Since Quicken ( Canada ) is useless ...
… how do I get a copy of Quicken ( US )?
I bank with two banks here in Canada: CIBC & Tangerine
Now, my understanding is that there are three different versions of Quicken:
- Mac
- Windows ( Canada )
- Windows ( US )
My Quicken Mac can connect/download to Tangerine, but not CIBC
My Quicken Win can connect/download to CIBC, but not to Tangerine
Both are Canadian banks.
I just read a thread here on community where one of the Quicken folks acknowledges that the Quicken Win ( US ) version can connect/download from Tangerine, which makes absolutely no sense …
So, how does one get ahold of a copy of the US version, that seems to be able to connect to Canadian banks better then the Canadian version can?
I like Quicken overall, but its absurd that I literally need to use two different computers in order to be able to get full coverage of my bank accounts … I can sort of get the 'Tangerine didn't request Win access, only Mac', but if I follow that whole 'bank requesting access' logic, why would a Canadian bank ask for access for the US version, when most of its clients will be using the Canadian version?
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You might be in a you can’t get there from here situation. Normally the reason Quicken Windows US can access a Canadian bank is it is one that is in both countries, and in all cases it will only support downloading in USD.
Quicken Mac has broader support for both countries downloading, but as you have seen in all cases support for Canadian banks is lacking in comparison to US banks.
Also the Windows US and Canadian versions are separate licenses, and are bought on their respective websites.
The US site is:
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So what I need is a combined product:
- QB Online for the Bank connectivity
- Quicken for. the Interface
Do you happen to know if the Quicken Home & Business version has better banking support? I don't care about paying extra, and a Win Only version is fine … I just want all my institutions supported under one platform :)
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@yScrappy The higher end versions of Quicken provide the exact same support for downloading transactions. HOWEVER, all version of Quicken Windows Canada support the Web Connect method of Download from Tangerine. I don't bank with Tangerine, but I checked the FIDIR.TXT for you and it is coded in there, so it is supported. Express Web Connect is not supported with Tangerine. This is a BANK decision, btw, not a Quicken decision. What happens when you try to download transactions from Tangerine into your Quicken? What goes wrong?
Attempting to use the US version is NOT the answer to this situation; that will cause other issues.
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Thanks @Arctic Hare … that's not so much the problem … the problem is around consistency.
I have two computers here at home … a Mac ( my primary ) and a Windows.
On Mac, Express Web Connect is supported with Tangerine, but not supported with CIBC … on my Windows side, it is supported with CIBC, but not Tangerine.
I use both banks, but, thankfully, I only do a dozen or so transactions on the CIBC side, so using Quicken on Mac isn't too painful of an option, although the Quicken on Win has some neat features that the Mac version doesn't in terms of budgetting features.
I can understand the inconsistency of features … that is such a standard headache of dealing with multiple platforms … its the inconsistency of being able to load the data that is frustrating. For someone that uses one or the other ( Mac vs Win ) but has never experienced the other, they are blissfully unaware of the difference, and they don't visibly document what banks are "supported" except for that FIDIR.TXT file …
Blaming the banks seems a bit odd, unless the banks are paying to be supported ( ie. enabled, since the support is already there ) by specific versions of Quicken?
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Yes, the banks must pay a fee to Quicken and must sign an agreement with Quicken for whichever Quicken services they choose to support. Quicken would like all banks to support all features. It is better for them, both from a revenue perspective and a customer experience perspective. You'll have to badger your banks about these issues - Quicken would be more than happy to support all the formats.
One of the big differences between the MAC and Windows versions of Quicken is that in Windows Quicken has different US and Canadian versions, but the MAC app is common to countries - quite a different approach. Don't expect this to change because of the cost of development.
Another option is to change financial institution. I bank with BMO and RBC and use the Windows version. The features are fully supported with both banks in the Windows version. It is the financial institutions that decide which Quicken features to support, so choose an FI that supports the features you need!
<Edit> I do agree, however, Quicken could do a much better job of making it easier to figure out which download functionality is supported with each financial institution at any given time. Locating and parsing the FIDIR.TXT is not at all user friendly (or intutitve).
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Yes, the banks must pay a fee to Quicken and must sign an agreement with Quicken for whichever Quicken services they choose to support.
This is a bit in accurate.
No fee is charged for Express Web Connect. As for Web Connect (downloading a QFX file to be imported) or Direct Connect (which I think very few if any Canadian banks support) we have heard conflicting accounts this as far as if it is still the practice. But in all cases Quicken Inc isn't the one charging a fee. If the financial institution is paying any kind of fee, it is to Intuit. Intuit is Quicken/Quicken Inc's aggregator, and they make the actual connection to the financial institution for Express Web Connect and maintain the "relationship/list" for Direct Connect (which is where Quicken talks directly to the financial institution using the OFX/QFX protocol) and Web Connect. Note that Quicken Inc pays Intuit for "connection services".
