USAA Creates Quicken Monopoly

[EXCB]

I was surprised and disappointed today to learn that USAA will now function only with money management software giant, Quicken. I found this out the hard way when my banking data failed to upload one day. I never saw this coming. Quicken is a notoriously bad program for Mac platforms, which is why many of us have been using great software alternatives like Moneydance. There are other great programs out there, but not anymore with USAA. Now there's only one. Who at USAA thought it was a good idea to simply "unplug" thousands of us who purposely choose to avoid Quicken and leave us stranded without access to our money management tools?

For me, this is an expensive problem that I now have to scramble to fix. It also leaves me open to tax reporting and other vulnerabilities that I should never have had to endure.

[briandrews]

Like KJRice above, a USAA representative called me and we had a pleasant conversation. But the upshot is there is no resolution. I've had a trouble ticket open with IGG (the creators of Banktivity) and they suggested asking USAA to disable the token feature. I did that on the Security section of the USAA website, but that hasn't helped. Banktivity, via Yodlee, connects with USAA and asks me to link accounts, but then fails to download any data. Instead I get the status message  "SITE_SESSION_INVALIDATED".

This is so very disappointing after many years of working fine. Like a lot of people in here, I'm disappointed in the USAA response, where they promise to escalate the problem. But there has been no solution offered, or even a hint they acknowledge and will work on it.

In my previous message I threatened to seek another bank, and after waiting for better that a year for a fix, I'm now going to have to follow through. I hate doing this, but the problem is wasting too much of my time, and so finally it's time to move on.

I wish all you Banktivity users luck. If anyone happens to come across a solution, please post it!

[USAA Social Service]

Hi there. We understand this is an ongoing unresolved accounting / banking concern at this time for you. At this time we do not have any updated information we can confirm through our social channel at this time. For the most updated information, for this concern, please contact our Website Support Team at 877-632-3003. We will also forward this concern to the appropriate department as with your prior feedback to reiterate your concern and to help drive a future resolution for this concern!

[MrTumnus]

Please add me to the growing list of customers unhappy with your lack of support for banking data feed providers such as Yodlee. Many banking apps (not just Banktivity) use Yodlee as a data feed provider, including Vanguard's external account monitoring, as well as Tiller, which I use for my daily finance tracking. Given that (for now, anyway) we use USAA for our primary checking account, there's a real impact to your lack of support. As a 30+ year USAA account holder, I really hope you address this soon.

[USAA Social Service]

@MrTumnus, thank you for your post and feedback. We will certainly escalate this to be reviewed by the appropriate area.  Thank you for letting us know. 

[Ken430TX]

Well USAA Direct Connect with Quicken is not working correctly either.  After a 32 minute frustrating conversation today with USAA they say the issue is Quicken's not theirs.  Direct Connect fails to find all my accounts now only connecting to my checking account.  Quicken gets me all the way to USAA servers, and the USAA response is incorrect.  I was told by the CSR that the supervisor said it was Quicken's fault so that was it . . . 44+ years as a member and the service has gone to pot!

[USAA Social Service]

Ken430TX we are sorry to hear of the trouble you are experiencing with Quicken Direct Connect. I will certainly escalate this to an account specialist to review your concerns. Thank you for letting us know. ~JD

[longtrip]

USAA, Once again I have sat down to my Mac financial software Banktivity and have been utterly disappointed by USAA's inability to allow it's members to download their financial data into Banktivity. This has been going on for so long now, that I almost get ulcers when I sit down at the computer each month to attempt a connection to USAA. I really just rely on USAA to do three things: 1) Provide me a place to direct deposit my paycheck and accumulate savings for my Emergency Fund, and 2) provide a Credit Card, and 3) Provide a modern, user-friendly ability to download my data into my financial software (Banktivity is my choice). You have consistently fallen flat on #3, and any bank can provide items #1 and #2. Frankly, my next step is to talk to the tech support folks at Banktivity and ask them to provide a list of the most user-friendly Banktivity banks out there - I know USAA will not be on it. 

