Does Bank bill pay work with Fifth Third Bank?

harris48154

When I set up my Fifth Third bank checking account with Quicken Direct connect, it does not enable Bank Bill Pay.
I contacted Fifth Third Bank, they said it was a Quicken problem, there is nothing they can do.
I contacted Quicken, they said it is a Fifth Third Bank problem, there is nothing they can do.
Questions:
1) Anyone have a suggestion how to resolve this matter?
2) Does anyone currently have bank bill pay working with Fifth Third Bank?

Boatnmaniac

harris48154 said:

Yes, Fifth Third Bank, on their web site, states clearly that they support Quicken bank bill pay. They even have instructions for setting it up. This is a direct quote from their Quicken FAQ:

* When you reactivate your accounts, Quicken® will automatically enable online payment.

Sadly, it doesn't work. When I reactivate the account, it is Direct Connect and it works, but bank bill pay is not activated. Fifth Third tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Quicken problem. Quicken tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Fifth Third problem.

We are not disputing that 5/3 Bank supports Quicken DC Bank Bill Pay.  But it would be helpful if you would answer the questions we had asked.

You listed 11 steps you have taken trying to set up DC Bank Bill Pay.  But there are actually 13 steps and the 1st two were not mentioned in your list of steps.  Those missing 1st 2 steps are the questions we had asked.

The 1st step should be:  Forget about Quicken.....Is your online checking account at 5/3 set up for Bill Pay?  In other words, are you currently able to make bill payments from your online checking account now?  If not, you need to get that set up BEFORE trying to get Quicken's DC Bank Bill Pay set up.

The 2nd step should be:  Check your online account security settings or preferences to see if Quicken (or Personal Financial Software) needs to first be authorized.  (Since this was not included in the list of steps provided by 5/3 to take to set up for Quicken's DC Bank Bill Pay and since you were able to get DC set up there probably is not any such authorization needed but do yourself a favor and check, anyway.)

The reason why I am asking this is that every bank I have had Bill Pay set up with (Wells Fargo, Compass, BBVA, PNC, Regions, Alpine Bank, Midland States Bank) required me to manually set up Bill Pay in my online account before I could start using it at all.  Simply having checking accounts at these banks did not allow me to pay bills from my online accounts....I had to manually set up online Bill Pay service before that service could be used.  And it is only after the Bill Pay service is set up in the online checking account that Quicken's Direct Connect Bill Pay can be set up.

Boatnmaniac

First, make sure you have online Bill Pay service set up with Fifth Third for your checking account.  If this is not already set up you will not be able to set up Direct Connect Bank Bill Pay from within Quicken.

Then, if you have not already done so, I suggest you read the instructions provided by www.53.com:  Quicken® and QuickBooks® FAQs | Fifth Third Bank.  Scroll down to "Account Setup" and follow the instructions.  It sounds like you might need to deactivate and then reactivate your Direct Connect connection.

If this does not resolve the issue, I suggest you go to Account Register > upper right Gear icon > Edit Account Details > Online Services tab > under "Online bill payment" > if it says that Online Bill Pay = No, click on "Check for Bank Bill Pay".

Did any of this resolve the issue for you?

harris48154

> @Boatnmaniac said:

> First, make sure you have online Bill Pay service set up with Fifth Third for your checking account.  If this is not already set up you will not be able to set up Direct Connect Bank Bill Pay from within Quicken.

This certainly seems to me like the most likely explanation of the problem. I have, however, called Fifth Third Bank technical support 3 times now and each time I was told there is nothing for them to do to enable online Bill Pay on their end. It must be a Quicken problem.
Can you shed any light on what I need to do to get online bill pay enabled at Fifth Third Bank?


> Then, if you have not already done so, I suggest you read the instructions provided by www.53.com:  Quicken® and QuickBooks® FAQs | Fifth Third Bank.  Scroll down to "Account Setup" and follow the instructions.  It sounds like you might need to deactivate and then reactivate your Direct Connect connection.

I read and followed the instructions from the Fifth Third Bank web site. All goes well until I get to the line that says:
* When you reactivate your accounts, Quicken® will automatically enable online payment.
When I reactivate the account, Quicken does not enable online payment.


> If this does not resolve the issue, I suggest you go to Account Register > upper right Gear icon > Edit Account Details > Online Services tab > under "Online bill payment" > if it says that Online Bill Pay = No, click on "Check for Bank Bill Pay".

I've tried this route as well. I can Direct Connect and download transactions from Fifth Third Bank, until I activate it through that "Check for Bank Bill Pay" link. Once I do that Quicken will no longer connect to Fifth Third, requiring me to go through the Deactivate-Reactivate process again, which gets Direct Connect working but without online bill pay.

