The Federal Reserve has fined Walmart-linked Green Dot Corp. $44 million after customers lost access to funds.

Green Dot Corp., a company that partners with Walmart to sell the retail giant’s prepaid debit cards, has been fined $44 million by the Federal Reserve for “numerous” alleged failures that harmed consumers over a period of at least five years.

In a statement issued on Friday, feed it He said Austin-based Green Dot violated consumer protection law and engaged in unfair and deceptive practices that left users unable to access their own funds.

Federal Reserve Bank Has been chosen Instances of alleged wrongdoing by Green Dot beginning in 2017 and continuing through December 2022 included failing to properly close accounts and assess fees on them, denying certain customers access to funds and providing those customers with inadequate ways to remedy the situation.

It also said Green Dot failed to notify customers that they could no longer register debit cards over the phone after the company discontinued the service, and that it failed to properly disclose fees it charged while partnering on tax refund deposits with TurboTax.

In addition to the fine, Green Dot is required to implement several new compliance efforts that must be approved by Fed regulators.

Last year, NBC News reported on the problems faced by Green Dot card users that extended beyond the timeline set by the Fed, with affected customers describing “nightmare” scenarios in August 2023 of not being able to pay bills on time because they couldn’t access their funds in time.

A Green Dot spokesperson said most of the issues identified in the NBC News reports were the result of a system upgrade.

In a statement issued on Friday,Green Dot CEO George Gresham said the company was “pleased to confirm that the approval order has been finalized.”

“This is a practice that has been in place for years, and we have taken and will continue to take meaningful steps to correct and address these issues, including significant updates to our processes, product packaging, marketing, management team and compliance programs,” Gresham said.

“We are committed to working closely and partnering with our regulators to ensure that all concerns outlined in the Consent Order are addressed and complied with and that our customers are well served and protected on an ongoing basis. As stewards of our customers’ valuable resources, we take this commitment and responsibility very seriously.”

Green Dot indicated in March that it would take executive action as part of its first-quarter earnings report.

Representatives for Walmart and Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.