HSBC Direct - Importing issue with number of days downloaded - OSU vs manual QFX Import

Dr. Nat

Hello! Is there an update to the resolution of the import problem with QFX files. The bank in question is HSBC Direct. I tried editing the date field as was suggested by a user, but it didn't work. I just bought the business version and this is a trial period for me. If I can't import these files, I am returning the software. Apparently, Quicken is working on this for 3 months!! If my PhD student took three months to resolve a coding issue like this, he would be fired instantly :-) Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

Greg_the_Geek

AS far as I can tell, Quicken only supports Express Web Connect for HSBC Direct.

Chris_QPW

Greg_the_Geek said:

AS far as I can tell, Quicken only supports Express Web Connect for HSBC Direct.

Dr. Nat said:

Hello! Is there an update to the resolution of the import problem with QFX files. The bank in question is HSBC Direct. I tried editing the date field as was suggested by a user, but it didn't work. I just bought the business version and this is a trial period for me. If I can't import these files, I am returning the software. Apparently, Quicken is working on this for 3 months!! If my PhD student took three months to resolve a coding issue like this, he would be fired instantly :-) Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

I have seen this before (recently in fact) that the financial institution is creating a QFX file, but has never contracted with Intuit to support it.

So, in fact the person that should be fired is at the financial institution, not Quicken Inc/Intuit.

Ps56k2

So... where are you getting this QFX file downloaded ?

Is it from the HSBC website ?
As mentioned above, and noted below -
there is no "WEB CONNECT" download/import feature listed
as being supported by Quicken for this bank, only online Quicken downloads.

BTW - there are 12 entries for HSBC supported by Quicken - here is the --> HSBC DIRECT

26574    26574    26574    HSBC Direct   
https://www.hsbcdirect.com/    1-800-975-4722   
https://www.services.online-banking.us.hsbc.com/gpib/    ACTIVE
BANKING,ACCOUNTINFO&EXP-WEB-CONNECT  

Dr. Nat

Thanks for some quick responses. Appreciate your comment about the HSBC folks getting fired :-). Regardless, my problem remains. I am getting the QFX file from the HSBC website. I noticed on another thread that somebody said the date field is incorrect in some banks, so I corrected it using a text editor. But that didn't work either. PS: I am using the latest version of Quicken Home, Business & Rental.

Ps56k2

Dr. Nat said:  I am getting the QFX file from the HSBC website.

You're missing the point...

Quicken is a business - and financial institutions contract with and purchase services from Quicken.
In turn, Quicken assigns each bank a unique number for the service of downloading & accessing transactions.
- Direct Connect - online downloading directly from your bank to your Quicken desktop
- Express Web Connect - online downloading via an external aggregator service to your Quicken desktop
- Web Connect - totally manual download and Import from the bank into your Quicken desktop

The HSBC Direct entry ONLY lists the online Express Web Connect feature -
anything else will not match the numbers, and will fail.... Not Supported -
SO... somewhere - someone messed up -

26574    26574    26574    HSBC Direct   
https://www.hsbcdirect.com/    1-800-975-4722   
https://www.services.online-banking.us.hsbc.com/gpib/    ACTIVE
BANKING,ACCOUNTINFO&EXP-WEB-CONNECT  

As a comparison - here is what CHASE looks like - supporting all THREE downloading features -

10898    10898    10898    Chase    https://www.chase.com/    1-877-242-7372   
https://secure01c.chase.com    ACTIVE
BANKING,CREDIT,ACCOUNTINFO,PAYMENT&DIRECT
BANKING,CREDIT&WEB-CONNECT
BANKING,CREDIT,ACCOUNTINFO&EXP-WEB-CONNECT

Ps56k2

One more thing -

Open your QFX file with Notepad - it's just text -
and scroll down from the top -
We are looking for the <FI> entry - which is the Financial Institution number....

