are "made whole". In 2022 VyStar, which has over 980,000 members, attempted to install a new online banking platform in an operation that was expected to see services unavailable for a few days. The new system crashed upon launch because, says the CFPB, VyStar brought it online prematurely and failed to establish or follow critical processes to ensure its success. The platform was taken offline soon after and then relaunched but it then lacked key banking services, some of which were not restored for months. This left some members unable to manage their accounts, charged late fees when their online bill payments did not go through, and in many cases unable to access their funds. “VyStar and its senior management bungled the credit union’s rollout of a new banking system and left customers stranded without online access to their accounts,” says CFPB director Rohit Chopra. “VyStar’s careless errors inflicted financial harm on their credit union members.” Todd Harper, chairman, National Credit Union Administration, adds: “Credit unions must prioritise their members, yet Vystar’s due diligence fell far short of what was required for completing a successful conversion of the credit union’s mobile and online banking platforms. “These management failures resulted in consumer harm over the course of not just weeks but months, as well as safety and soundness problems like strategic, reputational, legal, and compliance risks.”