> Did any of this resolve the issue for you?
Not so far.

Boatnmaniac

harris48154 said:

> @Boatnmaniac said:

> First, make sure you have online Bill Pay service set up with Fifth Third for your checking account.  If this is not already set up you will not be able to set up Direct Connect Bank Bill Pay from within Quicken.

This certainly seems to me like the most likely explanation of the problem. I have, however, called Fifth Third Bank technical support 3 times now and each time I was told there is nothing for them to do to enable online Bill Pay on their end. It must be a Quicken problem.
Can you shed any light on what I need to do to get online bill pay enabled at Fifth Third Bank?

I think perhaps I wasn't very clear about this.  I was not talking about Fifth Third needing to do anything regarding Quicken.  I was talking about making sure you have Bill Pay set up for your checking account so that when you log in to your Fifth Third online account you can schedule bill payments there.  The bank's Bill Pay service needs to be set up in your online account before you can try to set up DC Bank Bill Pay in Quicken. 

harris48154

I am stuck in an endless loop:

1) deactivate on line service for Fifth Third Bank checking account
2) set up on line service for Fifth Third Bank checking
3) Direct Connect works but bank bill pay not enabled
4) Enable bank bill pay
5) Direct Connect no longer works (OL-393-A error)
6) deactivate on line service for Fifth Third Bank checking account
7) set up on line service for Fifth Third Bank checking
8) Direct Connect works but bank bill pay not enabled
9) Enable bank bill pay
10) Direct Connect no longer works (OL-393-A error)
11) Repeat...

Ps56k2

OK... one more time - log into the 53 online website.
Look around the 53 website for something about "Bill Payment" - maybe in the same tab if they support Zelle -

You need to find the 53 Bill Payment feature on the 53 online website, and maybe even have to "enable" access to a 3rd party like Quickn for accessing your 53 checking account ...

Here is the Quicken entry that confirms they offer support for Bank Bill Payment

53292    53292    53292    Fifth Third Bank    https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/login.html
1-800-972-3030    https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/login.html    ACTIVE
BANKING,CREDIT,ACCOUNTINFO,PAYMENT&DIRECT
BANKING,CREDIT&WEB-CONNECT
BANKING,CREDIT,ACCOUNTINFO&EXP-WEB-CONNECT

harris48154

Yes, Fifth Third Bank, on their web site, states clearly that they support Quicken bank bill pay. They even have instructions for setting it up. This is a direct quote from their Quicken FAQ:

* When you reactivate your accounts, Quicken® will automatically enable online payment.

Sadly, it doesn't work. When I reactivate the account, it is Direct Connect and it works, but bank bill pay is not activated. Fifth Third tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Quicken problem. Quicken tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Fifth Third problem.

Boatnmaniac

harris48154 said:

Yes, Fifth Third Bank, on their web site, states clearly that they support Quicken bank bill pay. They even have instructions for setting it up. This is a direct quote from their Quicken FAQ:

* When you reactivate your accounts, Quicken® will automatically enable online payment.

Sadly, it doesn't work. When I reactivate the account, it is Direct Connect and it works, but bank bill pay is not activated. Fifth Third tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Quicken problem. Quicken tech support says that it is not their problem, it is a Fifth Third problem.

We are not disputing that 5/3 Bank supports Quicken DC Bank Bill Pay.  But it would be helpful if you would answer the questions we had asked.

You listed 11 steps you have taken trying to set up DC Bank Bill Pay.  But there are actually 13 steps and the 1st two were not mentioned in your list of steps.  Those missing 1st 2 steps are the questions we had asked.

The 1st step should be:  Forget about Quicken.....Is your online checking account at 5/3 set up for Bill Pay?  In other words, are you currently able to make bill payments from your online checking account now?  If not, you need to get that set up BEFORE trying to get Quicken's DC Bank Bill Pay set up.

The 2nd step should be:  Check your online account security settings or preferences to see if Quicken (or Personal Financial Software) needs to first be authorized.  (Since this was not included in the list of steps provided by 5/3 to take to set up for Quicken's DC Bank Bill Pay and since you were able to get DC set up there probably is not any such authorization needed but do yourself a favor and check, anyway.)

The reason why I am asking this is that every bank I have had Bill Pay set up with (Wells Fargo, Compass, BBVA, PNC, Regions, Alpine Bank, Midland States Bank) required me to manually set up Bill Pay in my online account before I could start using it at all.  Simply having checking accounts at these banks did not allow me to pay bills from my online accounts....I had to manually set up online Bill Pay service before that service could be used.  And it is only after the Bill Pay service is set up in the online checking account that Quicken's Direct Connect Bill Pay can be set up.