I'd like to start a discussion about coordinating Quicken with a variety of on line bill paying and register reconciliation methods. I'm concerned that the world is moving backwards and figure maybe there's something I'm missing.
Assumptions:
Personal financial management is centered on Quicken.
Bill paying is done using some type of on line payment system.
Automated coordination of accounts in Quicken and the banks' records is highly desirable.
The ability to automatically capture at least Categories is highly desirable.
Trial assertions:
Using web-based bill paying requires a follow-up download of some kind. Capturing Categories isn't part of the process. That's a major inconvenience because:
1) you have to remember to do the download after the bills are paid.
2) you have to add the Categories manually
3) Often, duplicated transactions have to be deleted or voided.
4) Because of all of the above, it's easier to screw things up using web-based bill paying and Quicken.
Some bank websites aren't compatible with automated Quicken transaction downloads. (I'm using Quicken 2004 - so maybe this is improved in later versions???) e.g. Bank of America's new login process.
Transaction-based bill paying in Quicken is better in this regard. The transactions are initiated in Quicken so the Categories issue is solved up front. Quicken BillPay and the old Checkfree payment service are the only ones I know of. The Checkfree payment service is no longer available to new customers - I use it but am concerned it will go away. I've read some negative things about Quicken BillPay but have no experience or recent reports.
What are recommended practices and products? The web-based payment systems are often provided free from a bank - so that's an advantage IF the difficulties can be worked around.
Well, I have a checking account at U.S. Bank. I can use the Bank's web-based online billpay at no charge.
I can also send in payments via Quicken, using Online Payees. This is what I do. As long as my checking account balance remains high enough, there's no fee. I know this isn't the same as Quicken BillPay, because I've never signed up for Quicken BillPay.
So, what is it called, what I'm using? As far as I know it's just Online Account Services within Quicken.
OK - thanks. I have a few questions about it then....
What version of Quicken? When you open Online/Online Payee List/ there's a pulldown window at the top called Financial Institution. What does it say? Do you have more than one choice? If so, what are they?
If you open Accounts and highlight a/the checking account that you use for "Online Account Services" , right click and Edit the account, select the Online Services tab, are the online services ACTIVATED and what online service is shown?
"Fred Marshall" wrote in news:SdednfwjJb_FzDDZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@centurytel.net:
I have used this feature since before 2000; currently 2006.
My main checking account is an "everything counts" account at Citibank with an obscenely high required balance. But so be it - I only once got into trouble when my IRA account dropped too far.
Yes, and so are the transaction downloads.
Huh? I don't see that info.
I can use Quicken-directed payments, or use the bank's website. In the latter case I have to enter all info twice, which is why I try to avoid using DirectAccess, and instead use Quicken as much as possible.
That is, the most used feature is to let my payees initiate the transactions (so I can't forget), an use properly edited automatically entered transactions entered >30 days ahead of time.
Personal financial management is centered on Quicken. - Ok, but it could apply to Money.
Automated coordination of accounts in Quicken and the banks' records is
highly desirable. - Agreed.
The ability to automatically capture at least Categories is highly desirable. - Agreed.
---------------------- I have used Quicken since 1995 (except for Jan 2005 - May 2005 where I used Money and switched back). From strickly a banking perspective, I have used interfaces to or from Quicken from First Interstate Bank (now Wells Fargo), Woodforrest Bank (Houston Metro area), Patelco CU, Chevron CU and Bluebonnett CU and E*Trade Bank. I no longer have accounts with Wells Fargo, Woodforrest Bank, Bluebonnett CU and shortly Patelco CU.
I have had experience in Direct Connect (both directions), Direct Connect (Bank to me), Web Connect and the old QIF.
My best experience is with Woodforrest Bank. Free - I could authorize payments from Quicken or use the Web. Interface was in both directions. Second best was the old First Interstate. I was $3.95 for direct interface and the fees increased with Well Fargo (I think it was $5.95 per month when I closed the account - 20+ year customer). The remaining CU offered QIF or now Web Connect. Patelco CU is unique in that it offers a Direct Connect from them. I can't send check (I request payments on the Web). This has worked well for me. For Patelco it is real time - something that most lack.
