Desjardins says Visa payment delay is fixed

MONTREAL: Desjardins Group said Monday that a delay in processing credit card payments sent to Visa cards held at other financial institutions has been fixed, but some members are still reporting problems after the cooperative’s multi-day overhaul of its credit card management system.

A Desjardins spokesperson, Jean-Benoit Turcotti, told Montreal radio station 98.5 FM that the company observed a delay in the processing of those payments. “Good news, it is now resolved,” Turcotti said in French. He said the payments have now reached the other institutions, which can process them using the original payment dates.

The search term “desjardins” drew an estimated 5,000 or more searches in Canada on Monday, according to Google Trends, making it the most-searched Canadian topic of the day. Quebec media including 98.5 FM and Le Droit have run stories on member frustration over the past several days.

The credit card system work was announced in a Sept. 22 news release that set a maintenance period from Oct. 12 to 20. Desjardins said at the time the work was part of the modernization of its credit card management system and would enable new technological capabilities meant to make the experience simpler.

During that period, Desjardins said, card purchases, payments, account viewing and the replacement or suspension of lost or stolen cards by phone would keep working. It listed several features that would be unavailable: credit limit increases, changes to contact information, PIN changes, choosing a PIN when activating a new card, exchanging or adjusting rewards and BONIDOLLARS, and replacing defective cards.

The release did not mention any compensation, credits or fee waivers for affected members. It said members could find information at desjardins.com/modernisation or call 1-855-878-2973. It also warned that Desjardins will not contact cardholders to ask for personal information related to the modernization step, a reminder that matters when a high-profile system change can attract scam attempts.

The maintenance was completed Oct. 20, according to a report by SSBCrack News, which said customers have continued to report problems since, particularly with payments made through the AccèsD online platform. That outlet did not name Desjardins sources or give figures for how many members are affected, and Desjardins has not published a count.

The 98.5 FM report said that, even after the Visa payment fix, several clients still have trouble managing their bank accounts. It said some payments to Visa credit cards were still not showing as of the report, which raised concerns among members about late payments and possible harm to credit scores. Turcotti’s update addressed the Visa payment delay specifically, and it is not yet clear whether the broader account-management problems have been resolved. The fix announced Monday rests on Desjardins’ own account.

The episode follows an earlier dispute over AccèsD. In March, Desjardins reversed part of a platform update that had changed how credit card balances were displayed, after a petition by a member, Audrey-Anne Simard, collected more than 16,000 signatures, according to Noovo. Desjardins said at the time that the changes had caused confusion and that it had listened to members’ feedback.

Cardholders worried about a missed or late payment can ask their issuer to confirm the date a payment was received. Under Desjardins’ account of the fix, payments sent to other institutions’ Visa cards should be processed using their original payment dates, though members should check their statements. Anyone who finds a late fee or interest charge linked to the delay can contact Desjardins directly at the number above.

The story comes as Canadian households face other pressures on their cards and credit. Rogers recently said it will charge a 1.6 per cent fee on credit card bill payments, and the Bank of Canada is set to announce its next rate decision Oct. 28, with several big banks now expecting a hike. Separately, Loblaw’s CEO apologized to about two million customers over a data breach.

This is a developing story. Canada News Media will update it if Desjardins issues further statements or confirms whether all affected payments have been corrected. Reporting via 98.5 FM, Desjardins and SSBCrack News.

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