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Posted by joe on May 8, 2006, 1:20 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Mon, 8 May 2006 06:34:15 -0400, "Lisa C"
>> Your banks BillPay is a tarbaby. If you use it, you'll be able to
>> categorize your expenses but you won't be able to include checks written
>> on other banks or even your pocket cash. And you won't be able to switch
>> away from that bank's service because it will be hard to copy the
>> transactions into your new system. Although you can probably go through a
>> comma-separated values file step, but that's painful.
>>
>>
>????
>That is simply not true!
>
>Wachovia bank has offered free bill-pay through Quicken FOR YEARS. Before it
>was bought by Wachovia, my branch was a CoreStates, and then a FirstUnion.
>All offered bill-pay through Quicken (though at one time there was a charge
>of $3.99 per month if your balance went below a certain threshold, IIRC)
>
>As posted in this thread by Guy, you simply write a check -- either in the
>Online Center OR directly into the register, using the SEND term in the
>check number column. If you have not set up the payee as on online payee,
>Quicken will prompt you.
>
>You can even mix-and-match services. I use my bank's website to schedule
>fixed payments for loans, and Quicken to send variable payments like credit
>card and utilities.
>
>There is no distinction between transactions initiated at the bank website,
>checks written by hand, atm transactions, and those sent via the online
>center. When cleared through the bank, all transactions download for
>matching or accepting as new transactions.
>
>As for the free lunch, the OP is correct, it is not free. Banks, like other
>businesses, offer certain services to attract customers. Perhaps you will
>use a bank-associated credit card, or enter into a personal loan agreement
>with the ban, use the atm at a remote location, or order checks... all
>things banks can and do charge premiums on.
>
>Your free lunch is more likely to be threatened by the Intuit bean counters
>who discovered that their biggest cash-cow was not in improved software, but
>in disabling services for existing copies of older software. This includes
>such wonderful innovations as forcing upgrades by 'sunsetting' older
>software (disabling payroll, merchant services and other options in
>QuickBooks, and OFX online transfers in Quicken) and, in addition, removing
>some capabilities altogether (like the ability to import QIF files from your
>bank for checking, savings, and credit card accounts). Read some of the
>FAQ's for OFX download, and maybe you can pinpoint why Intuit does this.
>Q: Why does Intuit charge financial institutions a fee to connect to
>Quicken?
>A: Intuit charges a fee to financial institutions to connect to Quicken via
>Open Financial Exchange (OFX) because Intuit products, like Quicken, are
>uniquely positioned to provide financial institutions with a better way to
>attract, retain and serve their customers by offering a more valuable
>service. This small fee enables Intuit to offset costs, offer connectivity
>to more financial institutions, and continue to develop better products and
>services using the faster, easier and more accurate OFX method.
>
>Q: Does Intuit charge all financial institutions the same fee to connect
>Quicken?
>A: Intuit offers various pricing options for connectivity based on the size
>of institutions customer base. Smaller banks pay less than larger banks.
>
>Q: Will my Financial Institution charge fees for OFX download?
>A: Financial Institutions determine what - if any - fees will be charged for
>download into Quicken via OFX. Contact your Financial Institution and ask
>them if they charge fees for download into Quicken. When you call, be sure
>to explain that you want to download into Quicken and would like to
>understand if there are any costs for doing so.
>
>Q: Does Intuit require banks to charge their customers for connectivity?
>A: Absolutely not. Intuit does not mandate that financial institutions
>charge their customers for OFX connectivity with Quicken. In fact, many
>financial institutions offer this service free of charge to their customers.
>
>Of course, the folks at Intuit were not quite so forthcoming in telling the
>customers who just this year were forced to upgrade from the 2003 product.
>We found out AFTER conversion. The choice is to take the newer product, with
>QIF disabled, or send for a refund, and keep your older product with
>INTUIT-disabled OFX.
>
Perceptive and well said Lisa!
Count on nothing from I.
regards,
joe
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