[USAA Social Service]

@longtrip, thank you for sharing your concerns. I can certainly understand your disappointment. Currently, Banktivity is not a supported third-party app. USAA does not play an active role when members utilize unsupported third-party apps. Rest assured that over 2,000 financial applications are currently supported by USAA. Should you require further assistance with your software and budgeting options, please contact our Website Customer Support agents at (877) 632-3002. In the meantime, I will share your feedback with the appropriate folks at USAA. ~DC

[mithril]

Over 2,000 financial applications are supported by USAA.  I had no idea.  I am grateful at USAA being on top of it as always.   Could you please provide a complete current list so I can pick one of them.  Thank you.

[USAA Social Service]

Thank you for your follow-up post. We do not have an official list to share since it is updated and changing as needed. 

[dnminnick]

Well, it's official.  I have officially moved just about every penny I own out of USAA accounts and to another bank.  I have left just enough money in the accounts to keep them open, and I will return to USAA if things improve substantially.  The main token signaling improvement will be the dissolution of the Quicken monopoly.  

[boboysdadda]

I've had my money with USAA for 20 years or so. Not allowing me to get my data out the same way every other one of my financial institutions is a deal breaker for me. I'll be starting the process of moving my money to a friendlier bank over the coming weeks. This is unacceptable. Likely Chase.

[USAA Social Service]

We are truly sorry for the disappointment you've experienced trying to get data out of your USAA account especially as a member for the past 20 years. The last thing we would ever want is for you to remove your relationship from us. I will certainly forward your concern to the appropriate department for review!

[asr101]

I am a 30+ year USAA member. I always touted USAA's customer service. This calls all of that into question. Why would you purposely and actively annoy a large group of your members. Why would you not want to take some simple steps to make your customers happy and not leave USAA for a bank that does not purposely make their life more difficult. I hope the the USAA powers-that-be hear our concerns and make changes to bring support to financial software other than the Mac unfriendly Quicken such as the very Mac positive software Banktivity.

As someone mentioned above - it most be difficult to be a moderator of this discussion since the people above you refuse to give you any information.

Thank you forwarding all of these concerns - I hope they are not falling on deaf ears.

[USAA Social Service]

@asr101, I should mention that I am forwarding  your post as we have done with all the others on this thread! Enjoy the rest of your day! ~ Suzy

[USAA Social Service]

@asr101, We enjoy what we do here in the Member Community. We look forward to our interactions with members. Part of that is hearing what we need to work on and when you voice your concerns, we channel them to the right team. It is the right thing to do to get your voice heard. While we don't always change everything that is suggested, all is considered. What you are reading here may not be the final word on this topic, but know you did your part to let us know what tools you need. We thank you for that! Because that is what members do! We appreciate your 30+ years of membership. ~Suzy

[mckil007]

I too am a Banktivity user and am extremely frustrated with the lack of support at USAA surrounding this issue. For a company that has stood by us for over twenty years and had consistently stellar customer service during that time period, the decision to essentially cut-off money management apps, without notice, is very un-USAA-like.

[USAA Social Service]

@mckil007, thank you for reaching out and providing your feedback. We are truly grateful for your longtime membership and regret to hear of your disappointment. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. I am sharing your concerns regarding this matter with the appropriate department for further review. - Robyn

[Grandpa Charlie]

Here is an update.

USAA has *not* restored .qfx downloads, nor provided answers to the numerous questions customers have asked in this chain.  Including mine.

However, USAA *has* improved the format of its .csv downloads to the point that they can be directly imported into Gnucash without the need for intervening code to clean up the format.  Did USAA *tell* anybody about this change?  Is it likely to be permanent, or will USAA just change it back to something inscrutable?  Inquiring minds, as always, would sure like to know!

Social service: DO NOT REPLY to this post and DO NOT refer anybody from the "CEO's office" to me.  They and you waste my time, ask for the same information over and over, and never actually address my issues.  If an actual USAA IT person has the courage to reply, I'd be interested in what he or she has to say.

[Grandpa Charlie]

Can anybody up there read?  What part of "DO NOT refer anybody from the CEO's office to me" doesn't USAA understand?   I posted that message a couple of days ago.  Sure enough, today my phone rings.  USAA.  After I didn't answer the call I got a followup e-mail indicating the same "need more information" and "case closed."  

USAA can respond to me publicly in *this forum* or privately by personal e-mail.  No more useless phone calls.