I have filed a complaint with the NCUA against Empower FCU and filed a fraud report with Intuit that concerns the record format Empower uses and the potential data mining of our online accounts.
If you use Quicken *and* have multiple accounts of the same type (e.g.. MasterCard, IRA / CD same type account numbers) you may have noted that the transactions from one of the same type accounts ends up in the wrong Quicken account.
I have spent several months working with Empower on this and other issues and helped train the Director of eBanking on how to setup and use Quicken so they could duplicate the problems. The problem is that the header information in the downloaded records no longer contains a UserID and Quicken can no longer distinguish between user accounts as before.
Prior to the conversion to the new site and internet banking system, the Quicken records downloaded all included the UserID + AcctID in the records but now only have the AcctID. Quicken can use that and properly assign the transactions when there is only one of those types in your account. With multiple same type accounts, Quicken will put all the transaction in the first account it finds that matches the AcctID. That makes your record keeping about useless for reconciling your accounts.
This can be verified by those savvy enough to know how to download the QFX file from the web site and save it. Then open it with a text editor (NotePad works fine) and look for the AcctID entry. You will note that no where in the record is your Empower UserID.
Long story short. Empower staff have duplicated the problems and they are documented but they refuse to correct the problems they created saying that only users with multiple same type accounts (like two MasterCards) will have the problem. So out of 97,000 members, I would guess there are a few thousand members using Quicken and have more than one same type account.
I have worked with them for several months now and they did not have the technical expertise to address these problems. They readily pushed the problems off as Quicken problems and not theirs. The format and content of the downloaded files are the responsibility of the financial institution and that is posted on Quicken's web site. This is a server-side problem and not client-side.
The second issue that resulted in the fraud complaint is because my accounts are constantly being accessed by a Firefox ver 3.0 browser. Empower states it's from a Quicken server but Quicken denies that. I have had Quicken tech support remotely connect to my computer to verify my setup and have shown them the log files showing the unauthorized access. Quicken Tech Support said to file the fraud report.
Yes, very aware of the Express Web Connect, Web Connect and Manual downloads and One Step Updates. My background is in computers and communication systems and I'm leaving out many details here for the sake of brevity.
Empower has been aware of these problems but has failed to take any corrective action to date and they now have 60 days to respond to NCUA. From their responses so far, I can only assume they will drag this out to the last day.
The above is a very simplified synopsis of several months of troubleshooting, explaining in detail to their non-technical staff on how to test and understand the problems noted. I have a laundry list of additional problems but keeping it confined here to a couple of the most issues.
A number of emails have been sent to the CEO (John Wakefield) and to their Director of eBanking and by their own admissions, the technical details are not fully understood. From what I've experienced over the past 6 months, no one at Empower has the expertise to properly address the problems and therefore cannot fully explain them to their (outsourced) vendors.
If you use the internet banking at Empower FCU you are well aware of the site problems that are still persisting even after 6 months. And if you had any investments with their subsidiary EAS last year during the conversion from LPL to CUSO/SEI, you most likely are aware of the disaster that turned out to be. Took weeks before my accounts were straightened out. I moved my investments accounts after that.
Empower apparently did not learn from that conversion that they do not possess the in-house experience, technical expertise or management capability to implement and manage complex projects. And apparently do not intend to do so. I continue to offer my assistance but it has taken filing a complaint to the NCUA in order to get their attention.
If you are experiencing any of the above issues or have found others that cause you concern, I would encourage you to notify the CEO, Mr. John Wakefield either via the Empower web site (Email the CEO) or directly at snipped-for-privacy@empowerfcu.com. He is the one responsible for ensuring that they have the technical expertise, training, tools and the resources needed to make these projects a success. He is also answerable to the members of Empower FCU.
It would be the easy way out to move my accounts to another bank but we have been members since 1977 and it's only been the past two years that we've had any problems at all. I'd rather help make them aware of the issues so they can be resolved for the benefit of all - even us in the minority now...
Bob S.