Quicken logon to Financial Instutions

Now that just about every bank and financial institution is upgrading their logon security by doing things like multiple-page username/password entry, is it possible to use the "one step update" to download data?

I have one credit union that uses the first page username, with a "logon" button, and a second page password entry, with your personal phrase, picture and an "enter" button.

Another financial institution uses a user number, user name and password in three blanks on one web page.

So far all I've found in Quicken Premier 2009 is a two-blank username/password signon entry that seems to need to be used on a single page.

Am I not finding something, or is the single-page signon (which is becoming more scarce every day) the only option?

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Reply to
Harley
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I don't understand the problem, I've never had any problems downloading stuff from financial institutions nor have I had to make any changes in my current username/password entries.

This might be because of the specific financial institutions that I deal with but two of them are Merrill Lynch and American Express which are pretty common, I think.

Reply to
XS11E

That's how my Bank of America login is setup and quicken has no problems with it. It is really a userid and password setup. The fact that it is on 2 different webpages does not seem to bother the "one step update" process.

Reply to
Laura

Here are my musings on the topic.

I think you may be conflating a couple of different download methods ... something which is easy to do since Quicken began offering what is called "Express Web Connect" (EWC).

Prior to the existance of EWC, One Step Update always meant you were using "Direct Connect" to download ... and direct connect is unaffected by the financial institution's user web site logon scheme. You should not see any change in the success rate of One Step Update downloads from financial institutions using Direct Connect.

Prior to the existance of EWC, the other primary means of downloading to Quicken was "Web Connect", where you had to manually logon to your fi's web site and initiate the downloade from there. With plain "Web Connect", it doesn't matter what security scheme your fi's web site uses because you're going to manually key what you're supposed to key and click when/where you're supposed to click.

When EWC was introduced (Q2008 or maybe Q2007, I think), a new wrinkle was added to the process. Express Web Connect intends to have the computer substitute for the user logging on, effectively automating the Web Connect process ... so EWC can be included in the One Step Update process.

Prior to the heavy use of Multi Factor Authentication (MFA), the Express Web Connect process had a reasonably good chance of succeeding because the logon process was usually very simple: MFA threw a couple of curveballs to the whole process.

First, the original OFX specs for downloading had no provision for MFA (The current specs do provide for MFA, at least to some extent. For example, the current specs allow for answers to security questions to be defined in OFX).

And secondly, (I think), the various ways in which MFA can be implemented, coupled with the volume of changes by fi's implementing MFA, have made the process of keeping EWC operational quite difficult ... perhaps too difficult.

As to your questions about requiring more than customer-id and password, or having some answers on one page and others on another page ... I don't think those are deal breakers. Someone has already noted that BofA has the user-id on one page and the password on a second page ... and that doesn't break EWC. And NFCU requires your account number (or an alternate code) plus a pin, plus a password ... and I now have NFCU downloading using EWC [The signup process for upgrading NFCU from Web Connect to Express Web Connect asked me for all three, so that's how Quicken now knows what those three value are. Where Quicken stores the extra value, I can't say.]

I think one of the MFA implementations that is causing problems may be the answers to security questions (like "what is your mother's maiden name). OFX allows for these answers to be transmitted, but I think that the fi's and Quicken may be having some problem with this.

Also, at least, one of my fi's has told me that they are now being required to ask those security questions on a regular basis (where, at one time, they only needed to ask them if they thought you were trying to logon from a different computer than your normal pc). According to my fi, they have to ask me those questions after every so many logons ... and logons by Quicken count.

Reply to
John Pollard

I would say you are talking about two different mechanisms. Logging onto a banking web page involves http transactions, using the Quicken client involves the OFX protocol.

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If you were opening a web bank that does quicken dowloads, think of it as needing two rooms. In one room are the computers for handling http requests, like web banking, in the other room, are computers for handling quicken client requests, OFX.

Once a request is made, http or OFX, the request is forwarded to the computers that actually have the account information and the data returned. When you setup an account or change your password, most places setup the account and/or change the password on all their systems (OFX and http computers).

The main thing is, what you do via a web page, http, has nothing to do with nor affects what is done via OFX transactions, unless you changed your password or account info, as noted above.

Reply to
geoff

As a "professional paranoid" user [a couple of notches of concern and doubt above the ordinary garden-variety paranoid user] is the Quicken Password Vault any more secure than Windows management of autologon passwords?

Al .

Reply to
Al

"Al" wrote in news:TYydnW3Js9zcMUrUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.echolabs:

If you practice safe hex and scan your machine for bad stuff regularly, the password vault should be safe. Of course, given enough time and incentive, anyone who stole your hard drive will get at all the secrets on it.

