Still getting Venmo 2FA requests for one account but not for a separate Venmo account

Brian Biggs

@JKLines70, well I think someone is reading this conversation 🤨. My Venmo account that has been working fine in Quicken is now prompting me for 2FA every time. 🤬

I see what you're saying about the browser prompting for one account and not another. I primarily use Firefox and Containers, so the answer to that question is complicated. The two accounts are active and "remembered" in different containers in Firefox. I also use a VPN, if that matters. So there doesn't seem to be any alignment there.

I use multiple browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Brave, sometimes Edge). Which browser engine is Quicken using to make the call to Venmo? Or is it using some internal engine? Maybe it is using Edge by default and logging in to both Venmo accounts in Edge and "remembering" the login will allow it to bypass the 2FA. 🤷‍♂️

Appreciate all of your feedback. Keep me posted on Venmo's response.

JKLines70

@Brian Biggs, with regard to browsers, I don't believe Quicken works via any of the common browser engines. It's been a lot of years since I've programmed or supervised such, but I believe there were C++ libraries and have also done a little with Python that all had functions for logging into web sites and capturing information or simulating button presses on the web site, etc. So I'm pretty sure Quicken does the same thing … but if the account that Quicken needs to get information from resides in a system that is requiring 2FA, Quicken has done a good job of handling that. But the 2FA requirement comes from the Vendor (i.e Venmo), not Quicken.

Now, in addition to properly handling 2FA requests that it receives when it attempts login to the vendor site, they also have other methods the vendor can use to provide a secure connection and smooth workflow. I've been using Quicken for over 30 years and have delt with the Banks and other financial institutions as they struggled to decide to support Quicken or not. A lot of the responses I've gotten from Venmo remind me of a lot of those interactions … but basically it was pressure from Quicken users making demands on the financial institutions to provide a cleaner & simpler workflow. But security concerns have continued to evolve … which then requires upgrades to the interface. The whole 2FA thing is really pretty new and I don't believe Venmo initially required 2FA. Well the interface to Quicken worked fine until then. Now I believe every one of my other financial accounts requires 2FA when I log in via a browser, but I believe one of two situations exist for how they work with Quicken … either they look at the browser being used and recognize Quicken is making the request so they don't prompt for 2FA … or they have worked with Quicken to do the handshaking necessary to ensure a secure connection.

Bottom line is the change needs to happen on the Venmo side and it will take pressure from frustrated Venmo users to get them to make the change. The main reason I find it annoying is I was in the habit of hitting One Step Update and then going to get cup of coffee or would do something else only to return and see the update waiting for Venmo 2FA action. Most the time I just skip the connection because the only time I have transactions is when I've bought or sold something via Marketplace. So it is really just very annoying and Venmo's refusal to address simply lets you know how concerned they are about keeping customers happy. But for the most part, I use Zello, PayPal, or Apple Pay for most electronic payment needs and Venmo only as last resort.

JKLines70

No more responses from Venmo … but I had one additional thought. I've noticed that if you do the Venmo 2FA on Quicken and resync within a few hours you won't get prompted for 2FA again, so for a period of time they are recognizing the Quicken log in and not reprompting for log in … so then I thought about PayPal and possibly what is different. Perhaps the only thing is that PayPal continues to recognize that the device is the same and that Quicken is different from a normal web browser in that it is going to be simply doing a historical download of transactions and possibly only forces the additional 2FA the first time and remembers it. Venmo seems to only want to keep track of it for a few hours. I'm going to try to toss that back to Venmo for feedback.

sidjoyner

Just to add to this thread. I too have the 2FA issue with Venmo. Of interest may be that I've had the same Venmo account for several years and when I first added it to Quicken and activated Online Services, it never asked for 2FA. However, 2-3 years ago, I had an issue with this account and I temporarily deactivated the Online Services and then reactivated it (for the same account). At that point, I started getting 2FA every update for this account where I didn't before. It drives me crazy too as I tried several tricks (already listed above here by others) to get the 2FA to go away with no luck. Finally, I just unticked the Venmo box and applied it to the One Step Update settings so it doesn't nag me every time. Then once a month - I don't use Venmo that much - I re-tick it and go through the annoyance so it can update that month's transactions (and then untick it and apply it back to settings again). I would be fine (not happy, but fine) with this, except I sync my Quicken to Quicken on the Web and when I use the Web interface, Venmo always requests 2FA from there and there's no way you can selectively tell Quicken on the Web what to download/update and what no to. I just cancel with the 'x' when it starts the Venmo 2FA. (In fact, I don't think you can tell Quicken on the Web to not download/update your accounts, you have no choice. This should definitely be addressed and improved.)

