When trying to import a QFX file from TransAmerica I get a "This FI is inactive, we cannot connect"

Unknown · December 2016

My employer uses TransAmerica for our 401(k). They are not included in the list of financial institutions in Quicken, however you can download a QFX file from their website. The issue is, when I try to import the file into Quicken (2017 for Mac), I get an error that says "This FI is inactive, we cannot connect."

Any ideas or tips to make this work? I actually tried just manually entering the info, but that is a headache and never comes out right...

Quicken Colin · December 2016

Financial institutions decide if they support Quicken and, if they do, which versions. If they have opted to support on Quicken for Windows then you won't be be able to import that into Quicken for Mac. I would suggest reaching out to the institution and asking, specifically, if they support Quicken for Mac. If not, tell them that as a customer this is a feature you'd like to see for your account.

Douglas Potts · December 2016

I have the same issue, but the difference is that while I am unable to
import into Quicken, I am able to import the same file into SEE
Financial app. This tells me the file is OK, but that Quicken is
checking to see if the FI has paid Intuit (or should I say, In To It?

, and the flag is preventing the import?

Unknown · January 2017

Not windows? Specific support for Quicken for Mac??? Why in heck would Intuit create 2 different file types that financial institution have to conform to? It just a qfx file, the format should be the same! Why overcomplicate things?

splasher · January 2017

@Hans
There isn't two different file types, there is only one file type of the .QFX file.

It is the FI that decides if they want to be a participating Quicken partner and that participation if at the OS level, so they could sign up for Quicken for Windows and NOT Quicken for Mac.

If your FI supports Windows and not Mac, you only have the FI to complain to, it is not Quicken's fault.

BTW, while Intuit started this policy, Quicken is no longer any part of Intuit, it is Quicken, Inc now.

Unknown · January 2017

Does not follow. If qfx is same as it should be, at what point does the OS make a difference in the transfer of an identical file using the identical format?

Unknown · January 2017

The OS makes a difference because the financial institution says so, not because of what is in the file.

This is also the answer to why the SEE application will import the QFX and Quicken won't.

Quicken Inc has a "partnership" with these financial institutions. That means that they have contracts and fees that are involved. The financial institution decides if they want to support Quicken and can make that decision based on if they want to support Window or Mac or both.

SEE doesn't have a partnership with these financial institutions. It just takes the QFX file and imports it. And doesn't care if the financial institution has approved it or not.

And of course this is "financial" to Quicken Inc, it is a source of income.
It takes a lot of resources to support talking to all the financial institutions and "keeping the channels" open.

SEE is piggybacking on Quicken Incs work. If it wasn't for Quicken being around most financial institutions wouldn't bother creating the QFX file in the first place.

Douglas Potts · January 2017

In response to your problem, there is a workaround, if you're comfortable modifying the QFX file.

You can open the QFX file with a text editor, and you will see that it has a series of tags, such as this: <Tag>

Look for:

<FID>{some text}
</FI>
<INTU.BID>{some text}

or:

<FID>{some text}</FI><INTU.BID>{some text}

and replace the {some text} with 10898:

<FID>10898
</FI>
<INTU.BID>10898

Save the file with the .qfx extension. You should be able to import it now. Quicken may ask you to link accounts found in the QFX file with those you may already have in Quicken.

10898 is a valid Financial Institution (FI) code (Chase Bank).

Unknown · January 2017

Yes Douglas Potts that will work. I just tend to be reluctant to post it on Quicken Inc's own website. And there is the fact that you are now "piggybacking" on Chase Bank's support costs....

Unknown · January 2017

Then again I'm not sure why I'm reluctant to post the workaround. I know that one Quicken Inc employee has stated they assume some people will use such a workaround. And on the Windows side there is a workaround for importing QIF files into account types other than cash and liability accounts that is even posted in a few FAQs.

Unknown · January 2017

There is no inherent reason why a file transfer to Windows is any different than to a Unix Mac unless it's designed that way, or an additional license might be required.

& I haven't used SEE so I can't speak on it. I had dropped Quicken for awhile trying others. I don't like needing virtual Windows to run it.

I do find the QFX & qif issues another problem that I can't fathom a reason for existing outside of designed that way. It's their own formats.

Eventually someone would have created a standard for banks, probly Microsoft.

Unknown · January 2017

"There is no inherent reason why a file transfer to Windows is any
different than to a Unix Mac unless it's designed that way, or an
additional license might be required."

This is exactly why it is that way. There isn't a difference in the file itself.
Intuit and now Quicken Inc have an agreement with the financial institutions their "participating partners". Each financial institution decides what they want to support. That can be both Mac and Windows, or it can be one or there other, and they can even change it from year to year.

