Importing downloaded.QFX file for legacy transactions - Web Connect error

Gren9999

I am new to Quicken (2020 Mac) and tried to import (.QFX) all of my transactions for 2020 from today back to Feb. 3, 2020. My credit union had a platform conversion, effective Feb. 3, 2020.

When I try to import the locally downloaded .QFX file for one account, I received a message "Download unavailable! This FI is inactive, we cannot connect." With the same technique for another account at the same credit union, I receive this message message, "Download unavailable! Quicken is unable to update this account because Web Connect support for your financial institution has been either temporarily, or permanently, discontinued. [CC-885].

My financial institution is in the drop-down list of financial institutions, and the CU purports to support Mint, TurboTax, and another app. My CU does in fact allow me to download the last 90 days via Web Connect, but it does not allow me to import a file that I already downloaded locally.

Any thoughts?

FWIW: As a past user of Quicken for Windows some years ago, Quicken 2020 for Mac is difficult for me to understand and use - even though I am a techie with finance background. Ugh.

Chris_QPW

Here is another possible workaround.  Make a backup just in case you have to reverse this.  Make a copy of the QFX file, change the FID and INTU.BID numbers to 10898 with a text editor.  Then import that QFX file.  It should ask you to create a new account, let it, and it should import all the transactions into that account.  From there you can move the transactions into the first account by selecting them and dragging an dropping on the account you want them in.  After that you can delete the new account.

Gren9999

I should mention that I have two login credentials - one for my joint accounts (checking and savings) and the other for my single account (checking and savings).

Chris_QPW

Well I have heard such cases before.  I'm not exactly sure how the older transaction imports get rejected, but there is a "check with server" that if rejected the import will not be allowed.  And based on some reports in the Quicken forums, somehow for some financial institutions they will reject importing of old transactions.

The first thing I would do though is to make sure the the financial institution information is the same between the old and the new QFX files.

Edit the QFX file(s) with a text editor, and look at the <FI> section.  The <FID> and the <INTU.BID> numbers are what you need to check.

Gren9999

Thanks, Chris_QPW. To clarify, once I subscribed and logged into Quicken for Mac 2020 for the very first time, I created a new Quicken file on January 1, 2021 and downloaded the most recent 90 days of transactions through the WebConnect for all four accounts.

After realizing that the date range was defaulted to only the most recent 90 days, I then created an output from my CU by exporting data from their system for each account that was from [today] back to February 3, 2020. Feb. 3, 2020 is the date that their platform conversion was put into production. I then attempted to import these QFX files into Quicken 2020 for Mac.

As you suggested, I looked at those files and saw that <FID> and <INTU.BID> are the same between my local sets of .QFX files. I cannot check and compare the QFX file that is in Quicken as I assume that it is on the Quicken server,

Also, to confirm, I did not import or convert any legacy versions any Quicken data files from previous versions of Quicken. I truly started from scratch on Jan. 1, 2021.

Finally, in case it matters, I have two sets of credentials (separate user names and passwords) for each set of accounts (i.e., for my single accounts and another for my joint accounts) - both of which I am trying to manage within the same Quicken file.

Thanks again for any additional help that you and others may provide.

Chris_QPW

Well you might have hit whatever is preventing importing old transactions.  I really can't help with that.  But I can point you are the list that Quicken Mac uses for the financial institution Ids.
https://ofx-prod-filist.intuit.com/qm2400/data/fidir.txt

But I would expect them to be the same as what is in the QFX files.

jacobs

@Gren9999  Just to experiment, what happens if you create a new Quicken data file (File > New) and say Start From Scratch. Set up just one of your accounts for Web Connect, and try to import the .QFX file. Does it work? Continue with the other accounts. (If that works for bringing in your 2020 data, then there's a little wrinkle in switching the accounts over to Quicken Connect for direct downloading going forward, but I don't want to go down that road yet.)