Daddio25

@Quicken Kristina I need to join the party as well. 🥳

I had been successfully updating my Venmo account without 2FA for nearly 4 years, until a month or so ago. I not exactly sure of either date, but they are close.

I believe that I started having trouble after the last Quicken update to R61.20 27.1.61.20. Though I am not 100% sure of that either. What I do know is that I did not need 2FA for a significant length of time and now I do.

I've read through much of this thread. In a comment from @Scott Alcaide he mentioned removing Intuit entry from the Venmo Remembered Devices list. I tried that. There were actually three entries in my list. Yesterday I removed them all - maybe not the best move. One Step Update then worked without needing 2FA for Venmo. This morning it is needed again.

I don't no know what is going on, or how to figure it out. I just know that it is frustrating.

Qrick

Chiming in as another user that is tracking two Venmo accounts (mine and my wife's)—my account always downloads without a hitch, hers asks me to send a code to her cell phone to confirm before downloading. Strangely, sometimes (like today) when I send the code to her phone, the code isn't sent and the download proceeds without asking me for the code. I just went on Venmo's web portal to Forget one or two old Windows devices. We'll see if that does anything but I'm doubtful. I, too, have been told in the past by Venmo that they don't support downloading into Quicken, and they have no explanation for why one account is downloading to Quicken just fine, and the other downloads if confirmed with 2FA. Sigh.

Brian Biggs

@Quicken Kristina , any update on this from the Quicken side?

@JKLines70 , have you heard anything new from the Venmo side?

What are next steps to resolving this? It feels like nobody on the Quicken or Venmo side is really doing anything.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for the follow-up,

I checked on the ticket (CTP-12003), and can see it was closed as being outside Quicken's ability to control:

This is driven by Venmo, as they are asking for MFA when a login is attempted. Here are some of the known reasons Venmo will require MFA more frequently:
1. Business Account type
2. Shared Account with another person.
3. High frequency of login to Venmo

• Logins that are not coming from the same device (e.g., multiple devices)
• Changing IP addresses (on VPN and not on VPN).

In this case one should inquire with Venmo if there is a way can reduce the frequency of these prompts.

JKLines70

Venmo sent several responses that were basically repetitive telling me how to sign in. I kept responding trying different tactics to rephrase that I understood their response and trying to explain why it did not resolve the issue and offering suggestions to fix. Finally they simply quit responding. I believe it is clear they do not want to admit they have ANY issue and do not want to make ANY changes to their process. Either that or they simply won't reveal future plans for changes … but that's me simply trying to put a positive spin on their lack of response. After I found out the relationship with PayPal, my last several responses even stated I have NO issue with downloading PayPal transactions. So for now, I simply click on the button to skip when it pops up unless I know I may have a transaction. What I have noticed is Quicken may have changed how they handle connection efforts to expire. A couple months ago, the status circle would get about half way, pause, and I'd get the prompt to skip or proceed with Venmo MFA, and then after I hit skip would then continue to completion. I've noticed now that the status circle pretty much shows completion before I get the Venmo MFA prompt.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't even mind if Quicken simply skipped Venmo because at the end of the one step update it then typically prompts for a retry and during the retry prompt for MFA. Just a thought.

But bottom line is I'm just moving on and may simply drop Venmo … it's simply just one of five payment methods I have available.

BK

A family member worked for Venmo and we had a discussion about Quicken. The bottom line was that they are focused on their core business. They don't train their employees about 3rd parties like Quicken because it hinders their time where their primary users don't know what Quicken is.

I am a Venmo and PayPal user and don't have them added to Quicken. Rather I have them setup such that the funds go to/from my bank account immediately where my balances in Venmo and PayPal are always zero at the end of the day. That allows me to categorize the transactions in my Quicken connected bank account accordingly.

If you must keep cash, then another approach is to take Venmo out of the OSU group, and instead manually invoke update now on Venmo once a week or whatever frequency makes sense to your specific needs. That way you deal with the 2FA less frequently.

JKLines70

@BK, That's sort of what I thought … but like I said before, a lot of the other financial institutions took the same view until customers complained … and Venmo is in the same boat … there is competition people can go to when they ignore the customer's requests.

Brian Biggs

Thanks @BK and @JKLines70 for the feedback. Agree that I'm probably at the point where I just have that account's online update disabled all the time and then do it manually maybe once a week when I know there are transactions.

I'm sort of complaining about it on principle at this point 😀. I hate it when there are issues that don't have explanations, and this is one of those cases. This isn't a situation where "sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't". There is logic and code somewhere on Venmo's side that is making the decision to send MFA or not send MFA. I was hoping we could get Venmo to be more forthcoming about that situation and provide a solution.

It's clear that they are not willing to provide any information about it or do anything to resolve it (or even investigate it). While disappointing, I will move on 🤬. Thanks again for the help.