Downloading QFX Using Quicken Mac 2017 After April 30, 2020
Downloading transactions & balances from financial institutions..." (etc.)
Quicken refers to "connected services" but offers no precise definition of what that means. My question is after April 30, will I still be able to manually download QFX files from financial institutions to my desktop and then import them into Quicken Mac 2017? Is it only the direct from bank-to-Quicken data imports that will be disabled or will the disablement include even manually downloaded QFX files?
Best Answers
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The answer is no. QFX file import will cease to function.Russ said:My question is after April 30, will I still be able to manually download QFX files from financial institutions to my desktop and then import them into Quicken Mac 2017?
For background, in the QFX import process, Quicken "calls home" to verify that the software is current and that the FI is a participating member.QWin & QMac (Deluxe) Subscription
Quicken user since 19915 -
"Downloading" implies "importing". After April 30, 2020, neither will work for your version of Quicken.
"Sunset" - Product Discontinuation Policy
Effective 4/30/2020 all online download and file import services for Quicken 2017 US are scheduled to be discontinued.
If you need your download services to continue, you will have to purchase and install a newer version of Quicken. Of course, you can continue using your current (old) version of Quicken if you can make do without any download services.
New rules apply to the "Subscription Products" (Quicken 2017+ Canada, Quicken 2018+ US)
For more about these rules and the Quicken Discontinuation Policy please read
https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-discontinuation-policyLet me remind you that you agreed to this policy when you originally installed Quicken on your computer.
5 -
The only data that you would still be able to download and load into Quicken would be security prices via a CSV file.
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(Canadian user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
5 -
No, no lawsuit... This has been part of the QMac licensing agreement since the 2015 version. Though it is somewhat new to QMac users, especially if you are only recently moving from QM2007 which has no limits... but this have been in place for well over 10 yrs in the QWin product.
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Add your VOTE to Quicken for Mac Product Ideas
Object to Quicken's business model, using up 25% of your screen? Add your vote here:
Quicken should eliminate the LARGE Ad space when a subscription expires(Now Archived, even with over 350 votes!)
(Canadian user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
5 -
As smayer97 states, this is not new to Quicken, although it may be new to users who stuck with Quicken 2007 for a decade or more. The point I was going to add is that you didn't purchase the software, you purchased a license to use the software — and that license explicitly lays out the termination of services in April 2020.Jon said:So we can't even import transactions from our bank? This is clearly an effort to cripple the software that we bought. I smell a lawsuit...
You can find the full end user license agreement on the Quicken website here, but this is the key language on this issue:Quicken expects to provide support through April 30, 2020 for the current version of the Quicken Software and certain features accessible through the current version of the Quicken Software. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the supported versions, services, or program features if necessary due to changes in hardware or software that our products run on, or for other reasons. More information about Quicken's discontinuation policy is available at https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-discontinuation-policy.That's why there will be no lawsuits.
As for the reasoning behind this, well, it's got several layers. First: it costs money to provide the download services, like servers and bandwidth and support people and code engineers to update connectivity with the more than 14,000 financial institutions that support Quicken. Much of that back-end service is provided by former parent Intuit under contract.
Even for users who download from their bank and import into Quicken, as you'd like to do, there is verification going on in the background to insure that the financial institution is registered with and supporting Quicken. Why? Because there are inevitably problems that come up as banks make changes, and Quicken needs to have the technical contacts at each bank to reach out to when they do. (You might say it's not Quicken's problem, but when users' imports suddenly don't work, users blame Quicken and look to Quicken for a fix, so it actually is Quicken's problem.)
Additionally, for certain types of connectivity services, Quicken or Intuit charges a fee to the financial institution, and this revenue is built into their business model; without it, they'd need to charge end users more for the software. To the best of my knowledge, a financial institution supporting only QFX files that users download and then import into Quicken do not pay a fee for that to work with Quicken -- but many provide higher-level connectivity services fr which there is a fee.
And then there is the issue of users trying to utilize old software and Quicken needing to make code changes to keep it operational with security changes, connectivity changes, and operating system changes. Every software developer has to draw lines for which older software they can support, and Quicken previously did so with the three-year life of support and connectivity -- which is really a quasi-subscription in effect. Three years ago, they switched to a more straightforward subscription model, which provides better clarity to users and doesn't require Quicken to keep maintaining and patching multiple old versions of code because subscription users can always use the latest version.
The bottom line for users is that the pricing of Quicken subscriptions is somewhat higher than it was to buy a new version every three years in the past. With that, users get more frequent updates and bug fixes on a continual basis rather than the old annual releases, but for some, the higher cost is an annoyance. But this is the business and pricing model of Quicken nowadays, so users either have to accept it, use their old Quicken software entering transactions manually, or find an alternative that meets their needs for less cost.
Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 19935
Answers
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The answer is no. QFX file import will cease to function.Russ said:My question is after April 30, will I still be able to manually download QFX files from financial institutions to my desktop and then import them into Quicken Mac 2017?
For background, in the QFX import process, Quicken "calls home" to verify that the software is current and that the FI is a participating member.QWin & QMac (Deluxe) Subscription
Quicken user since 19915 -
"Downloading" implies "importing". After April 30, 2020, neither will work for your version of Quicken.
"Sunset" - Product Discontinuation Policy
Effective 4/30/2020 all online download and file import services for Quicken 2017 US are scheduled to be discontinued.
If you need your download services to continue, you will have to purchase and install a newer version of Quicken. Of course, you can continue using your current (old) version of Quicken if you can make do without any download services.
New rules apply to the "Subscription Products" (Quicken 2017+ Canada, Quicken 2018+ US)
For more about these rules and the Quicken Discontinuation Policy please read
https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-discontinuation-policyLet me remind you that you agreed to this policy when you originally installed Quicken on your computer.
