EWC not an option for Discover Card

Lhaff4870

In the discussions on Discover's discontinuance of QFX and Web Connect, I read that they still support Express Web Connect. EWC is what I have been using all along, but it is not available now for Discover.

Tom Young

"I've always gone to the Discover Card website to download my statement and then while I'm there, my transactions."

That method is gone for Discover Card because the downloading of that QFX file was the equivalent of using Direct Connect to download into Quicken.  Instead of using One Step Update or Update now or Update transactions, all of which fetched that QFX file, you went to the Discover site and fetched it yourself. 

Now you have to ask, within Quicken, for an update using one of those processes.

Tom Young

Both of my Discover card Accounts are connected via EWC, so it's clearly still available.  What are you seeing when you go to the Online Services tab of the Account Details screen? 

Lhaff4870

EWC. There's something very weird going on here. I had reset my Discover account in Quicken earlier with no effect, so I tried resetting it while I was logged out of Discover only to find that the transactions I was trying to download are there now in Quicken! I have absolutely no clue what action on my part, if any, caused it to happen. Same thing happened in October. Do you see Quicken as a transaction download option in your Discover account?

Tom Young

With EWC the password isn't stored in your computer, it's stored in the "aggregator's" (Intuit's) server and there can be a lag between the time that you make the change and the aggregator's server gets updated.  That may be what's going on here.

Lhaff4870

Do you see Quicken as a transaction download option in your Discover account? I don't (anymore). All I have now is PDF, Excel and CSV.

Tom Young

Looking around in Discover I see no overt reference to Quicken, just the generic download styles you've mentioned.  When Discover allowed for Direct Connect they had to be actively involved by formatting transactions into OFX and putting that information on a server they maintained.  Now that responsibility is gone and all the aggregators, and there are a few, simply use EWC, so there's no real connection to Quicken any more. 

Are you pointing at the correct "Discover" site?  There's Discover Bank and there's Discover Card.  Be sure to use the appropriate one for your Quicken Accounts.

I'd suggest giving it a day to see if it corrects itself, and if it doesn't contact Official Quicken Support directly: https://www.quicken.com/support#windows

Chris_QPW

Make sure you are using "Discover Card" for the financial institution, not "Discover Bank".

Lhaff4870

Yes I am on Discover Card. I used to be able to download my PDF statement and then download my transactions directly into Quicken. There was a Quicken download option in addition to PDF, Excel and CSV.

Chris_QPW

Discover removed the ability to download the Web Connect/QFX file when they removed the ability to download using Direct Connect.  Express Web Connect is all that is left.  For Excel/CSV you will have to use a converter like my (free) program ImportQIF, which you can find here:
https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/

Note I don't have a Discover Card, but there are several other threads from people that do have them that say they are downloading using Express Web Connect with the financial institution of Discover Card.

Lhaff4870

But how do I tell it to download using EWC?

Chris_QPW

Since it is the only option, one doesn't have to select it.
Make sure the account has been deactivated for downloading on the Account Details -> Online Services tab.  And then:
Tools -> Add Account


Next


Be sure to link the existing Quicken account when you get to that dialog.

Lhaff4870

I am totally confused. My only download options are PDF, Excel and CSV. So what activates the EWC download?

Tom Young

Is Discover Card specified as the financial institution for the Account:

Are you actually connected to Discover Card

I'm not sure why you stated EWC "is not available now for Discover in your original post. 

Lhaff4870

My screens are exactly like yours except in my account details the Financial Institution is Discover Card Account Center.

Tom Young

I think that's the problem right there.  Look at the picture @Chris_QPW posted above.  You need "Discover Card", not "Discover Card Account Center."

Lhaff4870

> @Tom Young said:
> I'm not sure why you stated EWC "is not available now for Discover in your original post. 

Because I used to be able to activate it by clicking the Quicken download option and it's not there any more.

Lhaff4870

> @Tom Young said:
> I think that's the problem right there.  Look at the picture @Chris_QPW posted above.  You need "Discover Card", not "Discover Card Account Center."

OK I'll change that but I have to accept all of the downloaded transactions first before it will let me deactivate the account.

Lhaff4870

OK I've made the change to my Discover Card account in Quicken. I don't have any new transactions yet to see if anything has changed. And I still haven't been able to get anyone to tell me how to download my transactions if I don't have a Quicken download option. I guess it's magic.

Tom Young

No, your option is to use EWC.  You can see from the second picture I posted above that I AM downloading transactions using EWC.  You can initiate a download by either doing a One Step Update (assuming you've included the Account in the One Step Update) or, in the Account, you can click on the gearwheel in the upper right hand corner and click on Update now.

ADDED: I realized you probably use a downloading method that I've never used, down in the window below the register.  I guess that's still there, just moved:

Lhaff4870

I think maybe the fog is starting to clear. Are you saying that you download the transactions from within the Quicken account details window? That link says it's to import older transactions from the bank website, whatever that means. Never done it that way. Seems like a roundabout way to do it and it makes no sense to me. I've always gone to the Discover Card website to download my statement and then while I'm there, my transactions. I don't even need for Quicken to be open to do that. Downloading the QFX file opens Quicken. I use the same procedure for all of my financial sites.

Tom Young

"I've always gone to the Discover Card website to download my statement and then while I'm there, my transactions."

That method is gone for Discover Card because the downloading of that QFX file was the equivalent of using Direct Connect to download into Quicken.  Instead of using One Step Update or Update now or Update transactions, all of which fetched that QFX file, you went to the Discover site and fetched it yourself. 

Now you have to ask, within Quicken, for an update using one of those processes.

Lhaff4870

OK I think I'm finally getting the big picture. I really appreciate you guys for trying your best to help me screw my head on straight. You guys rock!

Chris_QPW

Note that it is possible to convert to the CSV file to QIF format and import that if you really don't want to use Express Web Connect.  My free program will do that, ImportQIF. You can find it at:
https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/

It is even possible to convert the CSV file to a QFX file, but if you do that you need to use financial institution Id from a financial institution that still provides exporting/importing a Web Connect/QFX file, like Chase.

Lhaff4870

Thanks for the info. I don't have a problem using EWC. I've been using it all along, just in a different way. I'm just looking for the easiest method with the fewest steps.