Russell Simmons’ RushCard Has Tech Error, Users Can’t Access Their Money

The glitch happened during a "technology transition" and while many users have had the issues resolved, today marks the eighth day that RushCard owners have been unable to get money from their account. RushCard was founded in 2003 as an alternative for people who don't have accounts with traditional banks and credit cards. According to the Federal Deposit Corporation, the people that fit that description tend to be "non-Asian minorities" who are "lower-income, younger and unemployed."

According to Buzzfeed, RushCard was undergoing a scheduled maintenance check on Oct. 12 and by Oct. 13, scheduled direct deposits (RushCard obtains direct deposits two days earlier than traditional banks) weren't reaching accounts and users had $0 balance. Since then, there has been an outcry from users on social media who claim that they are being treated poorly by customer service reps and, upsettingly, claims that people cannot put food on their tables or pay bills due to the error:

Simmons has also been vocal on Twitter:

Below is the full statement from RushCard CEO Rick Savard:

In an ongoing effort to upgrade and create new services for our customers, RushCard underwent a technology transition to a new transaction processing partner last Monday morning. During this process, many of our customers were adversely affected when the technology that was used to transition their accounts did not work as planned.

To those impacted, we can’t begin to express both how sorry we are for the hardships that you’ve experienced and our commitment to making this right.

At this time, our system is up and running and we are processing deposits and transactions. A small number of accounts are still in an inactive state. We have set up command centers in NYC and Cincinnati to begin outreach to those who remain affected. RushCard employees are working around the clock to get every single customer full access to their funds.

As a thank you to our customers for sticking with us and to support their cash needs during the upcoming Holiday season, we’ve declared a Fee Holiday period from November 1, 2015 to February 29, 2016. Customers can use their RushCards without incurring any fees from our Fee Schedule without taking any extra steps to participate in this special offer. For more details, visit https://blog.rushcard.com/rushcard-fee-holiday/”

We are not done yet. You will hear more from us in the coming days about how we will continue to make good on our customers’ trust.

We want you to know how much we appreciate your loyalty and continued commitment to our company.