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New and Improved Way to Connect to Your Financial Institution (OAuth API)
New and Improved Way to Connect to Your Financial Institution (OAuth API)

Learn about the API connection method and the supported financial institutions

Natalie avatar
Written by Natalie
Updated this week

Overview

You may have received an email or in-product message regarding a new and improved way to connect to your bank, or noticed a lightning bolt next to your accounts. This is due to an upgraded connection method called an OAuth API.

Note: Below are some tips and tricks for the banks listed in this article, however, if you're receiving a specific error code or any other connection issue, we suggest searching the bank name or the specific error code in our Help Center for relevant troubleshooting steps.

The financial institutions that currently use an API to connect in Quicken Simplifi are:

  • American Express (Credit Card, Savings, and Loan accounts only)

  • Bank of America

  • Citibank

  • Capital One

  • Charles Schwab

  • Chase

  • Fidelity

  • Jack Henry Banks (full list available here)

  • Navy Federal Credit Union

  • Novo

  • PayPal (Checking & Savings accounts only)

  • PNC Bank

  • Robinhood

  • TD Bank

  • USAA

  • U.S. Bank

  • Wells Fargo Bank

Note: If you experience any trouble connecting to one of the OAuth API banks, we suggest trying from a different browser or in incognito/private mode, as security extensions and things of that nature enabled in your primary browser can prevent the authorization process from completing.


How Does an API Work?

For the financial institutions that use an API to connect in Quicken Simplifi, you'll use a bank-hosted sign-in form to authorize downloads. The overall process for adding accounts and downloading is the same, however, the screen you use to sign in to the financial institution from Quicken Simplifi will look different.

As additional financial institutions begin to support an API connection in Quicken Simplifi, you may be prompted to migrate your accounts. When it's time to do so, you'll see a lightning bolt next to the account(s) and Quicken Simplifi will walk you through authorizing them under the new connection. You'll simply enter the username and password you use to sign in to the bank's website, check the box next to each of your accounts, and then authorize the access.

You'll want to ensure that all of your accounts are checked, even if they're already added to Quicken Simplifi. If there are accounts you don't want to add to Quicken Simplifi, you'll still want to select all of them on the authorization screen, and you'll then be able to ignore any that you don't want to add to Quicken Simplifi on the next screen.

Note: If prompted, you are not required to select to 'include new, eligible accounts automatically' to move forward with authorizing your accounts.

Here are some examples of how this may look in Quicken Simplifi:


Fidelity Tips & Tricks

Please note that the Fidelity Oauth API connection does come with a few drawbacks that you should be aware of:

  • Your current balance may be delayed 24-48 hours.

  • Fidelity sends a security ID or CUSIP instead of ticker symbol in some cases, meaning that quotes for symbols won't update until the following day.

  • No pending transactions will be sent, and will only appear when they are cleared.

  • Crypto accounts are not supported.

We understand that these changes may cause inconvenience for some of our users and we have been working with Fidelity to address these issues. However, Fidelity has not provided us with an ETA for when these issues will be resolved. We're doing everything we can to improve this experience for users.

If you're experiencing any of the above issues, please contact Fidelity directly for assistance or to share your feedback:


American Express Tips & Tricks

  • If you receive a blank screen when authorizing your American Express accounts, a pop-up blocker could be preventing the prompts from appearing. You will need to temporarily disable any pop-up blockers or update their settings to allow pop-ups from American Express.

  • Depending on the type of accounts you're trying to add, you may need to use a different American Express instance in Quicken Simplifi:

    • For Credit Card Accounts, you'll want to use the option listed as "American Express".

    • For Checking and Savings Accounts, you'll want to use the option listed as "American Express - Banking".


USAA Tips & Tricks

  • USAA's API does not support the download of pending transactions.

  • If your account isn't discovered during the authorization process, ensure transactions have posted in that account in the past two years. If no transactions have posted in the last two years, the account is considered dormant and will not be discovered. To resolve a dormant account with USAA, you can make a small transfer or transaction into or out of the account.

  • If you receive a blank screen when authorizing your USAA accounts, a pop-up blocker could be preventing the prompts from appearing. You will need to temporarily disable any pop-up blockers or update their settings to allow pop-ups from USAA.

  • Insurance accounts will not be supported after this connection update.


Chase Tips & Tricks

  • Chase is limiting download access to only the Primary user. Chase Authorized users may encounter an error while adding Chase or reactivating Chase accounts, which will appear in the authorization window. This is for security purposes to ensure the account owner(s) are allowing access to the bank data. Unfortunately, there is currently no workaround for this issue.


Capital One Tips & Tricks

  • Capital One's API does not support the download of pending transactions.


PNC Bank Tips & Tricks

  • PNC Bank's API does not support the download of pending transactions at this time.


PayPal Tips & Tricks

  • Checking and Savings accounts will transition to the new connection method in Quicken Simplifi and will need to use the option listed as "PayPal".

  • Other accounts, such as Credit Cards, will remain on the regular connection type but need to be connected or transitioned to a specific PayPal instance in Quicken Simplifi listed as "PayPal Credit, MasterCard and Crypto".


Charles Schwab Tips & Tricks

Due to the upgraded connection method with Charles Schwab, accounts must now meet certain criteria to be available for download:

  • You must be the owner of the account.

  • View-only users will not show up.

    • Example: Your spouse has an account that they granted you access to view. You will see this account on the Charles Schwab website, but you will not be able to download it. This is because you can only download accounts you have legal ownership of.

  • Donor-Advised accounts will not be included for download.

  • 529 accounts are enabled for download.

  • Credit cards are not supported; you will need to set up the account for download via American Express.

Supported account types: Brokerage, IRA, 401(k), Line of Credit, and Loans (balance only). For Mortgage accounts, please use Quicken Loans.

Unsupported account types: Employee Benefit Accounts (RSU, Employee Stock Options).

If your accounts meet the criteria above and still aren't available for reauthorization, you may need to enable third-party access on the Charles Schwab website. To do this:

  1. Sign in to your Charles Schwab account on their website.

  2. Click the profile options icon in the upper-right and select Security Settings.

  3. Under Third-Party Access, choose Enable Third-Party Access.

  4. In the Quicken section, select the accounts you want to link to Quicken Simplifi.

  5. Click Save.

  6. Go back into Quicken Simplifi and try to add your accounts again.


If you need any assistance connecting your accounts in Quicken Simplifi, our Support Team will be happy to help!

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