Just got a Quicken Basic. It looks quite scary from a security and privacy point of view. Like immediately about five spam icons appear on my desktop.
Does one have to pay Quicken a fee to do online bill paying? (There was a icon that said first month free.)
Does one need to register to do this? Apparently one need to register to get an update - OR is the shipped product complete and NOT like Turbotax that sends slightly more than a link and an empty box.
Regards, joe
Reach down and see if your cojones are in place.
Then, stick a finger in 1 ear and see if it comes out the other side.
Then, go look up the definition of spam.
These are additional products/features from Intuit that you may choose to use. The cost of each is evident.
As is your paranoia.
Well aren't you a nice one. All I'm really interested in is to maintain a check book and perhaps pay bills on line to save on postage and effort. Investing or budgets in Q is not for me. At $10 a month through Q - sounds FAR FROM SMART. Am I expecting too much from Q?
joe - does your bank offer online bill payment? That would be a better choice.
Also - if you can, consider consolidating recurring payments to a credit card and then make just one payment to your credit card each month.
it's probably not worth paying quicken bill pay unless you spend more than $10 in stamps/month.
as for the icons on your desktop, simply delete them. It's a too frequent occurance these days with software installation (ever install AOL? Tons of links scattered all around!)
.
I use PNC for my checking account. I do use Quicken to talk to them in terms of bill paying. It works as writing a check: you specify the address of the payee, and the amount, and the date you want the payment be made. PNC bank either prints a check and mails it to the payee, or makes the payment electronically, depending on their arrangement with the payee. It is free to me, as long as I maintain some minimum balance.
I think Quicken bill pay is something completely different. It is independent of the bank you are using.
Quicken does have updates from time to time. I don't think you need to register to get the updates. You can either click a button to have Quicken check for update on the web, or have the program do that periodically.
I agree with your uneasiness about advertise icons that Quicken installer puts on desktops. I already paid for the program. I should not lose control over my desktop.
Feng
Hi Feng; Thanks for the info. The bill pay thing looks less and less attractive. Next step is to check with the bank and see just how flawless this is. Paper has worked flawlessly for 45 years. Computers (and programs) must pay their own way and justify their use every single day. Spending a lot of time and effort/$ on this makes no sense since it is neither a sport nor game to handle $ for me. I have been running Quicken 5 circa 1995 on a Wind 3.1 100mhz dos and would like to retire it and be 100% XP. One HD is sending me signals . Was it not for taxes, and sorting expenses and income, then it has made NO sense to double check on banks and their accounting. regards, joe
From the Quicken helpfile: "If your financial institution doesn't offer online financial services, you can still use the checking account you have for online payment by using the Quicken Bill Pay service. You sign up for this service from Intuit as you would to any of the participating financial institutions."
Currently my bank is Wachovia (location has been the same for two decades, but the banks ownership has changed a few times). Wachovia offers FREE billpay options. The bills can be initiated through the Wachovia website OR through Quicken. Both the bank and the Quicken software allow for repeating automatic withdrawals in addition to 'send the payment when I say so'.
As flawless as paper has seemed (though I have had checks mishandled and digits reversed) the fact of the matter is that banks are moving away from paper. Today, your hand-written check is often processed immediately by EFT - the store scans it and hands it right back to you. As to the security issues, be as smart and as safe as you can. If you have a constant on internet connection (as opposed to dialup) turn the bloomin computer OFF when you are not using it. Don't respond to email that asks for account numbers or pins. Don't store your password in a file on your computer. Run anti-virus and anti-spyware software regularly.
East West Bank appears to have a similar setup. Need to call and verify the realities with the mgr. Sure I have had business accounts with them for 30+ years but never that large. They just seem to suck up to me when I make a rare appearance in person 3-4 times a year. If there is a line when I walk in they will open a window at once and call me over by name etc. I can barely remember to recognize the mgr . They will look after my wire transactions like nobody else. With a modest ego - how can I resist. They apparently also limit your online banking loss to $50.00 if you notify them promptly.
Another bank gets you hooked up with a $9.99 a month outfit - they just happen to be closer to my residence where I deposit checks.
joe
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