Being paranoid is fine, but sleeping well is better. Why worry?

Reply to
Han

Han, Thanks for the hand-holding. Worry? While it's true that he who hesitates is probably right, on the other hand I'm at the age that I can sit here comfortable with my wrinkles, as I know they don't hurt. So, what the heck! I'll give it a try.

Al

Reply to
Al

Hi John,

I too am a member of NFCU, and that's the one I'm having the most difficulty with. How did you "upgrade" from Web Connect to EWC?

I don't find anywhere on the site, or in Quicken to do that.

At present I click on Quicken update and the web page opens with the three-element signon. After I log on I can select the desired account and I can download the WebConnect file that updates Quicken. I have to do that for each of my accounts with NFCU.

[dele]
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Reply to
Harley

I don't remember exactly what I did, but I think this is it.

On the Overview tab of an NFCU account that is already enabled for Web Connect downloads, click the "Change Online Services" button. Then click the button to upgrade your access to Express Web Connect.

Then:

1) First Quicken screen Customer ID = NFCU Access Number Password = NFCU User ID 2) Then Quicken will pop up with another screen requesting another password. Use your NFCU password this time. Password = NFCU Password 3) Your login will work but now when you go to enter the password in your Quicken Password Vault enter your NFCU User ID. Password Vault password = NFCU User ID
Reply to
John Pollard

I was able to get my NFCU VISA card to direct connect, but the other three accounts were a no-go. I must attribute the operational failure to shakey-flakey software (that would be Quicken 2009). When I try to setup the other accounts, either all at once or one at a time, Quicken goes out to NFCU and downloads information, after which it tries to move to the summary page with the "Done" button at the bottom only to hang halfway through the summary window being displayed. When I click on "Done" nothing happens, and after I close the window the account(s) is not setup. After such a failure Quicken can't redo the setup again until I exit the entire Quicken session and restart the software.

This would be a really useful and handy feature if it would work.

Reply to
Harley

I think if the accounts can be downloaded at all, they should all get setup in a single attempt.

My two NFCU savings accounts downloaded successfully the first, and only, time they had transactions after they were activated for Express Web Connect downloading.

Quicken won't download liability accounts, and NFCU won't download Certificate accounts.

Reply to
John Pollard

I'm having second thoughts about this, so don't take it too seriously. I'm too lazy to try to set this up to test, so I'd say just forget I said it.

Reply to
John Pollard

Too late - been there done that.

What I did was back up my desktop (that wasn't working) and restored it to the backup copy of Quicken I keep installed on my laptop. I then did the direct connect upgrade on my laptop, where it correctly set up all 4 NFCU accounts - Checking, Share Savings, VISA card, and NavCheck check credit account.

I then backed up and restored from my laptop to the desktop, which is my "main" Quicken machine, the one I write checks from and normally download to.

I can now do one-step updates from all 4 accounts on NFCU. For some reason it appears something on the desktop (I suspect perhaps a video driver) conflicted with Quicken and prevented the logon upgrade from completing.

Thanks for your help! By the way, are you perhaps a retired USN Captain/Admiral? The name looks familiar.

Reply to
Harley

Glad you got it working.

No, I never made it nearly that far. My father (Navy dentist) did though.

Reply to
John Pollard

FWIW, I was a Navy-Marine Corp MARS station

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holding certification as a MARS Operator from the Marine Corp Institute in Washington DC, as well as being born in a Naval Hospital outside Boston that is now closed
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(Never made it to Pensacola though John!)

----------------------------------------------- Regards -

- Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

I respect those who complain about threads that get hijacked; but I'm curious: did I say I was in Penscacola?

Please don't take the question as anything other than the simple question it is.

Reply to
John Pollard

Sorry about the thread hijacking, but the subject of Navy and ranks came up earlier...wasn't my fault!

No you didn't mention Pensacola, at least that I can remember. I had tried for OCS in Pensacola (wanted to be a RIO while in college and wasn't admitted. (See Top Gun for terms) MARS station operator was as close as I got). Never was actually *in* the Navy despite associations *with* the Navy.

OK - end of bio. Back to swearing at my large commercial bank I use for my small NPO Army social club because they're now passing off FDIC insurance costs to me monthly....

Reply to
Andrew

I do live about 20 miles from Pensacola, that's why I wondered if the mention was a coincidence.

Reply to
John Pollard

U.S. Army MARS, AL7USA/KL7USA, Ft. Richardson, AK 1965-1968.

Fxd. Sig. Opns. Co., 33rd Sig. Bn., USASTRATCOM

Reply to
John F. Morse

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