Albany

SEFCU's much-anticipated operating systems upgrade that required the credit union to close its branches over the weekend and until noon Monday was finally completed.

But some customers said Monday afternoon there were glitches in the new system — leading to complaints on social media.

And at least one of SEFCU's rivals tried to take advantage of the situation by offering SEFCU customers $100 to jump ship.

"All SEFCU members that open a Home Town Checking Account at Trustco Bank on Saturday, April 13th will get $100!" read a Trustco ad that ran Friday in the Times Union.

SEFCU's system upgrade began at 6 p.m. on Friday and was completed at noon on Monday. It was originally planned for February but had been pushed back to this past weekend.

Although customers were still able to withdraw money from ATMs and use their credit and debit cards, branches and online banking were closed during the upgrade process.

But right after SEFCU announced on its Facebook page just after noon that the system upgrade was complete, customers began to complain that they couldn't access their accounts online or through the SEFCU app. Many expressed dismay because it was tax day, when state and federal tax returns are due.

"When I go into app and online account, it will log me in and tell me my accounts aren't available," one customer posted to Facebook at about 12:21 p.m. "You are aware what day it is, correct?"

Another customer posted on Facebook: "What possibly possessed you to close all branches and online services the weekend before TAXES are due?"

A SEFCU spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the complaints, but on the credit union's Twitter account, SEFCU said the issues were related to the massive volume of customers going to the site.

"Due to the high number of members accessing accounts we are experiencing intermittent delays in accessing accounts. We are working to resolve this as fast as possible and apologize for any inconvenience," SEFCU tweeted just before 1 p.m.

Robert Leonard, executive vice president at Trustco, said the ad that ran Friday was effective and was targeted specifically for SEFCU's system upgrade.

"We had a lot of (SEFCU customers) that came over," Leonard said without mentioning specific numbers.

Trustco also ran another ad in the Times Union on Monday that pointed out that credit unions in general do not pay federal income taxes.

"While credit unions are laughing at us for paying our share of taxes, some are even asking for your money, so they can donate it and take all the recognition," the ad states. "We just thought you should know."

Leonard said that ad has prompted a lot of potential business as well, especially since it was targeted to run on Tax Day. Leonard said that the ad strikes a chord with the public.

"It's a shame, but that's the way the laws are written," Leonard said. "We just wanted to put some light on the issue."