Quicken/Chase announce killing link to Chase Direct Connect Bill Pay....

Robert

Received notice that I must stop using Chase Direct Connect BIll Pay by end of September.  [Removed - Disruptive]   I use this every day.   The recommendation is to switch to Quicken Bill Manager.   I've used this before and it wasn't a complete solution and I'm limited to 12 transactions per month.  I probably need 20.

I switched my checking to Chase solely because of this direct connect bill pay.   Is there another bank that supports it where it will continue for a long time?

Is there anyway to get Quicken/Chase to continue to support the Direct Connect Bill Pay.

I'm getting tired of Quicken taking away functionality, not to mention on-going series of reliability issues.

Chris_QPW

Robert said:

I switched my checking to Chase solely because of this direct connect bill pay.   Is there another bank that supports it where it will continue for a long time?

See this thread for suggestions:
Banks that offer free Direct Connect — Quicken

How long will they have the service?
No one can really tell you that.

Ps56k2

I was using the Chase online website for paying bills and then double entry into Quicken with a Reminder.

Then I discovered - from this forum - about Bank Pay and that Chase supported that... have been using it for years.

NOW - will just switch back to the double manual entry -
1 - enter payment using Chase online website
2 - enter Quicken Reminder into Chase Register

tcom2

Chase is NOT driving this change to eliminate direct connect. Quicken is making the change. You can call your branch to confirm this. And guess why? Chase bill pay is FREE. Do you think Quicken bill pay is free?

Ps56k2

tcom2 said:

Chase is NOT driving this change to eliminate direct connect. Quicken is making the change. You can call your branch to confirm this. And guess why? Chase bill pay is FREE. Do you think Quicken bill pay is free?

Nope - it's from Chase, just like with Schwab.... migrating away from Direct Connect to an easier EWC+

Sherlock

Ps56k2 said:

tcom2 said:

Chase is NOT driving this change to eliminate direct connect. Quicken is making the change. You can call your branch to confirm this. And guess why? Chase bill pay is FREE. Do you think Quicken bill pay is free?

Nope - it's from Chase, just like with Schwab.... migrating away from Direct Connect to an easier EWC+

Easier??  You mean less costly for Chase and less reliable, less secure, and less functional for Quicken users.

This is definitely all on Chase.

Ps56k2

I'll just put this old Schwab info for reference reading -

https://www.schwab.com/legal/public-security-tips-popup

Q: What is an API and how does it impact aggregation services?

A: An API or an "Application Programming Interface" makes allowing access to data easier, is more accurate and is more secure. The use of API's are a best practice in the industry and utilize a token-based approach which enables clients to authorize third parties to download requested account information on their behalf in an encrypted form, without storing their usernames and passwords.

Q: How will the Schwab API work?

A: Through Schwab's API connection, third party data aggregators who agree to data access terms with Schwab will continue to have client-authorized access to certain client data in a protected environment. In turn, clients will have greater control over and better transparency into what data they share and with whom they share their data.

Through its API development and the migration of third-party financial technology companies to its API network, Schwab provides a more secure, client-controlled authentication process.

Here's how the API will work to protect Charles Schwab clients:

• Protection—The API issues a "virtual" token to third parties for client data to ensure client account credentials are safe. Available multi-factor authentication provides an added layer of user identification.
• Data Privacy—Through the Schwab API, clients can choose to grant access to specific accounts and specific third parties to ensure the right data is selected. Consent to allow access to data through explicit disclosures is logged and archived.
• Transparency and Control—Clients are not required to share their log-in credentials outside of Schwab. They will have higher visibility and transparency into linked accounts, including which third parties are accessing their data and the type of data through the Schwab Security Center and can easily view and change access at any time.

Chris_QPW

Sherlock said:

Ps56k2 said:

tcom2 said:

Chase is NOT driving this change to eliminate direct connect. Quicken is making the change. You can call your branch to confirm this. And guess why? Chase bill pay is FREE. Do you think Quicken bill pay is free?

Nope - it's from Chase, just like with Schwab.... migrating away from Direct Connect to an easier EWC+

Easier??  You mean less costly for Chase and less reliable, less secure, and less functional for Quicken users.

This is definitely all on Chase.

One has to understand something from the financial institution's standpoint.

Yes, as @Sherlock points out it is cheaper for the financial institution, but that isn't the whole story.

Quicken users might believe that only they want to get at the financial institution's customer data, but that is completely wrong.  In fact, Quicken users are a small percentage of a financial institution's user base, and as such there are many other "aggregators" and sources of request for getting at their customer data.

For instance, almost every financial institution allows you to link accounts from other financial institutions into their website to show them with the accounts at that financial institution.

It is an unfortunate fact that the financial institutions never standardized on a protocol for doing this.

This is what gave way to the "aggregators", which is to say a third-party service that tries to log in as you to the financial institution's website and get the data.  With no standardization, and no "central exchange" that means that at different financial institutions it is done differently, and the aggregators have to have different "scripts" for different financial institution to get the data and maybe convert it into a format their client can use.  This also ends up meaning that any given financial institution might have deal with a number of aggregators, and of course in this case Direct Connect which isn't really aggregator, but OFX protocol, but that means the financial institution has to maintain a special set of software just for it.

Express Web Connect + is actually a push for some standardization.  As in standardizing the way the aggregators connect to the financial institution and get the transactions.  This standard is far newer and most likely has some "growing to do", but also since it is new to the aggregators like Intuit which are going to in turn have to convert it into something Quicken can use (or maybe even push that conversion off on Quicken Inc.  I don't know where the exact conversion takes place).

We do know that the flow is:
Quicken -> Quicken server -> Intuit server -> Financial institution server

The part that the Plus in Express Web Connect + standardizes is from Intuit to the financial institution.

in my opinion, Direct Connect with fewer parties involved and years of working out the bugs is far superior, but it means little if you can't get all the players to work together.

I wish I could say I'm hopeful for the push for this standard, but I think it will run the same fate that OFX/Direct Connect did. Without the government mandating it, it will sprinkle out to a small percentage of financial institutions and not really fix anything.  And in the meantime, since it new and such people will suffer.

And I don't believe that this is "all on Chase".  Quicken Inc is definitely "onboard" with this.  They are because they have to be.  To not go along with this would mean being cut off of more and more financial institutions.  And I might add these are small credit unions somewhere.




and many more:
https://financialdataexchange.org/FDX/FDX/The-Consortium/Members.aspx