Nottingham City Council is aware of a national technical issue currently affecting Prepaid Financial Services (PFS/EML), the provider responsible for issuing Direct Payments via prepaid cards.
This issue is impacting the ability of some users to make payments using their prepaid cards. It may also affect care providers and personal assistants expecting to receive payments for services. In addition, the Council has limited access to the system to top up funds or issue new payments.
PFS/EML has issued the following statement on their website:
“We are currently experiencing an incident which is impacting some users accessing the cardholder portal. If you are affected, please be assured we are working hard to restore service. Please be aware this also affects call centre staff accessing your account details. Please check here for further updates. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
Due to the ongoing issues, the Council has taken the precautionary decision to delay the scheduled Direct Payment transfer due Friday 25 July. This is to ensure that funds reach recipients successfully once the system is fully operational. We anticipate that payments will reach accounts next week.
We understand the concern this may cause and sincerely apologise for the disruption. We are in close contact with PFS/EML and are actively exploring contingency arrangements to support those affected.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. For the latest updates, please visit the PFS Service Status page.
If you require immediate assistance, please contact PFS/EML Customer Services on 0207 127 8160.
Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.