Transactions downloaded from Merrill Lynch not mapped correctly

The problem with deleting the "null" transactions that were actually pending account fees, is that (for me) once the fee was no longer pending at ML, the transaction did not download to Quicken again. I have the pending transactions preference set to "off," and the only pendings that downloaded for me were the account fees. (I have some transactions for today's date listed as pending and none of them came into Quicken when I updated this morning.) I have no idea if the fee transactions are coded differently by ML than other pending transactions, or if maybe the problem with the fees could be unique to August 2025, where the fee was registered as pending on Friday, August 1, but didn't lose the pending status until the next business day, three days later — Monday, August 4. (I updated/downloaded on August 2 and August 5.) September will be a good test.

FWIW, before updating today (August 5) I had deleted the null transactions from just two of the four ML accounts I track in Quicken and left them in the other two. The update behavior was the same for all four — no advisory fees were downloaded after posting on August 4.

@jefflock, after following your guidance, I still have many transactions across several ML accounts that continue to have missing fields - e.g., security name, share balance, and incorrect transaction type. Though the account connection type is back to "Direct Connect", how do I restore or update the many incomplete transactions from mid-July when the connection change was initially made?

The ML transaction download issue due to connection type change still looms and affects every txn download.

Thanks for any guidance.

Repost…

The Merrill Lynch transaction downloads post change over to the new Express Web Connect+ security model is an acknowledged cluster. I spent way too much time troubleshooting what is an apparent known issue.

For me, after testing, the only current safe solution is to manually enter transactions while using the Merrill Lynch web site as guidance or bypass the Quicken for Windows "One Step Update" and use the manual Merrill Lynch QFX data download as this is the only accurate downloaded data I have found. The Quicken for Windows "One Step Update also is downloading inaccurate stock and mutual fund prices. This is adding much time and energy as I have ~7 Quicken data files and 13+ Merrill Lynch accounts… :(

Hopefully Quicken figures this out promptly…

Quicken has acknowledged the issue:

ONGOING 7/30/25 Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Investments - Missing Transactions

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7964414/update-7-24-25-bank-of-america-merrill-lynch-investments-missing-transactions

ONGOING 7/30/25

This issue remains ongoing, and our teams continue to work toward a solution. No ETA or further details are available at this time, and this Alert will be updated once more information becomes available.

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Thank you,

======================

Quicken Anja Moderator mod10:51AM

ONGOING 8/6/25

This issue remains ongoing and our teams continue to work toward a solution. No ETA or further details are available at this time, and this Alert will be updated once more information, updates, etc become available.

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Thank you!

I have restored all my accounts back to Direct Connect. I have over 50 new pending sale transactions showing on the web site so I don't want to take any chance that those get messed up tomorrow when I update Quicken. Enough is enough!

[Edited - Language]

@Michael Sloss - For me, after testing, the only current safe solution is to manually enter transactions while using the Merrill Lynch web site as guidance or bypass the Quicken for Windows "One Step Update" and use the manual Merrill Lynch QFX data download as this is the only accurate downloaded data I have found. The Quicken for Windows "One Step Update also is downloading inaccurate stock and mutual fund prices (As noted in my reconciliation with the official Merrill Lynch monthly statement). This is adding much time and energy as I have ~7 Quicken data files and 13+ Merrill Lynch accounts… :(

During this Merrill Lynch transaction outage, the manual Merrill Lynch QFX data download has been my best effective solution with all information downloading as expected and as in the past. As needed, and only after I do a manual Merrill Lynch QFX data download, until this is all fixed, do I run a Quicken for Windows "One Step Update" with the new Express Web Connect+ (EWC+) security model, otherwise is corrupts the manual Merrill Lynch QFX data download.

I'm perplexed with the Quicken Merrill Lynch security model transition as they have done this with other accounts in the past. I'm also surprised that testing didn't expose these issues. I can only believe that Quicken is working to resolve these issues.

@SomebodyInGNV

I had a very difficult time switching back to EWC+ on ML accounts after I had tried going back to DC. The only way I could do it was to deactivate all ML accounts except one. On that one, there was an option to change connection methods on the Deactivate screen. I did that, and then had to go back to reauthorize the change on ML site, then I had the option of selecting all the accounts back to EWC+. I am still using that method and as long as I don't accept future transaction, it is manageable. I still have to through the security matching screens and sometimes manually change the security in the register. Also, go to the Security list and delete any mis-named securities that may slipped through the cracks. Any transaction assigned to those securities will need to be corrected to the right name before deleting the bad one. That should fix the balances on the affected accounts as well. I just hope they fix the null issue related to fees and withdrawals before they get taken out next month.

Important that everyone use the "Help>Report a Problem to Quicken" option to get enough people sending this issue to Quicken to work with Merrill to fix this. Be sure the screenshot you send with the other data files shows the problem downloaded reinvestment transactions.

Before EWC+ we were getting 3 transaction downloads for DRIPs:

1. Credit for the dividend amount
2. Add for the new shares
3. Debit for the dividend amount

Some folks would just accept the 3 transactions while others would accept #1 and select edit - Alt-V to turn it into a Dividend Reinvestment transaction and enter the number of shares from the Add transaction shown in the download window. After that deleting transactions #2 and #3.

Now, with EWC+ we are getting transactions #1 and #3 only in the download window on one day. Then a day or two later we get a correct, singular Dividend Reinvestment transaction (the only thing needed). This is the transaction to accept and now we have to go back and delete transactions #1 and #3. This is creating extra work, confusion, and can lead to Cash Balance errors.