I do not like Web Connect for many of the same reasons you stated.
1) Availability - I now travel 50% of my time. I need the availbility to may payment on Business Trips. I can't do this from a Desktop Application.
2) If Web Connect: it needs a change where you can download multiple Accounts. I have to download four Accounts from Chevron CU. It sucks.
Money attempted to get around this in 2005 by using Yodlee inteface. It is nothing but a screen scraper. The interface IMHO sucks and I think Microsoft made a big mistake. I used Money from Jan 2005 to May
2005 and I am still recovering from the problems of coming back home to Quicken.
3) Microsoft and Quicken defind the standard of which is transmitted in the interface. Each Financial Instutions determine how to populate the fields. I suspect the US Banking Industry is still dealing with pre
90's tech, so much of what I see and don't like is based on their systems. Can this be changed? Yes, big buck for the banks. Should it be changed, probably. But, most people do not care, so it is the value of what you and I bring to the bank.
4) What I would pay? I never have every, really, paid a charge for checking. Yes I did pay money to First Interstate, but understand I had free checking for life - Wells Fargo had to honor this and I still closed the account. I also stopped Bill Payment from Chevron CU when the start charing a $3.00 fee). If I had to pay for Quicken Direct Interface, my value is the cost of check printing and the cost of stamps. This is a value I would pay to the bank. Most FI lose money from me with checking as I do not bring other business to them.
6) Since most businesses I transact with have bill payment available for free, I can avoid fees. This is the single cause of why direct payment from Quicken or Money is going no where with Direct Pay - I would not pay. E*Trade does not offer a direct interface from the bank, so I download. In one respect I find this good as it allows me to focus on the financial flow of money. If a FI has 100000 customers,
60% us Internet, maybe 30,000 us Web Banking, of those how many is Quicken? At $200 plus per hour for IT, it is expensive to build and maintain the interface. If I was the bank, I get get 30,000 easy. It cost me extra money for the Quicken and Money folks. If I do Quicken, I must do Money. Much like VISA and MasterCard.
7) Simple request to FI is to allow us to category transactions on the Web, allow us to define those that interface directly into Quicken or Money. I have done this with E*Trade Bank, but it does not interface. I also hate to accept what they download in the memo field.
Unfortunately more and more banks are moving away from allowing automated download and paying bills thru quicken directly. I suspect this is more about control than anything else. Quicken, used as described which is the way most Quicken users want to use it, is a disintermediating technology from the banks perspective. If you can use Quicken in this fashion you literally never even have to visit the banks sites. In addition, it allows the consumer much simpler freedom of choice. You can pick and choose the best bank, credit cards, brokerage, savings, money market accounts etc, and provide yourself a consolidated view of your finances quickly and easily using Quicken. The banks do not like that. One of the ways they have to generate more business is to get you to do as much of your banking thru a single institution as possible and one way they do that is by providing you a consolidated view of your finances thru their on-line website of course. Quicken, used as you describe, takes away one of their key competitive differentiators.
"Mark Wagner" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net:
I am the customer. I will do what I feel is best for me. I don't dispute what you say, but the banks should work with the customers, not against them.
I now live in NJ, while continuing to work in NYC. I have been a long time customer of Citibank. Sine there are practically no Citibank offices in NJ, I am also banking at the very local branch of the Bank of NY (BONY). Now the retail banking business of BONY is being taken over by Chase, I might totally switch to Chase, unless I can get more banking here than what 7-11 has to offer.
Ah! OK - so your bank provides a bill paying service that works by a "direct" connection and exchanges transaction information. No web-based stuff to have to deal with. That's nice.
I'd have to say that any such bank would be a very attractive provider!
I think he was answering my question which was: what shows up in the dialog window in his setup in Quicken. He probably knows better than anyone else.... :-)
On the other hand, I'd like to know ALL the possible choices of banks that provide this capability!
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