What is it in your QFX file ? -

Here is what Chase looks likes - which matches my "10898" entry from above

<FI>
<ORG>B1
<FID>10898
</FI>
<INTU.BID>10898

Chris_QPW

Let me put it a different way.  Since a QFX file is just text, anyone can create one, but that doesn't mean they have a contract with Quicken Inc/Intuit to allow it to be imported.  Of course, I was kidding about the HSBC employee should be fired, but the point is why create a file for import, when you know that it can't be imported?

Frankx

Hi @Dr. Nat,

Since Quicken apparently supports the Express Web Connect method - why are you trying to import a QFX file anyway?  It seems like the logical thing would be to get your transactions downloaded by whatever method is supported by the financial institution - or am I being obtuse?

Frankx

Ps56k2

Frankx said:   Since Quicken apparently supports the Express Web Connect method - why are you trying to import a QFX file anyway?  It seems like the logical thing would be to get your transactions downloaded by whatever method is supported by the financial institution - or am I being obtuse?

agreed - @Dr. Nat  - why are you attempting a manual Quicken Import of a manually downloaded QFX file,
vs using the Quicken One Step Update for online downloading ?

also - what version are you running ..... Help --> About Quicken

Dr. Nat

@Ps56k2 and @Frankx : Good question. I am indeed using the express web connect. But it only imports only a few days worth - not sure if the limitation is coming from Quicken or the bank. Importing the QFX file on the other hand gives a substantially longer period (more like 2 years). Thanks.

Dr. Nat

@Chris_QPW I agree, I don't see why Quicken doesn't publish the required format and everybody just follows it. This seems like a ridiculous situation. If I knew what the format was, I can easily write some simple code in Python/C/Matlab to massage the file into the format Quicken needs.

Dr. Nat

@Ps56k2 Thanks for your helpful comments. I will check it out tonight. [Sorry to disagree but I am not "missing the point". I have written commercial and research software for 4.5 decades. To me, this seems ridiculous and amenable to an easy solution. That said, I am always willing to learn :-)] Thanks again!

Chris_QPW

Dr. Nat said:

If I knew what the format was,

QFX is just OFX with some extra fields.  And @Ps56k2's previous comment mentions those fields.
You might give that some thought.

The other way to work around this is Windows Quicken allows importing QIF files.  There are other restrictions on what "processing" Quicken do while importing, but it doesn't block the importing for a financial institution that isn't a "participating partner" (there is nothing in the QIF format for that).

You can use my program to convert from various formats, which is free, ImportQIF.
http://www.quicknperlwiz.com/

Ps56k2

Dr. Nat said:  I am indeed using the express web connect. But it only imports only a few days worth - not sure if the limitation is coming from Quicken or the bank. Importing the QFX file on the other hand gives a substantially longer period (more like 2 years). Thanks.

{sigh} - so the actual topic is really something totally different than what was posted - it is the lack of transactions...

Any of the online downloads "knows" when the last download was completed from info stored in the Quicken Account - so the download only requests newer transactions....

The manual download from the HSBC website and the manual Import into Quicken is somewhat different, in that the HSBC website download probably allows you to enter a "date range" of maybe up to 2 years for downloading...  However, Quicken should be smart enough to recognize those older transactions and not Import any duplicates that already exist in the Quicken Account.

And if my PhD Candidates or their PI Professors were.... darn... can't get sarcastic, else I wind up in forum jail

Dr. Nat

@Ps56k2 Touche! Sequence of what happened: I first tried automatic update from Quicken. That did not load the old transactions. Then, I tried importing using the QFX file. So, the old transactions did not exist when I imported it. It just did not do anything. Another time I tried it gave a cryptic error (I have a screenshot somewhere). Let me try it in reverse and see if that works. Of course, when things did not work, the first thing I did was open up the file in my text editor. Then I tried editing it to fix a problem somebody else had identified as being with the date code. They were having the same problem with some other bank. By the way, I have had the same problem with my investment site as well. Final note: maybe it is me who is doing something wrong. I will reset and try everything from scratch and post again. I should have some time to devote to this tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks so much for these helpful hints.

Dr. Nat

@Chris_QPW Thanks for much - let me try the QIF route. I will get your program.