Can I use Quicken in the UK?

Hedake

Hi, I would like to manage my personal finances in the UK.

I would like to work mainly on a Windows 10 laptop; sometimes on iOS on an iPhone.

I must be able to...
- stay secure
- import transactions from UK banks and credit cards through Open Banking
- categorise transactions, with user-defined categories
- export accounts to Excel

Can you do this for me?

If so, which product version do you recommend?

Thanks,

Hedake

NotACPA

While you CAN use Q in the UK, you won't be able to import transactions from UK banks.  Only US and CDN banks have been recruited by Quicken/Intuit to provide this service.

NotACPA

While you CAN use Q in the UK, you won't be able to import transactions from UK banks.  Only US and CDN banks have been recruited by Quicken/Intuit to provide this service.

Hedake

I want to and can not use Quicken for my UK banks.
How else / next best?

NotACPA

You stated that you MUST be able to import from UK banks, since no Quicken version can do that, you'll need to look for other products, which can't be mentioned here as this forum is sponsored by Quicken.

Try a GOOGLE search for "Personal financial manager"

Hedake

Any chance Quicken UK bank connections coming soon?

Chris_QPW

Hedake said:

Any chance Quicken UK bank connections coming soon?

Even though Quicken Inc never states what they are going to do, I think it is pretty clear they have no intention of expanding to other countries.

Note the one possible way to import transactions would be in QIF format, but even that is pretty “broken”.
As in QIF file imports go directly into the register without any processing and as such will not match to any transactions that have been pre entered into the register.  It also means no renaming of the payees or using the payees to categorize the transactions.  The later two problems can be worked around by doing this renaming/categorization outside of Quicken because the category (and of course payee name) can be imported through the QIF file with a program like my ImportQIF which you can find at:
http://www.quicknperlwiz.com/

Chris_QPW

P.S. If I was going to try using Quicken in the UK since no online features will be supported, I would probably just use Quicken 2013 which you can get for free and is the last version of Quicken that has no online requirements like a Quicken Id or subscription.

You can find the link to download Quicken 2013 in the section for Quicken 2004 to 2009 in this article.
https://www.quicken.com/support/how-and-when-use-intermediate-version-convert-older-versions-quicken

jacobs

Hedake said:

Any chance Quicken UK bank connections coming soon?

Quicken almost never talks about future plans publicly, but we have been told there are no plans to expand beyond the US and Canada in the foreseeable future. You will either have to use Quicken and enter your transactions manually or find different software.

Chris_QPW

P.S. @jacobs posting reminded me this thread is in a category that might apply to both Windows or Mac.  The answer on how to import QIF files I gave is a Quicken Windows only answer.  Quicken Mac doesn’t import QIF files.

Hedake

To Chris_QPW of 12:46,

If Quicken do not state what they are going to do, I ask myself what persuades you to think that it is "pretty clear they have no intention of expanding to other countries"? [No need to answer].

You gave us information about importing and exporting via .QIF format. Your comments were detailed, honest, informative and beautiful, and I do not want to try it.

Thank you for the chat.

Hedake.


PS to yours of 12:51...
I prefer software which is more robustly integrated.

Chris_QPW

I’m going to answer your question anyways.  

At one time Intuit licensed Quicken in the UK.  They withdrew that license in 2004.  Note this wasn’t a “universal” version of Quicken, it was one coded to only support UK.

A few years ago ago Intuit sold Quicken off and the new company is called Quicken Inc, but the start of that company was most of the old Quicken department at Intuit.  What “stayed” is the services for downloading transactions.
Quicken Inc pays Intuit for that service.  Quicken Inc in fact is too small of a company to support all of the financial institutions and is pretty much stuck with what Intuit will provide.  So in a way it is more about what Intuit wants to provide than what Quicken Inc wants, but on the Quicken side I can tell you that Quicken Windows US would have to be modified because currently it will not download transactions in anything other than USD.  QIF is an exception because it is just “numbers” no currency.  But that isn’t true of OFX downloads which do have the currency in them.

So in fact there is a long history of not providing such a service.  And coupled with the fact that the current company seems hard pressed just to support what they are doing now, it would be extremely surprising that all of the sudden they announce support for the rest of the world.

Hedake

I'm listening.

In the UK, Open Banking is common and becoming almost a requirement. So downloading transactions is nothing new, and plenty of companies do it without the help of Intuit.

Is it possible that Quicken Inc could modify Quicken Windows US to interpret established international Open Banking protocols already used by TransferWise etc and extend to Quicken Windows UK?

If not, expect Chicken.

Guess where that comes from.

Hedake.

Rocket J Squirrel

We don't have to guess about Quicken's intentions. This question has been explicitly answered.

https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-us-and-canada-products

Chris_QPW

Rocket J Squirrel said:

We don't have to guess about Quicken's intentions. This question has been explicitly answered.

https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-us-and-canada-products

Well as I read that I think that is the "current policy", but what was asked was their future policies, which of course none of us (maybe even Quicken Inc) can't really answer, but we can certainly "see the writing on the wall".

@Hedake Every company has to decide what they think they can sell and support so that they can make a profit.
Just because a market is available and it is possible for Quicken to be extended to take advantage of that market doesn't mean that it would be a good choice for Quicken Inc.  And of course only they can decide that.

Hedake

We sometimes see "writing on the wall". That is what walls are about.

That does not mean it is going to hapen.

Depends on the wall.

Hedake.

jacobs

It has been shared by Quicken management that they do not have plans to expand beyond the US and Canada. Feel free to question or doubt that if you wish; it’s what I have read.