Quicken is enforcing that agreement, along with the agreement they have with you, through blocking services that have not been agreed to.
The agreement they have with you is that you can download transactions for 3 years, but no longer. That agreement includes importing QFX file.

As for the "standards". Well in fact that is one of the BIG reasons why doing this kind of software is so hard. The financial institutions won't agree to any standard.
At least not all of them.

The OFX standard, which QFX is just Quicken's variation of can be found here:
http://www.ofx.net/

This standard is "Direct Connect", which includes "requests" and "responses". The OFX/QFX file you seen on the financial institution's websites are nothing more than the "response" that would have been sent for a request for the transactions.

This standard was setup by Intuit, Microsoft, CheckFree, and the financial institution.
The problem is that at the height of adoption, only about 4,500 financial institutions adopted it. There are over 30,000 financial institutions in the US alone.
That number is now down to about 2,500.

And Microsoft dropped out of this years ago.

Unknown · January 2017

"There is no inherent reason why a file transfer to Windows is any
different than to a Unix Mac unless it's designed that way, or an
additional license might be required."

This is exactly why it is that way. There isn't a difference in the file itself.
Intuit and now Quicken Inc have an agreement with the financial institutions their "participating partners". Each financial institution decides what they want to support. That can be both Mac and Windows, or it can be one or there other, and they can even change it from year to year.

Quicken is enforcing that agreement, along with the agreement they have with you, through blocking services that have not been agreed to.
The agreement they have with you is that you can download transactions for 3 years, but no longer. That agreement includes importing QFX file.

As for the "standards". Well in fact that is one of the BIG reasons why doing this kind of software is so hard. The financial institutions won't agree to any standard.
At least not all of them.

The OFX standard, which QFX is just Quicken's variation of can be found here:
http://www.ofx.net/

This standard is "Direct Connect", which includes "requests" and "responses". The OFX/QFX file you seen on the financial institution's websites are nothing more than the "response" that would have been sent for a request for the transactions.

This standard was setup by Intuit, Microsoft, CheckFree, and the financial institution.
The problem is that at the height of adoption, only about 4,500 financial institutions adopted it. There are over 30,000 financial institutions in the US alone.
That number is now down to about 2,500.

And Microsoft dropped out of this years ago.

Unknown · January 2017

Doing web searches & getting confirmation that Intuit, now Quicken is a proprietary product that deliberately hamstrings their product to force banks to pay extra to send the identical file to either Windows or Mac, then tells customers that it's the bank's fault not Quicken's, that we customers should call the banks to complain that they need to ante up to Quicken to allow the identical file to be sent to Quicken's product albeit a different flavor.

Confirming why I left Intuit/Quicken in the 1st place for other products.

It's one thing to earn money it's another to sabotage their own product to force higher payments from banks using customers as hostages.

Someone out there from Quicken, how are my conclusions wrong? Please explain why the falvor of your product matters for importing an identical xml-like file?

Unknown · January 2017

Quicken Colin,

How about Quicken allow customers to read your proprietary qfx files regardless of whether using Windows or a Mac? If you want to charge more fees from banks, that's your job not ours.

Douglas Potts · January 2017

QuickenPerlWiz - I see you took down my solution to this problem, even though the content wasn't inappropriate, nor was it private information (the two reasons getsatisfaction says are good reasons.) You claimed it was "Circumventing policies with participating financial institutions." How can an individual circumvent a policy between Quicken and an FI? They can't. They are a third-party, and not constrained by policies between Quicken and their FI.

f o, if you want a solution, email me at [Edited Personal Info]

By the way QuickenPerlWiz, in all of the material that was presented to me when I made my decision to purchase Quicken 17 for Mac, there was nothing that said I needed to have continual internet access in order to import files.

To Hans' point above, Quicken is holding the functionality of an application purchased by customer hostage, in exchange for ransom from an FI.

NotACPA · January 2017

QPW isn't a moderator. Only the moderators (Quicken employees) can take down messages.
AND, you agreed to the terms of service both when you installed Q and when you joined this forum. If you don't like what you agreed to, then discontinue the use of both.

Unknown · January 2017

Not sure what you think Potts violated? He's unhappy and says so. Is that a violation of the agreement?

I too was never aware that you needed an internet connection in order to import files, even ones you've already saved locally. Where is that caveat?

Douglas Potts · January 2017

NotACPA, the email I received from getsatisfaction stated that QPW was the one who removed the post.

NotACPA · January 2017

Re-read that message. QPW may have filed the complaint, but users (such as QuickPerlWiz) and even SuperUsers (such as myself) don't have the ability to remove messages from this forum.