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You are splitting hairs @Chirs_QPW. The point here is that Quicken isn't making flippant decisions about which FI supports which download methodology. The primary responsibility for support download methods rests with each financial institution. And, the fee that I was speaking of is that financial institutions pay a fee to have Quicken download supported. It matters not whether that fee is paid to Intuit or Quicken… I purposely avoided all that detail because it is entirely moot to the discussion. The key point here is that if a Quicken user wants more/different Quicken support from a given financial institution they best direct their campaign at the financial institution. Campaigning Quicken to change/improve transaction download support for a specific financial institution is a waste of one's time.
Note, also, this is discussion about Quicken Canada and Direct Connect is not supported by any Canadian financial institution and/or Quicken Canadian version.
FWIW, it was a senior person at Quicken who once told me that the financial institutions pay a fee to be able to offer Web Connect and Express Web Connect. I expect that fee is paid to Intuit, but that is not important to the matter at hand. What is important is at which entity to direct a campaign to increase download support - and such a campaign must be directed at the FI because they are the only party that can initiate it.
The OP wants increase download support from two financial institutions. My advice to the OP is that they need to communicate that to the financial institutions as that is the only party that address the OP's concern. Complaining to Quicken won't get the result they are seeking (and, yes, I know how difficult it is to have this discussion with a financial institution… hence, my bottom line advice is choose financial institutions that offer the download functionality you want and need… that is the only practical approach.)
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The download support that is lacking in Canada is Direct Connect, which is not available for any Canadian financial institution. There is generally good support for Web Connect and Express Web Connect. Keep in mind that the Canadian banking world is very different from that of the US. The Canadian market is very strongly dominated by a few large players. If you bank with one of those large institutions, you will have full support for bank accounts and credit card accounts. The support for investment transaction download is limited at best and probably not worthwhile for any Canadian financial institution. The biggest opportunity to improve what is available for download support in Canada would be to make Direct Connect available in Canada. However, in the absence of direct connect, as long as you bank with one of the large banks or even one of the mid tier ones you are likely covered.
I'll also venture that very few Quicken users run both the Mac and Windows versions. Most pick a single platform. In the case of the OP, they could run only the Windows version and use EWC for CIBC and WC for Tangerine and be done. Or, switch their business away from Tangerine to another FI the provides EWC support. Those, in my view, are the best options, which are in the OPs control.
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Let's just say that Quicken Inc and Intuit aren't very forthcoming about a lot of things including fees. It has been said though that one of the main reasons for some financial institutions dropping Direct Connect in favor of Express Web Connect is that Direct Connect there was a fee and Express Web Connect there isn't. In any case even if there isn't any fee charged, providing these services isn't free to the financial institutions just in computer resources and support people and maybe a contract with a third party that provides such services. So, a lot of it has to do with how many Quicken customers they have. In the US the percentage is very low, and I expect it is even lower in Canada.
Note I wasn't sure if there weren't a copy of Canadian banks that supported Direct Connect, so it is nice to have conformation that none of them do. I might add this goes for Express Web Connect +. As far as I know no Canadian financial institution supports it. This using a different protocol between Intuit and the financial institution.
And I agree with you that it has always been Quicken Inc's and Intuit's position that it is the financial institution that asks for the service, not the other way around. And as such it is up to the customers to push their financial institution to provide it.
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I would recommend to any Canadian who wants to use Quicken that they are best to bank with one or more of the large Canadian banks as that will work in their favour in terms of Quicken Support. I fully expect that our largest banks will continue to support Quicken because none of them would want to be the one big bank that doesn't support Quicken downloads. Most or all of those banks have had their issues with Quicken over the years. I've had major issues with RBC and BMO at times and there were significant issues with Scotia more recently. That being said, it is reasonable to expect that, with time, issues that crop up with these large banks will eventually get fixed. That might not be true for the smaller ones.
The above being said, some people will find that Quicken downloads work well with smaller Canadian FIs, but I do see those circumstances as involving more risk.
RBC is Canada's largest bank and there has been and continues to be a major issue with 2FA. I've found a workaround for this issue that is enabling me to use EWC normally right now, but my workaround doesn't seem to work for everyone. If RBC eventually blocks my workaround before they sort out the 2FA issue, I don't know what I'll do… that might just be the proverbial straw for me and Quicken.
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