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"This transaction has one or more invalid transfers" (Q Mac)

sreichlin

When I paid my American Express bill from my bank, the Category column has a red arrow, and clicking that arrow pops up this statement, "This transaction … invalid transfers." The "edit transaction" button does nothing, because the red arrow persists. Now I see that a bunch of previous American Express lines in the bank account also have a similar red arrow, but it's crossed out. I cannot understand any of this. I don't see these red arrows anywhere else. I'm using Mac version 9.2.1. I've used Quicken for decades.

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Quicken Carlos

Hi @sreichlin,

Thank you for reaching out to the Quicken Community! To help narrow down what may be causing it, could you confirm the following:

Can you confirm whether the red arrow you’re seeing is the same as the one shown in the image below?
Is the transfer going to the same account listed in the Category field? This type of arrow can appear when a transaction is set up as a transfer to the same account.
If the transfer is between two different accounts, was the receiving or sending account recently deleted or removed from Quicken?

The answers to these questions will help us better understand how the transfer is set up and what may be causing the red arrow to appear.

I look forward to your reply!

sreichlin

Thanks for your reply. I have an account for the American Express card, the label of which is "Amex Scott 2." I have always considered those accounts independent of each other, that is, I don't expect the entry/transaction to actually transfer to the other Quicken account. I download transactions separately to that account. It never occurred to me that Quicken might try to do that. To answer, the red arrow looks like the one, in your illustration, in the Category column. I do not have a "Transfer" column.

Quicken Carlos

Thanks for answering the questions above and for clarifying how you have your accounts set up, @sreichlin.

It looks like Quicken is recognizing these transactions as transfers. I enabled the Transfer column temporarily. You can add or remove the column by going to the account register and selecting the Columns option, then selecting Transfer.

To remove the red arrow, I suggest changing the category for the affected transactions. If you have a category such as Credit Card Payment, try editing one of the transactions and selecting the appropriate category to see if that removes the red arrow.

Let me know how it goes. I look forward to your reply!

sreichlin

OK, first, I have used Quicken for years and never noticed anything called transfers, so that's good new information. I have always used a category called Credit Card Payment. Now, I see that when I type that in, it automatically adds the word Transfer, so looks like this: Transfer:Credit Card Payment. [note that the word transfer is hidden unless I click on it.] I see that in the Category list, the only entry for Credit Card Payment shows up as a subcategory under Transfer. It's also not listed as an expense or as income. So I thought I could fix it by creating a new expense category which I called "Pay Credit Card" (I think that's what you suggested above), but it still gives me the red arrow. I tried closing and opening the app, but that did not erase the red arrow.

sreichlin

I noticed two other things - generally I pay three different credit cards from my checking account. The other two show "credit card payment" without the red arrow. This happens only with the American Express payments. Also, I have Amex payments going back to 2011, but this red arrow only started showing up in 2021. Finally, from 2021 to August 2026, the red arrow is hidden and not really red; it's a black arrow with a red line through it. Only this month, September 2026, does it appear as a real red arrow.

sreichlin

And … a persistent red arrow. For the others, the arrow only appears when I hover.

Quicken Carlos

Hi @sreichlin,

Thanks for providing the additional details. Based on what you described, I’m wondering if Quicken may be recognizing Credit Card Payment as a transfer, which could be related to the red arrow you’re seeing. However, I don’t want to make assumptions without seeing how those transactions are set up.

Since you mentioned that the payments for your other two credit cards do not show the red arrow, I’d like to compare those transactions with the American Express payments to see what is different.

If possible, please upload screenshots showing a few examples of the affected transactions. It would be helpful to have the Transfer column enabled in the screenshots so I can see how each transaction is set up.

I look forward to your reply!

sreichlin

Screenshot 2026-09-12 at 7.11.34 AM.png

Here is a screenshot showing three credit card payments.

sreichlin

I changed the category in the Amex account so it's the same as the others. See this one.

Screenshot 2026-09-12 at 7.15.23 AM.png

Quicken Carlos

Thanks for uploading the screenshot of what you're experiencing, @sreichlin .

Based on the screenshot, it looks like Quicken is still treating this transaction as a transfer, even though you changed the category.

In the Transfer column, are you able to remove “Account Not Synced”? If so, please remove it and save the transaction. Since this payment is no longer intended to be a transfer, this may clear the transfer connection.

Let me know how it goes. I look forward to your reply!

sreichlin

YES, that seems to have fixed it, although I got a warning that I ignored - see attached screenshot. Shall I set up another category that's not linked to the word "transfer?"

Screenshot 2026-09-12 at 8.00.31 AM.png

Quicken Carlos

Thanks for your reply, @sreichlin .

I'm glad to hear that this helped resolve the issue.

The message you were seeing was related to the transaction being set up as a transfer. When a transaction is entered as a transfer, Quicken links it between the account the money is coming from and the account receiving it.

When you removed “Account Not Synced” from the Transfer column, Quicken no longer treated the transaction as a transfer. Since you confirmed this payment should not be a transfer, it shouldn't affect the other account.

As for the category, you can either create a new category or edit an existing one in the Category List.

To review or edit the category:

Go to Window > Categories.
Search for the category you are using.
Review the category and make any necessary changes.

Screenshot 2026-09-12 at 10.23.53 AM.png

If this is only happening with the same payee, I also suggest checking the QuickFill Rules, as a rule may be automatically assigning the category or transaction type.

To check the QuickFill Rule:

Go to Window > Payees & Rules > QuickFill Rules.
Search for the payee.
Review the rule to make sure it is set up correctly.

I hope this helps clarify why you were seeing that message.

sreichlin

Thanks so much - this has been very instructive!

Quicken Carlos

Hi @sreichlin,

I’m glad to hear that this helped!

If you run into any trouble or notice any other issues, please don’t hesitate to reach back out to us here in the Community. We’ll be happy to take a look and help with any questions you may have.