Schwab Bank Rejecting Quicken Check Pay

CAERB

I see this has been brought up a year ago, but for the first time today, Schwab rejected one of my Quick Pay checks stating "Signature on File" is not acceptable for a printed check. Its obviously been enforced very sporadically as I see others have had this occur for over a year but this was the first instance for me. Unfortunately, I now have several vendors who believe I've bounced checks as a result. Very embarrassing!!!

So, as this is a known issue:

1. Why hasn't Quicken informed their customers??????
2. Is Quicken doing anything to address this?

Check Pay was a convenient way to pay small vendors who are not on the Quick Pay system.

Quicken Anja

Hi @CAERB,

Thanks for reaching out, and I'm sorry to hear about the trouble with your Check Pay payment.

To clarify, this is not currently a known widespread issue with Schwab and Quicken Check Pay, so we’ll need a bit more information to investigate and help guide you in the right direction.

Could you please let us know where you're seeing that the payment was rejected?

• Did the rejection message appear in Quicken?
• Or did Schwab notify you directly? If so, could you share the exact wording or a screenshot of the message you received?

If needed, please refer to this Community FAQ for instructions on how to attach a screenshot. Alternatively, you can also drag and drop screenshots to your response if you are not given the option to add attachments.

Once we have more details, we can better determine what happened and how to proceed. Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you!

CAERB

I was alerted to the issue when Quicken downloaded transactions and there was an unexpected credit in my account that matched the rejected check amount. Logging directly into my Schwab account and then contacting Schwab; I am told that they are flagging "third party" checks that lack a true signature. (My cancelled check shows "Signature on File" on the signature line.) Quicken is a "third party" check issuer in this case.

A screenshot of my transactions as shown on my Schwab Bank checking transaction record is attached.

All Schwab could tell me is that the policy is being enforced inconsistently but that's of little help and signals that stricter enforcement is looming. For now, I am unable to use Quicken Check Pay as the bank will refuse to honor any checks I issue through the service.

A search of this community shows the issue was a topic this time last year. Here's that link:

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7951669/schwab-returning-quicken-check-pay-checks

Quicken Anja

Hello @CAERB,

Thank you for providing these details and the screenshot—it definitely helps clarify the situation.

From what you’ve described, it sounds like Schwab is enforcing a policy on third-party check signatures that is affecting Quicken Check Pay transactions. Currently, we don’t have any official communication from Schwab addressing this publicly, but it would be very helpful if Schwab could provide a clear notice or update for their customers regarding this policy on their website or through direct communication.

At this time, the best course of action would be to refer back to Schwab for any further clarifications or updates they might issue to their customers. We also recommend keeping an eye on Schwab’s official channels for any announcements that may explain the policy more thoroughly.

We understand this is inconvenient, especially when you rely on Check Pay for vendor payments, and we appreciate you sharing your experience so we can monitor this situation closely.

If Schwab does release any formal communication, or if we receive updates on this from our side, we’ll be sure to share that with the community.

Thank you for your patience and for bringing this to our attention!

UKR

Check amount is $3,350.00

Just wondering … might there be a dollar limit on the amount of Check Pay checks above which a real signature is required?

For this biller, is there another payment method you can use?
I'm thinking about logging on to the biller's website and initiating payment from there, in the form of a one-time or regular monthly electronic direct debit from your checking account (aka Autopay or APS). This would bypass the bank's signature requirement on a paper check.

CAERB

UKR, I appreciate your thoughts. When speaking with a supervisor at Schwab, no indication of a dollar amount was ever brought up. The sole issue was the fact that they did not like the "Signature on File." I did ask them to escalate and reach out to Quicken, but I am not optimistic about that occurring. Schwab has not provided any written guidance on this and was not responsive in my requests to obtain the same.

Yes, there are always other ways to pay a vendor. I can use Schwab's bill pay service. However, the point behind this was that I would like to be able to use the Quicken Check Pay service that I am already paying for and integrates so well into Quicken.

It would be wonderful if someone at Quicken would actually reach out to Schwab for clarification. As an end user, I can only take this so far in my role as a middle man. The two principals need to communicate with each other. Can Quicken make this occur?