5 -
The only data that you would still be able to download and load into Quicken would be security prices via a CSV file.
Have Questions? Help Guide for Quicken for Mac
FAQs: Quicken Mac • Quicken Windows • Quicken Mobile
Add your VOTE to Quicken for Mac Product Ideas
Object to Quicken's business model, using up 25% of your screen? Add your vote here:
Quicken should eliminate the LARGE Ad space when a subscription expires(Now Archived, even with over 350 votes!)
(Canadian user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
5 -
> @UKR said:
> "Downloading" implies "importing". After April 30, 2020, neither will work for your version of Quicken.
You may infer that but I do not.
> Let me remind you
> that you agreed to this policy when you originally installed Quicken on your
> computer.
Where? Buried in the fine print somewhere? Give me a break.0 -
@Russ It is as others have said above. Here's where you can see Quicken spell it out: on the page that explains their discontinuation policy. It says:What is discontinuation? What Quicken services will be discontinued?
Quicken products contain online services such as transaction download and online bill pay. A purchase of a Quicken product license includes the ability to use these online services until the discontinuation date (listed in the chart above).
On the corresponding date for your Quicken product, these connected services will expire and be discontinued:- Online bill pay
- Downloading and/or importing financial data
- Downloading stock quotes, news headlines and other financial information into Quicken
- Uploading portfolio information from Quicken to Quicken.com
- Live Support
- Software patches and updates
I bolded the piece that you're specifically concerned about: the ability to import financial data.Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 19931 -
So we can't even import transactions from our bank? This is clearly an effort to cripple the software that we bought. I smell a lawsuit...
- Jon0 -
No, no lawsuit... This has been part of the QMac licensing agreement since the 2015 version. Though it is somewhat new to QMac users, especially if you are only recently moving from QM2007 which has no limits... but this have been in place for well over 10 yrs in the QWin product.
Have Questions? Help Guide for Quicken for Mac
FAQs: Quicken Mac • Quicken Windows • Quicken Mobile
Add your VOTE to Quicken for Mac Product Ideas
Object to Quicken's business model, using up 25% of your screen? Add your vote here:
Quicken should eliminate the LARGE Ad space when a subscription expires(Now Archived, even with over 350 votes!)
(Canadian user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
5 -
Sounds like it applies both to Windows and Mac.
The only reason that I can see for them to NOT allow you to import files from your financial institutions is to force you to buy a subscription. I understand obsolescence, but this is, to me - clearly designed to make it close to impossible to use the software and force it to be unusable.
Am I wrong? Yes, I suppose if the format of the files changes, for example, then the import would break - but does the format of the files ever change? I don't think it has...
- Jon0 -
As smayer97 states, this is not new to Quicken, although it may be new to users who stuck with Quicken 2007 for a decade or more. The point I was going to add is that you didn't purchase the software, you purchased a license to use the software — and that license explicitly lays out the termination of services in April 2020.Jon said:So we can't even import transactions from our bank? This is clearly an effort to cripple the software that we bought. I smell a lawsuit...
You can find the full end user license agreement on the Quicken website here, but this is the key language on this issue:Quicken expects to provide support through April 30, 2020 for the current version of the Quicken Software and certain features accessible through the current version of the Quicken Software. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the supported versions, services, or program features if necessary due to changes in hardware or software that our products run on, or for other reasons. More information about Quicken's discontinuation policy is available at https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-discontinuation-policy.That's why there will be no lawsuits.
As for the reasoning behind this, well, it's got several layers. First: it costs money to provide the download services, like servers and bandwidth and support people and code engineers to update connectivity with the more than 14,000 financial institutions that support Quicken. Much of that back-end service is provided by former parent Intuit under contract.
Even for users who download from their bank and import into Quicken, as you'd like to do, there is verification going on in the background to insure that the financial institution is registered with and supporting Quicken. Why? Because there are inevitably problems that come up as banks make changes, and Quicken needs to have the technical contacts at each bank to reach out to when they do. (You might say it's not Quicken's problem, but when users' imports suddenly don't work, users blame Quicken and look to Quicken for a fix, so it actually is Quicken's problem.)
Additionally, for certain types of connectivity services, Quicken or Intuit charges a fee to the financial institution, and this revenue is built into their business model; without it, they'd need to charge end users more for the software. To the best of my knowledge, a financial institution supporting only QFX files that users download and then import into Quicken do not pay a fee for that to work with Quicken -- but many provide higher-level connectivity services fr which there is a fee.
And then there is the issue of users trying to utilize old software and Quicken needing to make code changes to keep it operational with security changes, connectivity changes, and operating system changes. Every software developer has to draw lines for which older software they can support, and Quicken previously did so with the three-year life of support and connectivity -- which is really a quasi-subscription in effect. Three years ago, they switched to a more straightforward subscription model, which provides better clarity to users and doesn't require Quicken to keep maintaining and patching multiple old versions of code because subscription users can always use the latest version.
The bottom line for users is that the pricing of Quicken subscriptions is somewhat higher than it was to buy a new version every three years in the past. With that, users get more frequent updates and bug fixes on a continual basis rather than the old annual releases, but for some, the higher cost is an annoyance. But this is the business and pricing model of Quicken nowadays, so users either have to accept it, use their old Quicken software entering transactions manually, or find an alternative that meets their needs for less cost.
Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 19935 -
Yes, thanks for your thoughtful answer. It makes sense. I HATE this kinda subscription model, but it seems to be "the way of the future..."
It's unfortunate - but money rules. I wish Quicken's support was better - would make me feel better about supporting them.
- Jon1