Boatnmaniac ✭✭✭✭✭

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  • endmaker

    I have used Quicken forever. When the disconnect between Quicken and those banks who used to support Q via Direct Connect severed, Chase was a casualty. I tried to wait it out and come up with a work around and tried to use Chase and BMO bank websites, but they pale to the ease of tying Quicken to Bank via Direct Connect. I am willing to dump Chase and BMO and find a bank that still uses Direct Connect. Have 15 accounts in Quicken Classic Home and Business.

    There was a Bank list around for a while. If you have it or you have a recommendation, would love to see/hear it.

    Thanks so much.

    In 2024 it seems ridiculous to me that something that worked so well for so many for so long, now takes multiple clunky steps v what used to take a mere few before to get a great interface. Very few examples of technology going backward. This just plain wrong.

    [email protected]

    January 27
    • Boatnmaniac
      Boatnmaniac

      I understand and agree with the frustration regarding financial institutions (FIs) that no longer offer DC. But it is not Quicken that decides which connection method(s) a FI will support. Instead it is a decision that is solely owned by the FI.

      My understanding is that DC costs FIs a lot of money in fees that they need to pay to the aggregator (Intuit) in addition to the internal costs associated with maintaining their systems to accommodate that connection method. There are no fees that they must pay to anyone for EWC, EWC+ and WC connection methods.

      In addition, many FIs view 3rd party access to their systems as being a security risk that they are trying to mitigate. DC and EWC connection methods employ old tech security protocols that are largely viewed as no longer the best and need to be upgraded.

      To get away from these costs and to improve upon security many FIs have participated in a nationwide consortium that has established a new protocol for 3rd parties to use that they can consolidate to, provides them with a lower cost footprint and provides them with better security. EWC+ is Intuit's/Quicken's response to that new protocol.

      Not all FIs will make the I/T investment to incorporate this change to EWC+ but many will. What started out a couple of years ago as a small trickle of FIs making the transition to EWC+ is now accelerating.

      That all being said, it is fair to say that the number of FIs that offer DC has been shrinking over the last several years, even before EWC+ came about, and this trend will continue. There are two places that I know of to search for FIs that continue to offer DC:

      • The Support Article at this link… https://www.quicken.com/support/list-banks-support-bank-bill-pay-quicken …lists the banks that offer DC with Bank Bill Pay. It was last updated last Oct so it probably needs to be updated.
      • Do a Windows search for the FIDIR.txt file. This file lists all FIs that support Quicken, which connection method(s) they support, which types of accounts they support for downloads and whether or not they support Bank Bill Pay.

      Some comments regarding the FIDIR.txt file:

      • DIRECT = Direct Connect connection method.
      • EXPRESS-WEB-CONNECT = Express Web Connect or Express Web Connect+ connection methods.
      • WEB-CONNECT: Web Connect connection method.
      • BANKING = Checking and Savings accounts.
      • CREDIT = Credit cards, Loans.
      • INVESTMENT = Brokerage Investment accounts.
      • 401K = Retirement plan Investment accounts.
      • PAYMENT = They support Bank Bill Pay

      Personally, it seems to me that EWC+ is more robust/reliable and has much better security than does EWC but it still comes up short on speed and reliability when compared to DC. Most of the issues with EWC+ are related to reauthorization with some FIs doing a better job of handling that than others. Once the reauthorizations are successfully completed EWC+ seems to be a lot more reliable than EWC is (at least that is my perspective based upon what I see in my own data files during OSU and from what I see in posts in this Community).

      I hope you find this helpful.