NY unemployment tourism recovery debit card issues - can't use online or with Google Pay

I had the EXACT same problem last week! After 3 failed attempts trying to use the virtual card online (wasted hours of my life), I finally requested the physical card. Got it in about 5 business days and it works fine at stores. Still annoying that you have to wait though when they advertised the virtual option as being 'convenient'... 🙄

Thanks for confirming! Did you have to call someone to request the physical card or is there some online form? And 5 days isn't terrible I guess...

There's actually a workaround I found without waiting for the plastic card. You need to call the number on the virtual card notification and have them enable online purchases specifically. They have some extra security measures in place for fraud prevention that need to be manually disabled. Had the same issue and fixed it with a 10-minute phone call.

lol good luck reaching anyone by phone! i tried calling about my regular unemployment last month and was on hold for TWO HOURS before getting disconnected!!

wait can someone explain what this tourism recovery program is? i work in hospitality and lost my job last month, am i eligible for this in addition to regular unemployment?

The NY Tourism Recovery Program is for people who worked in tourism/hospitality sectors and were affected by the business closures in late 2024. You need to have worked at a qualifying business between September 2024-December 2024 and experienced reduced hours or job loss. You can apply through your regular unemployment portal - look for the section called

I just got my virtual card yesterday after waiting 3 weeks for my tourism recovery claim to process! Now I'm worried I'll have the same problem. Has anyone successfully used the virtual card ANYWHERE? Or is getting the plastic one the only real option?

I was able to use mine at physical stores by adding it to Samsung Pay (not Google Pay). For some reason Google Pay doesn't work with these cards but Samsung does. If you have a Samsung phone, you could try that instead of waiting for plastic. Hope this helps!

another great example of NY unemployment making things WAY more complicated than they need to be! why cant they just deposit the money directly to our accounts like regular benefits?? the whole card system is just another way to make it harder to actually GET our money!!!

I agree! Direct deposit would make so much more sense. I don't understand why they need this special card system for the tourism recovery funds when they already have our direct deposit info for regular benefits.

So I tried calling the number on my virtual card twice today and couldn't get through to anybody. Been sitting on hold forever. Has anyone found a faster way to talk to someone about these cards?

Try using Claimyr.com - I used it last month when I was having issues with my claims and it got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE. Basically they hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. Saved me so much frustration with these tourism recovery card issues!

Here's the official process for anyone struggling with these cards:\n\n1) For online shopping issues: The virtual cards require pre-registration for online merchants. Call the card services number and select option 3, then 2 for \

Thank you SO much for this detailed information! Just followed your instructions and requested my physical card. Really appreciate you taking the time to spell everything out clearly.

UPDATE: Finally got this resolved! I ended up requesting the physical card through the portal as someone mentioned above. Takes about a week but now I can actually use the money. For anyone else dealing with this - don't waste time trying to make the virtual card work for online shopping or transfers, just request the plastic one right away.

typical government inefficiency lol. glad u got it worked out tho!