Got my ny unemployment debit card but there's no money on it - what gives?

Same exact thing happened to me last month. When I checked the portal it said payments were sent but NOTHING on the card. I had to call them like 30 times before getting through. Turns out they had sent the money to my old card from 2019 that I no longer had. The agent had to cancel that card and reissue the payments to my new one. Took another 5 business days but finally got it. Keep calling!

After trying to call the ny unemployment office for DAYS with no luck I found this service called claimyr.com that got me talking to a real person in about an hour. They sorted out my card issue right away - turns out they had the wrong routing number in the system! Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast and saved me weeks of stress. They have video testimonials too: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

Check if your account is set to direct deposit instead of the debit card. Mine did the same thing and it turns out they sent $ to a closed bank account even tho they sent me a card 🤦‍♂️

This is EXACTLY why the unemployment system is trash. They expect people to just magically figure out where their money is. I had a similar issue and turns out there was a "payment hold" on my account for "identity verification" but no one bothered to tell me! You need to get someone on the phone ASAP. Don't wait for them to fix it automatically because they won't.

OMG I'M DEALING WITH THIS RIGHT NOW TOO!!! Card came yesterday with ZERO balance but my account shows $2240 in approved payments! Called KeyBank and they said I need to talk to unemployment directly, but I literally cannot get through on the phone lines. Been trying for 3 days straight, constantly busy signal or it hangs up on me after waiting for an hour. IDK what to do!!!

So here's what you actually need to do (I work with people dealing with unemployment issues): First, double-check your online account to verify the payment method. Many times people select direct deposit during application but then still get sent a card automatically. Second, check if there are any action items in your online portal. Sometimes there's a hold that requires additional verification. Third, you MUST speak with an agent to resolve this. The regular phone lines are notoriously difficult to get through. Many of my clients have had success using claimyr.com to get connected to an agent without waiting on hold for hours. Fourth, when you do speak with someone, ask specifically: 1) Where were the payments sent? 2) Is there a hold on your account? 3) What specific steps need to be taken to release funds? Fifth, get the agent's name and ID number, and take detailed notes of your conversation. Unfortunately, this is extremely common with NY unemployment. The system is overwhelmed and these payment issues happen regularly. The key is getting to a live person who can actually look at your specific case and fix it.

Did you activate the card properly? Sometimes the activation doesn't go through even if you think it did.

call keybank directly at 866-295-2955. sometimes its a bank issue not unemployment.

Could be direct deposit is still active from a previous claim. If yoU've ever filed before and used direct deposit, they might still be sending it there even if you got a card.

I bet theyre holding your payments for 'security reasons' and didnt bother to tell you. classic ny unemployment nonsense 🤡

Sometimes it takes 24-48 hours after you get the card for the money to show up. mine was like that but the funds appeared two days later

The same thing legit just happened to me! Turns out they were sending my payments to an old bank account even though I specifically requested the debit card. Had to call and have them reroute everything. Such a pain!

Just chatted with a rep online about a similar issue. If your payments arent on the card after showing as "released" online, it usually means one of three things: 1. They went to a different payment method (bank account) 2. There's a fraud hold on your account 3. The payment is still processing (rare if it says released) You NEED to speak with someone. Try calling right when they open at 8am.

is your name spelled exactly the same on the card as on your claim? my friend had this issue and it was because her middle initial was on the card but not on her claim or something stupid like that

Check your spam folder for emails from NYSDOL. They might have sent you an identity verification request that you missed. If you don't respond to those, they'll release the payment but put a hold on accessing it.

This exact same thing happened to my sister last month! She got her card but zero balance even though the online portal showed payments were "released." Turns out there was an identity verification hold that nobody told her about. She had to upload additional documents through the online portal and then call to have the hold removed. The whole process took about 10 days but she finally got all her back payments. Check your online account for any pending action items or document requests - sometimes they're buried in the notifications section and easy to miss!

This happened to me too! The frustrating part is that NY unemployment doesn't send any notification when there's an issue with your payment method. In my case, I had to dig through my online account and found that my direct deposit information from 2 years ago was still active in the system, so they were sending payments there instead of to my new card. The bank account was closed so the payments just bounced back into limbo. I ended up having to call multiple times to get it sorted out - first to cancel the old direct deposit, then to have them reissue the payments to my card. The whole process took about 2 weeks but I did eventually get all the back payments. Definitely don't wait for it to resolve itself - you need to get on the phone with someone ASAP to figure out exactly where your money went.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Got my card yesterday and it's completely empty even though my online account shows $936 in released payments over the past two weeks. This is so stressful when you're already struggling financially. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like this is unfortunately super common with NY unemployment. I'm going to try calling first thing tomorrow morning at 8am when they open, and if I can't get through I might have to try that claimyr service people keep mentioning. It's ridiculous that we have to jump through all these hoops just to access money we're entitled to! Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone and there are potential solutions.

I went through this exact same nightmare 2 months ago! My card showed $0 but the portal said $1,200 in payments were released. After reading horror stories online about people waiting weeks to get through, I was dreading the calling process. I tried the regular number for 3 days straight with no luck - either busy signals or getting disconnected after hours on hold. Finally broke down and used that claimyr service everyone mentions (was skeptical at first but desperation won). Got connected to an actual human in about 90 minutes and turns out there was a "fraud prevention hold" on my account that nobody bothered to notify me about. The agent removed it immediately and said my payments would appear on the card within 24-48 hours. Sure enough, all the money showed up 2 days later. Definitely don't wait it out - these issues don't resolve themselves and the longer you wait, the more stressful it gets when bills are piling up!

This is such a common and frustrating issue with NY unemployment! I went through something similar a few months ago where my card showed $0 even though payments were marked as "released" online. In my case, it turned out they had automatically set up direct deposit to my old checking account from a previous claim, even though I specifically requested the debit card this time. The old account was closed so the payments just bounced around in limbo. I had to call multiple times to get them to cancel the direct deposit and reissue everything to the card. The whole process took about 10 days but I did eventually get all my back payments. My advice: don't wait for it to magically fix itself - you need to speak with an agent to figure out exactly where your money went. Try calling right at 8am when they open, or if you can't get through after a few days, that claimyr service people mentioned might be worth trying. Also check your online account thoroughly for any hidden notifications or action items that might explain the hold. Good luck!