FirstLight Federal Credit Union’s computer glitch is fixed

Mid-morning Nov. 27, 2013 Update:

Statement from FirstLight Federal Credit Union: FirstLight Federal Credit Union has confirmed that systems have been up and running since yesterday at 5:00 p.m. and regular operations have returned to all branch and online services.

“Computer systems that experienced a major hardware failure on Monday evening that continued until Tuesday afternoon have been corrected and services have returned to normal”, said Karl Murphy, FirstLight Federal Credit Union President/CEO.

Problems arose with our computer system; however, member accounts and funds were always secure and no breach of information occurred.

All transactions that were handled manually by branch or call center staff have now been posted to member accounts. All payrolls from outside employers and bill payments through our online system have been updated and are reflected in member accounts. Managers and staff worked throughout the night to update and verify the accuracy of member account information.

We are working with individual members and businesses to remedy any extended concerns our system downtime may have caused. It is our goal to avoid any related fees associated with this downtime and encourage members to review their accounts for accuracy of information. The best avenue for members to access their accounts is through our online banking system.

Staff will be readily available in each of our branches on Wednesday, 11/27 and we will remain open for normal business hours Friday, 11/29 and Saturday 11/30. We will continue to monitor the system through the holiday weekend.

“FirstLight would like to thank our members for their patience and those who voiced their concerns.

We understand the inconvenience this has caused and are committed to providing you the best possible service available. We apologize for the inconvenience and assure you that we are taking appropriate long-term measures to improve,” Murphy said.

Editor’s Note: FirstLight’s website had the technical difficulties message on its site until Wednesday morning and FirstLight on Tuesday night did not inform ABC-7 that the back system was back up.

Nov. 26, 2013 Story: If you bank with FirstLight Federal Credit Union you may have noticed some big problems with your account this week.

Monday and Tuesday, account holder’s haven’t been able to access their accounts or put money into their accounts. They can still make withdrawals but only under certain conditions.

Bank officials say the problem is with its service provider. They’re not able to see the account information of their account holders.

The biggest problem for people is this: If you’re trying to cash a check or make a deposit into your account you can’t.

FirstLight FCU has branch locations in El Paso and Las Cruces.

The bank markets to military families with half of its El Paso branches located on Fort Bliss, William Beaumont or in the Northeast.

On Tuesday, ABC-7 found dozens of account holders trying to do business but were turned away.

ABC-7 spoke with FirstLight’s vice-president who says their technical crews are working around the clock to fix the problem.

He says he hopes to have things back up and running soon – and the bank will process credits to members’ accounts first before subtracting the debits.

Here’s what you need to know if you have an account with first light:

You can still make purchases with your debit card if you select that it be processed as “credit.”
You can withdraw money from ATMs up to $200 dollars.
If you go to a first light branch – you can use the atm there like normal.
If you don’t have your debit card and have to get cash from the bank teller – you’re only allowed to get one-hundred-dollars total.

For account holders who could potentially not be able to do business at all this holiday week if things continue into tomorrow – it’s a huge problem.

ABC-7 asked the vice president earlier how the bank would address overdrafts for its customers since they can’t manage their accounts like normal.
He says each one of those will be dealt with case-by-case.