Unknown · January 2017

I didn't file any complaint. And I had no part in the removal of any message, including my own, which were removed because they referenced your messages.

Whatever tags or such that were put on the messages that were removed probably have more to do with how GetStatisfaction works than anything else.

@Hans "Not sure what you think Potts violated? He's unhappy and says so. Is that a violation of the agreement?"

Potts posted a "hack" to get around how Quicken suppose to work.

Stating you don't like the way Quicken works is fine, but trying to post hacks on making Quicken work differently on a Quicken Inc site, certainly falls an area of violating the terms of the use of this site.

It is sort like believing that hackers should be able to post how to breaking to a Windows machine on a Microsoft forum.

Douglas Potts · January 2017

My apologies to QuickenPerlWiz, as you didn't remove my post! Sorry for stating so.

Unknown · January 2017

Apology accepted. :-)

Unknown · January 2017

I did not read any hack, only an offer to provide a solution if someone emailed him.

As for the argument that this failure to transfer QFX files is all due to bank institution not supporting Mac, pardon but it's a scam to make the customer - me - complain to the bank to pay up to Quicken to "allow" the import of an identical file that works perfectly fine in Windows flavor. This is a Quicken situation that they created. The idea that an identical file is treated differently & requires a separate fee that a customer knows nothing about but has to tell his or her bank to ante up is not only disingenuous but flat out wrong.

I work in the medical field with medical images using a standard called DICOM. We have viewers for the digital images. The idea that I cannot open an image because a vendor who created your CT image cannot be viewed because it depends whether the same company's viewer is running on a Windows machine or a Mac and said vendor did not pay an ongoing fee to the image viewer vendor for a Mac flavor to view the identical image format is, to put it politely, a rip-off. I can't even migrate the data from my Quicken 2015 to Quicken for Mac 2017 because Quicken forbids the migration using QFX as it checks it's database & applies the same rule of "NO!" because the broker/bank did not pay for a Mac transfer for an identical file.

If Quicken wants more fees from banks, it's their job to get it, not mine. I feel like a hostage.

I should be easily able to transfer data to Quicken's other programs without falling into deliberate traps.

Unknown · January 2017

I did not read any hack, only an offer to provide a solution if someone emailed him.

As for the argument that this failure to transfer QFX files is all due to bank institution not supporting Mac, pardon but it's a scam to make the customer - me - complain to the bank to pay up to Quicken to "allow" the import of an identical file that works perfectly fine in Windows flavor. This is a Quicken situation that they created. The idea that an identical file is treated differently & requires a separate fee that a customer knows nothing about but has to tell his or her bank to ante up is not only disingenuous but flat out wrong.

I work in the medical field with medical images using a standard called DICOM. We have viewers for the digital images. The idea that I cannot open an image because a vendor who created your CT image cannot be viewed because it depends whether the same company's viewer is running on a Windows machine or a Mac and said vendor did not pay an ongoing fee to the image viewer vendor for a Mac flavor to view the identical image format is, to put it politely, a rip-off. I can't even migrate the data from my Quicken 2015 to Quicken for Mac 2017 because Quicken forbids the migration using QFX as it checks it's database & applies the same rule of "NO!" because the broker/bank did not pay for a Mac transfer for an identical file.

If Quicken wants more fees from banks, it's their job to get it, not mine. I feel like a hostage.

I should be easily able to transfer data to Quicken's other programs without falling into deliberate traps.

Unknown · January 2017

I had the exact same issue but different brokerage. I have tried every thing I could think of as well as pouring over this site and others. I even accused them of turning the feature off! Finally I stumbled on this and presto. . . SUCCESS. It's inexplicable because I use Chrome! Go figure.
https://www.quicken.com/support/message-when-using-online-services-its-not-your-fault

I'm definitely ready for a beer after all this!

splasher · January 2017

You using Chrome as your browser is a moot point, Quicken uses some settings based on IE irregardless of default browser.

Unknown · January 2017

Well, I'm no programmer and that solution was certainly buried!

Unknown · January 2017

I have the exact same issue. Quicken 2017 for Mac. TransAmerica 403b that I can't download. Quicken needs to step up and work with institutions to get this FIXED!

NotACPA · January 2017

IF, it's the exact same issue, then the problem is that Transamerica (NOT Q, Transamerica) has chosen to not be (or, no longer be) a "Participating Financial Institution" with Quicken.

OR, for some reason known only to Transamerica, they've chosen to not allow the download of this specific account type.

In either case, Quicken Inc can do nothing about it. They can't force Transamerica to sign the contract.

When trying to import a QFX file from TransAmerica I get a "This FI is inactive, we cannot connect"

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