NY unemployment pay card arrived empty - waiting since November with no funds

This is actually a pretty common issue with the KeyBank cards. Sometimes there's a disconnect between your claim being approved and the funds actually getting loaded. Have you been able to speak with a live agent yet? They need to manually link your card to your benefits account in some cases. Try calling the NYSDOL claims center at 888-209-8124, though be prepared for a long wait.

Check if your card is actually activated. I got my card but didnt realize I had to call the number on the sticker to activate it first. My money was approved but card showed $0 until I activated it properly. Also make sure your logging into the right KeyBank account some people make new accounts by accident instead of using the DOL-provided one.

My sister went through something similar last month. Turns out there was an 'identity verification issue' that nobody bothered to tell her about! Check your message inbox on the NY.gov account - might be something in there they never notified you about. It's ridiculous how they expect people to just figure this out on their own.

I hate to say this, but I had the SAME EXACT PROBLEM back in November-December!!! The only way I finally got it resolved was getting through to an actual person at unemployment. I tried for DAYS with no luck - always busy signals or disconnected calls. Finally used a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an agent within 20 minutes. Best $20 I ever spent when I was at my wit's end. Once I actually spoke to someone, they found that my payments were 'pending review' for no apparent reason, and the agent pushed them through to my card within 48 hours. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - legit saved my sanity.

keybank cards are the WORST!! i got one last year and it had $0 on it for almost a month. keep calling and dont give up. sometimes the automated system will say processing but really there's some stupid flag on your account. wish they would just direct deposit like normal people!!

Did u certify every week still even tho u weren't getting paid? Cuz if u missed certifying it could mess up everything. Also sometimes tax withholding gets weird and it looks like $0 but really they're just holding it all for taxes which isn't right.

Another thing to check - log into your NY.gov account and make sure your claim status is actually 'approved' and not 'pending' or 'under review.' If it says approved but no money is on the card, that's definitely a technical issue they need to fix. You might want to also check if there are any outstanding questionnaires or documents they're waiting for - sometimes these aren't obvious unless you click through all the sections of your account.

Unfortunately, I think the person who suggested reaching an agent is right. This sounds like a technical issue where your approved claim isn't connecting properly with the payment system. The only real fix is having someone on the inside look at your specific claim. I had a similar issue in January, and after finally reaching an agent, they told me there was a 'payment block' that had been automatically applied due to a system error. It took the agent about 5 minutes to remove it once I actually got someone on the phone, and my payment was processed the next day. Keep trying to call early in the morning (right when they open) or try that service the other person mentioned if you're desperate. Once resolved, I strongly recommend switching to direct deposit to avoid future KeyBank issues.

dont forget to check ur mail too cuz sometimes they send letters asking for more info but never put it in ur online account!! happened to my roommate and he almost lost benefits cuz he didnt send some random form back in time

Just wanted to follow up - did you ever get this resolved? I'm curious if calling early in the morning worked for you or if you ended up trying another approach.

Glad you got it fixed! The school district thing is actually common - the system automatically flags education workers for additional review because of different eligibility rules during school breaks. The problem is they never TELL people about these holds. At least you got your backpay!