Federal regulators are probing hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons' debit card startup

Federal regulators are probing the technical failures at RushCard, the prepaid debit card startup founded by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.

A statement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday revealed the regulator is looking into why, for more than a week, some consumers who rely on RushCard have been unable to access funds.

"The CFPB is taking direct action to get to the bottom of this situation that may have harmed thousands of innocent consumers already," said CFPB director Richard Cordray.

It added that it had engaged in discussions with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Trade Commission "to ensure a comprehensive response that addresses the situation quickly and holds accountable all of the parties involved to make consumers whole."

UniCard, which is RushCard's parent company, did not respond to a request seeking comment. For his part, Russell Simmons has taken to Twitter to calm customers:  Some RushCard users continued to call the company's assurances into question on social media however. 

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