Chris_QPW

Here is another possible workaround.  Make a backup just in case you have to reverse this.  Make a copy of the QFX file, change the FID and INTU.BID numbers to 10898 with a text editor.  Then import that QFX file.  It should ask you to create a new account, let it, and it should import all the transactions into that account.  From there you can move the transactions into the first account by selecting them and dragging an dropping on the account you want them in.  After that you can delete the new account.

Gren9999

> @Chris_QPW said:
> Well you might have hit whatever is preventing importing old transactions.  I really can't help with that.  But I can point you are the list that Quicken Mac uses for the financial institution Ids.
> https://ofx-prod-filist.intuit.com/qm2400/data/fidir.txt
>
> But I would expect them to be the same as what is in the QFX files.

Thanks, Chris_QPW. I searched for the FID and INTU.BID values from my local .QPX files in the master Quicken Mac list that you linked.

Findings
* My CU is in the list by name, contact number and login path.
* My CU entry shows that it is "ACTIVE"
* My CU entry shows what I believe to be the connection type as "BANKING,ACCOUNTINFO&EXP-WEB-CONNECT NOT_QBP NA".
* My CU entry shows a significantly different value (39###) for what might be the INTU.BID from the value (16###) in my local .QFX files (that were exported from the CU). The difference is not a simple typo or transposition of digits.

I have three questions:
1. Do Quicken Mac 2020 and Quicken Windows 2020 use the same INTU.BID values (e.g., INTUBID)?
2. Is it likely that the CU and/or its data partner retained its legacy download data structure values for consumer-exported data files, including .QFX in support of older versions (and failed or overlooked updating the INTU.BID for CU customer exports?
3. After following Jacob's suggestion to create a new Quicken file from scratch, use WebConnect to download the first single account, and try to import a .QFX export from the CU, and if it fails, then should I edit and change the INTU.BID from the old value to the new value?

It sure seems that the exported .QFX file from the CU still uses the legacy INTU.BID. It is speculation on my part based on my extremely limited knowledge of the data structure, effects of systems and data conversions. I am. a troubleshooter at heart. :>)

Thanks!

Gary

Chris_QPW

#1 I don't know (most likely but I have never checked), but I checked the one I gave you on the Quicken Mac list to make sure it is there.

#2 It sounds like from the start I didn't understand your situation (or we just have more information now).  If you are discovering a difference in the INTU.BID numbers then that certainly could be a reason for the import to be rejected.  What's more if you got those QFX files from your financial institution, then they need to fix them.  You should report that kind of problem to them.  Note I'm not sure if you are saying that the QFX files are from an old financial institution/one that got merged into another.  If that is the case then they certainly can have different numbers and be rejected now.

#3 Let me point out the "theory".  The theory is that importing of with transactions that are older a certain date, and from certain financial institutions get rejected.  I know for a fact that isn't true for all financial institutions.  So the idea is simple, change the financial institution known not to reject old transaction in the QFX file and import it.  It will import under the wrong financial institution, but since is needed here is to get the transactions into Quicken and then transfer them to the correct account, this should work.  This workaround is separate from @jacobs' idea.  You can try it first or second.  It should be easier though since it doesn't involve a separate data file like @jacobs' idea does.

Gren9999

> @Chris_QPW said:
> Here is another possible workaround.  Make a backup just in case you have to reverse this.  Make a copy of the QFX file, change the FID and INTU.BID numbers to 10898 with a text editor.  Then import that QFX file.  It should ask you to create a new account, let it, and it should import all the transactions into that account.  From there you can move the transactions into the first account by selecting them and dragging an dropping on the account you want them in.  After that you can delete the new account.

Chris_QPW,
That method worked. I now have all available transactions (back to Feb. 03, 2020 which is what I needed). Can you help me understand why it worked?

Thanks a lot!

Gary

Chris_QPW

I think I have explained it about as good as I can in the previous posts.  There are a few unknowns that will most likely never be answered.

quidster

Thank you, @Chris_QPW , I've come from the future to say that your workaround is still the best solution in January 2022.