I have noticed the first day with transactions #1 and #3 are when the dividend is pending. I delete those downloads and wait for the correct one the next day. Less work.

The plot thickens with the new Quicken Merrill EWC+ interface. Since Quicken announced that the Merrill Lynch EWC+ interface issues have been resolved (8/21/25 - https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7964294/issue-with-merrill-lynch-account-since-reauthorization-account-balance-is-wrong-edited/p2), although maybe a small step forward, I am still missing the memo field (I need to add it by going to the Merrill Lynch web site and manually copy and pasting it) and it is still adding pending transactions. Today, at month end, I learned that it is putting interest in my cash account instead of recording it as an interest earned investment transaction and it is flagging re-invested interest as a cash transaction only too, instead of recording it as a re-investment investment transaction. I had to delete these transactions and manually re-enter them.

The only way I have found around all these issues is to either manually adjust every transaction with the Merrill Lynch web site or forgo any use of the Merrill Lynch EWC+ interface (If I try the EWC+ before a manual transaction download, it causes the manual transaction download not to work) and download the transactions manually via the Merrill Lynch web site using the Quicken file interface (QFX). That means checking the Merrill Lynch web site every day for all of my investments to see if any new transaction activities are pending or available.

This is becoming beyond frustrating, and it is adding a good amount of work for me as I use and download Quicken transactions everyday as for me, this means three different Quicken files and 13+ Merrill Lynch accounts that are affected in my seven Quicken data files.

I am not having any other issues with Quicken downloads via other financial institutions and this includes Direct Connect, EWC and EWC+ connections.

Quicken, please help.

Is anyone else having similar issues?

More testing. I reset all of my Merrill Lynch Quicken connections in my main data file (Except my LMA Account for which is still at EWC+) and Quicken kicked the connection type from "EWC+" back to "Direct Connect". My other Quicken data files are still set at EWC+. Nothing to download today, so I'll test tomorrow, 9/3/25, when I know there are a good many transactions to download. Let's hope this works, and if it does, I suspect Quicken is still trying to resolve the EWC+ connection issues. If it does work, that will potentially eliminate my need to stop downloading Merrill Lynch transaction via Quicken all together in favor of the manual Merrill Lynch transaction downloads via the Merrill Lynch web site (QFX). If it doesn't work, I'm in for a lot of manual transition imputing.

Testing today, 9/3/25 - Big download day for my Merrill Lynch transactions. As I reset all my Quicken Merrill Lynch accounts and they all converted back from "EWC+" to "Direct Connect", things only got worse. Bad data, "Null" downloads without memo fields, trying to record investment reinvestments as stock splits, etc. Useless data downloads in most cases. With two of my data files, I needed to completely manually re-create the transactions from the Merrill Lynch web site. For my big Quicken data file, luckily, I could download each account transactions via the Merrill Lynch web site Quicken data download (QFX).

Quicken, this is beyond frustrating and time consuming. Please give me a realistic status of the efforts to make this right, or please start to compensate me for my time, testing, subscription service and possibly further action.

I'm trying to help, but I'm getting zero communication in return. I have filed internal Quicken application reports, buts it's unlikely that you can decipher what I am experiencing. You all should see it.

More Quicken Merrill Lynch connection transaction download testing as of 9/9/25. All my Quicken Merrill Lynch accounts have now been reauthorized back from EWC+ to Direct Connect connections by Quicken and Merrill Lynch. We'll see how my next batch of transactions look when they become available. Hopefully things are at least back to what they were…but it would be great if they could make the downloaded data even better, like my other financial institutions.

Quicken gave me the message to change my 2 ME connections from DC to EWC+. I initially ignored the message and did a one-step update of all accounts.

As each connection to ME has only one account and, being IRAs, I really don't care about performance information, I decided to update one as a test. I used the "fix" button in the message to update the connection. It went as you'd expect with an EWC+ authorization, but Merrill offered to include my Bank of America bank accounts.

I declined to do that on the one ME connection I updated that had only one IRA associated with it. That process completely without error but the transaction downloaded work as badly as the direct connection transactions did before. Specifically, dividend investments occur as multi-step transactions and ACAT removals occur as $0 withdraw transactions with no information other than the investment name. That is in contrast to Fidelity, where reinvestments download as reinvestments and match existing transactions. Similarly, ACAT transfers out or in occur as removals or additions, respectively, and match existing accounts.

I decided to test inclusion of my BofA bank accounts. I deactivated BofA accounts and removed BofA as the bank, from all affected accounts. I deactivated the Merrill Lynch account. When I set it up again, it went to Direct Connect. That worked as you'd expect DC connections to go.

When I updated transactions, I was prompted again to change connection types using the Fix button, and did. Again, I was offered to connect all Bank of America and Merrill accounts. I selected all. The process presented them in Quicken as new. I changed that to "link" and it was successful. No transactions downloaded.

I now show my Bank of America accounts associated with Merrill in Online Center. Assuming it operates as I expect, I prefer that to reduce the number of different connections. I assume it will now work like Chase. However, the setup process still needs work. I hope they don't break the link between ME and BA in the process.

If I remember correctly from my previous attempt to do this, EWC+ connections to BofA do not offer to connect to ME, but EWC+ connections to ME do offer to connect to BA.

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