Re-enabling Check Pay asks for unreasonable private information

TheGolux

I have been using Check Pay for years. Working great.

This past weekend, a vendor I paid lost a paper check they were mailed and called me so that I would stop payment on it. Fair enough.

I stopped payment at my bank of course, since the paper check had already been issued and sent.

But then I was unable to void the check in the register. I kept getting error messages saying I needed to cancel the payment first, but of course it didn't let me cancel the payment because the paper check had already been printed. So there is a bug right there.

But then some online sleuthing led me to instructions to hold Ctrl and Shift down while attempting to delete that transaction (rather than voiding it) and I was able to get it out of my register. Kind of a hack, but still not really angry.

But then I learn that my process of forcing the deletion of that transaction in the register ALSO disabled my Check Pay generally - and invited me to re-enable Check Pay. OK, Grrrrr. That kind of sucks, but let's do that.

But then when I attempted to re-enable Check Pay / Bill Pay - the system doesn't work like it used to where it verified identity by putting two small deposits in the account. Instead it wanted a raft of private information from me including DOB and SSN that could be used to identify me. But I have no interest in sharing that information with Quicken (or even a 3rd party handling Check Pay). The dialog invited me to check out the privacy policy, and I have to say the Quicken Privacy Policy basically sucks. It says "Yeah we might need to store private data about you, but we aren't responsible if it gets leaked…. blah blah disclaimer…. we won't accept liability for anything".

I called support, and they said that yes they changed the vendor so the process changed and yes you need to essentially open up all your private data if you want Check Pay now. Forget that.

So Quicken continues to get worse and worse and worse over the years and more and more invasive. I've been using Quicken since 1987 (for anyone wanting to reverse engineer my DOB) and in recent years it just keeps breaking my heart with bloat but no fixes for the things that really matter. But one thing that was keeping me sticky was Check Pay.

I think now it is time to say goodbye to Quicken over a really really misguided policy on private information, unless someone out there knows a hack for me to simply get back the Check Pay connection I previously had.

Boatnmaniac

@TheGolux - Does this Support Article describe the cause of the issue you are having?: https://www.quicken.com/support/improved-ebills/#section-windows-3 .

If so, then you should note that Quicken did not arbitrarily make the change. Instead the change was required because their 3rd party provider for Check Pay and Quick Pay is discontinuing their service. So, Quicken has partnered with a different 3rd party (supposedly higher reliability) provider.

I certainly understand your reluctance to provide the required personal information to set up with the new service provider. Here are some other options for paying bills (other than traditional check writing and snail-mail):

• If your bank supports DC Bank Bill Pay, get that service set up in Quicken. DC Bank Bill Pay allows you to set up and send bill payments from Quicken which are then sent directly to the bank. No 3rd party provider is involved. The bank decides whether to send payments by ACH transfer or via a mailed check based upon what bank information they have in their system.
• Depending on who your bank is, it might require changing your connection method in Quicken because Direct Connect (DC) is required for this functionality. It might also require a unique login for DC and there might be a monthly fee from your bank but you will need to contact your bank to confirm this. (Many banks do not charge a monthly fee for this service including PNC Bank, Wells Fargo and Old National Bank.)
• If your bank does not support DC Bank Bill Pay you might want to consider setting up an account with a bank that does. Here is a Support Article that lists banks that do support it: https://www.quicken.com/support/list-banks-support-bank-bill-pay-quicken/ . (Note: This list is a bit out of date. It has been recently requested that the list be updated to include a few banks that are not in this list so hopefully that will be done soon.) If your bank or some other bank you consider is not included in this list, post it back here and I or someone else will be able to help confirm whether or not they do. The bank's website might also say what they support or don't support regarding downloading via DC.
• You can always log into your online bank account and schedule your bill/check payments there. Most banks do not charge a fee for this service but some do place a quantity limit on it. You'll need to verify with your bank what their policy is regarding this.
• What I and many others do instead of using QBM or DC Bank Bill Pay: When possible, set up recurring autopay in our online accounts with the billers. This works best with bills that are a fixed amount each billing period or when the bill will be paid in full each billing period. And it is the most reliable method for paying bills. Once set up I generally do not have anything else to do regarding those autopays other than to make sure I have enough money in the checking account (Bill Reminders help in accomplishing that but I do need to adjust the payment amount for many of them). I have about 20 bills to pay each month and all but 2 of them are set up this way. Those 2 plus occasional random bills are then paid via the DC Bank Bill Pay process.