2025 System Upgrade FAQs

Updated: 3:00pm on Friday, November 7

Our System Upgrade was completed without incident and access to member services was successfully restored as scheduled on November 3^rd. It is difficult to convey the sheer scope of what the Credit Union Team has accomplished. The vast number of opportunities for this project to go awry are astounding, and this was no small accomplishment. From the start, one of our key objectives was to minimize the impact to our membership, and we believe we were successful.

Over the past 12 months our team worked to migrate the entirety of our member data to a much more modern and much more capable core data processing solution. This involved hundreds of meetings, the management and coordination of over forty separate vendor integrations, and over 35,000 hours of upgrade-specific effort including system testing, staff training and other preparatory effort.

We are elated and relieved to have the most challenging aspects of this project now behind us. Given the scope and complexity of this project, there were services that were impractical to fully test prior to going live and we are now working through the remaining, mostly isolated issues. We look forward to swiftly working through the stabilization period during which our team will focus on addressing any unexpected issues and adjusting to new functionality and efficiencies.

Thank you, again, for your patience as we navigated through the challenges this project entailed. Our investment has now positioned PFCU so that we may continue providing world-class service to our members with an enhanced set of resources. We will continue to share any noteworthy issues and new features here on this page as well as in our newsletter and other media as appropriate. If you develop any questions or concerns, please reach out for assistance at [email protected].

The System Upgrade Weekend will include some interruption to member service access between October 31 and November 3.

The PFCU Team has worked to minimize the impact of any inconvenience, however, it’s important to note:

Digital Banking

Mobile, Internet, and Telephone access will NOT BE AVAILABLE from 5:00 PM on October 31 through Monday, November 3, 2025.

Debit, Credit Cards

Support will remain available throughout the weekend, but available balances will be limited, and balance inquiries will not be available. Please ensure you plan ahead and have alternative means for payment should you reach the available limit threshold during the System Upgrade Weekend. Existing Credit and Debit cards will continue to work during upgrade weekend and thereafter.

Direct Deposit

All available Direct Deposit Transactions will be posted prior to the scheduled downtime Friday evening of the System Upgrade Weekend. After the System Upgrade, existing ACH Direct Deposit and Direct Debit transactions will be processed as they have been processed in the past.

Mobile Deposit

Mobile Deposit will NOT BE AVAILABLE from Friday evening until midday Monday of the System Upgrade Weekend.

Zelle

The Pittsford FCU Zelle service will NOT BE AVAILABLE from 10/31 until 11/18. You will need to re-register for Zelle after the service has been restored.

Bill-Pay

Payments will process as scheduled.

Checks

All checks already in members’ hands can continue to be used.

Members who have been with PFCU for 20 years may recall the way our system organized your Savings Accounts and Loans was once quite different. Our new system, specifically designed for credit unions, utilizes a structure similar to what we used to use.

Your existing “Member ID” will now be referred to as your “Member Account Number” which will be displayed on your account statements. Within your Account, you will have Shares (Savings, Checking and/or Certificates) and for some, Loans and Lines of Credit as well. Those various Loans and Shares will be identified with suffixes that relate to your Member Account Number.

While the change is significant, the good news is that it will be done automatically, behind the scenes. Members who have used our “Nickname” feature for their accounts will immediately recognize Shares and Loans by the description that is presented today in Mobile/Online banking, as well as on statements. If you would like to give your accounts nicknames, please contact us at (585) 624-7474, and our call center would be happy to assist you with getting those added. After just a few interactions, we’re confident the new structure will become familiar once again.

Also, while the account structure will change, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that your existing checks, ACH (Direct Deposit/Automatic Withdrawal) transactions, plastic cards, and Bill Pay transactions will continue to work as they do today. However, there are a few unique situations where we need to make adjustments, and any member in those rare situations will be contacted directly, in advance, to discuss a resolution.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these changes.

No, you will not need to re-register. You will be able to login as you usually would with your existing username and password.

No, you should not need to re-register. If you are unable to access Bill Pay, please call or email the credit union at 585-624-7474 or [email protected].

Our call center can assist in scheduling payments, adding payees, as well as providing any information you may need from your Bill Pay profile.

Following the System Upgrade, monthly statements will include each of the Savings, Checking, and Loans for which the addressee is the “tax reporting” or “primary” owner only. For Savings, Checking, and/or Loans that are jointly owned, additional owners will be identified with each specific share and/or loan included in the statement information. While this is a change for PFCU, this method is widely used by financial institutions (locally and otherwise) and better aligns with common practice. If you have questions or concerns after reviewing your November statements, we welcome your feedback.

HELOC and Mortgage Statements – Members will receive a partial letter at the end of October with transaction activity from mid-October. The November Billing Notices will only include the transactions from 11/1 through mid-November.

Escrow share information will now be included in the month end Account Statements. Escrow Balance information will no longer appear on the HELOC and Mortgage Billing Notices.

eStatements is now available in Digital Banking. If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email the credit union at 585-624-7474 or [email protected].

The Pittsford FCU Zelle service will NOT BE AVAILABLE from 10/31 until 11/18. You will need to re-register for Zelle after the service has been restored.

There are many potential causes, but the most likely reason is that you have a pending card transaction or transactions. When you present your card for payment, a request for authorization is sent to PFCU, and, if your balance is sufficient to allow the transaction to post, PFCU provides an authorization to the merchant, and the merchant completes your purchase. At that moment, PFCU also places a hold for the amount of the transaction, until we receive the completing transaction for your purchase from the merchant. During the period of time the hold is active, your account balance and your available balance will be different. The process of placing holds after providing transaction authorizations is new following our recent System Upgrade.

Members MUST re-register after the System Upgrade to continue utlizing the following services:

Telephone Banking
Transaction Alerts
Zelle

Instructions for registration will be provided when first logging into each of these systems after the System Upgrade is complete.

With the completion of our planned system upgrade on November 3, 2025, you may notice that the account for which you have named a beneficiary (to be payable upon your death) will no longer be described as “Totten Trust”.

As part of our process of migrating from our “old” system to our “new” system, we’re discontinuing the use of “Totten Trust” terminology. However, your beneficiary information remains intact, and there is no material change, other than no longer occasionally seeing the words “Totten Trust” associated with accounts which have an established beneficiary.

As this change is merely cosmetic, there is absolutely no action necessary on your part.

As we navigate the series of challenges the System Upgrade Weekend requires, please keep in mind that PFCU does not charge late fees. So if a payment is due on Friday, and system availability prevents you from accessing your account online until Tuesday, there is no fee, and there’s no negative impact to your credit score, etc. We will do everything we can to ensure the upgrade is not a cause for frustration or concern.

Fraud Risk Potential

During periods of scheduled downtime and interruption, those who wish to perpetrate fraud often prey on consumers, leveraging confusion surrounding disruption to create opportunity for wrong-doing.

Our members have shown amazing aptitude in recognizing odd phone calls and strange emails, and your vigilance will be extra important during our System Upgrade Weekend. Should you receive a call, email, or text that asks you for anything PFCU should already know, your personal warning bells should be blaring.

PFCU doesn’t need to confirm your PIN, password, birth date, or anything else – you’ve given us that information previously in a secure manner, and we don’t need you to tell us again.

If you have any doubts, reach out to our well-known, published phone number (585-624-7474) during regular business hours and be certain you are communicating with actual PFCU representatives. Your careful awareness is always appreciated, especially during our upcoming System Upgrade Weekend.

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