Quicken security on Schwab downloads

Robert Silvey

I switched to the new Quicken for Mac download system for Charles Schwab accounts today. But after reading Schwab notifications that they bear no responsibility for errors or problems with this system, I concluded that it was too dangerous to continue and I disabled Schwab brokerage downloads. Quicken has touted this new download method as superior to the old method, but it appears that Schwab does not have enough confidence in the security of the system to maintain their previous guarantees. Please clarify.

jacobs

@Robert Silvey I'm not a Schwab customer, but I wonder whether this is typical boilerplate legalese to say "we make our best effort to provide this service to you, but make no guarantee that it will function as intended or at all times." Except for higher-level corporate IT systems which may have service level agreements which guarantee a minimum percentage of uptime or other performance metrics, most consumer software and services do not provide such guarantees.

In any case, if you are looking for clarification about Schwab's confidence or backing of the download system with Quicken, you should be directing your questions to Schwab. No one from Quicken can answer here from Schwab. (And this site is primarily a user-to-user forum with help from a handful of Quicken moderators -- but you're not talking to Quicken management when you post here.)

Robert Silvey

Thanks for your thoughts, jacobs. The Schwab notifications certainly didn't look like the usual boilerplate. I will try to direct my questions to the right forum. I do wonder if other Quicken users have had a similar concern.

LarryNolan

Financial data downloads can be incorrect for many reasons. I've learned to verify account balances and occasionally transactions if balances on a broker's website or statement doesn't match what I see in Quicken. "Superior methods" are in the eye of the beholder. Schwab sees the change from QFX to whatever their new technique involves as improved. But we are now seeing what happens when testing wasn't adequate .

malonzo2

I am also concerned regarding the Quicken downloads from my Schwab account and did not proceed with my download today or sign on to the new format. I will also escalate my concerns to Quicken management. If any fraud or unauthorized activity is detected on Quicken's part what is their limit of liability? This is my life's savings.

Quicken Alyssa

Hello all,

Thank you for coming to the community with your questions and concerns. Thought I would drop in with some information that will hopefully put your minds at ease.

Quicken encrypts data flow so hackers and other individuals cannot see your bank account, routing, and other related data as it is passing over the Internet. As with many financial products, Quicken uses bank-level 256-bit encryption to keep your data secure. It also uses multiple firewalls and checks to ensure that your data stays secure as it's coming into Quicken. You can also decide to password protect your data files in Quicken for an additional layer of security.

Also, feel free to take a look at this Knowledge Base article that explains the different connection methods and how they work. 

Do let us know if you have any more questions or concerns and we will answer them to the best of our ability. 



Quicken Alyssa

Robert Silvey

Thanks for the info, Alyssa.