How to change direct deposit for unemployment benefits - NYS Department of Labor

You can update your direct deposit through your my.ny.gov account. Log in and go to the 'Payment Information' section under your unemployment services. You'll need your new bank's routing number and account number. The change usually takes effect within 1-2 payment cycles, so if you have a payment coming soon it might still go to the old account.

same thing happened to me when chase closed my account! took forever to get it sorted out

If you can't access the online system, you can call NYS Department of Labor directly. However, getting through can be really difficult with their high call volume. I had to try calling dozens of times over several days. When I couldn't get through the normal way, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual agent quickly. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows exactly how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful.

MAKE SURE you keep your old account open until you confirm the new one is working!! I closed mine too early and had to wait weeks for a paper check. NYS Department of Labor doesn't make it easy to fix these things once they mess up.

You might also need to update your address if you moved banks, just saying. The whole my.ny.gov system is pretty clunky but it should work eventually.

I went through this exact situation last month! If you can't get through the verification questions online, you can also try visiting a local Department of Labor office in person. I know it's not convenient, but sometimes they can help you reset your account access or update the banking info directly. You can find office locations on the DOL website. Also, call your new bank and let them know you're expecting unemployment deposits - sometimes they can help flag your account to watch for any returned payments from your old account.

I went through this same headache a few months ago! One thing that really helped me was calling the NYS DOL technical support line specifically for website issues - it's different from the regular unemployment line and usually has shorter wait times. The number is on the my.ny.gov help page. They can sometimes reset your verification questions or walk you through alternative ways to access the payment section. Also, if you're really stuck and have a payment coming soon, you can request they put a temporary hold on direct deposit while you sort this out - better to get a paper check than have it bounce around between accounts. Just make sure to follow up because those holds don't automatically lift themselves.

I actually just went through this process last week and found a workaround that might help! If you're having trouble with the verification questions on my.ny.gov, try clearing your browser cache and cookies first, then use a different browser entirely. Sometimes the system gets glitchy with stored data. I had the same issue where it wouldn't accept my answers, but after switching from Chrome to Firefox and starting fresh, the verification worked perfectly. Also, make sure you're answering based on what you originally put on your unemployment application - sometimes people's answers change over time (like if you moved or changed jobs) but the system still expects your original responses. If that still doesn't work, the early morning phone call strategy others mentioned really is your best bet. I called at exactly 8:00 AM on a Tuesday and got through after just 5 minutes on hold. Good luck!

I just dealt with this issue myself about two weeks ago! If the verification questions aren't working for you online, there's actually a "forgot security answers" link that's pretty small and easy to miss - it's usually at the bottom of the verification page. That will let you reset your security questions using your email or phone number on file. Once I did that, I was able to get into the Payment Information section and update my direct deposit. The whole process took maybe 10 minutes once I found that link. If you still can't get in that way, definitely try the 8am phone call strategy - I had to do that for a different issue and it really does work better than calling during busy hours. Also, since your old account is already closed, you might want to check if NYS DOL has your current mailing address in case they need to send you a paper check while this gets sorted out. Better safe than sorry!