Unable to connect to PA 529 due to Care Code: FDP-103 (edited)
Is Pennsylvania's 529 (PA 529) Invest Plan supported? It was found when I tried to add an account, but when Simplifi asked for an aggregator uid and password neither the login for pa529.com or the brokerage (they use Vanguard) worked. Which is the correct one to use and why do neither one work? I get the below message, and made sure the uid/pw are correct.
To connect to PA 529 Invest Plan, you must re-enter your credentials. If that does not work, try entering them on the website at PA 529 Invest Plan to ensure they are correct.
Care Code: FDP-103
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Hello @Diver4242,
Thanks for posting your inquiry to the Community!
It looks like there are two options for pa529.com in Simplifi, so I'd definitely suggest giving both a try:
Simplifi is asking for the username and password that is used when signing in on the bank's website of pa529.com. I believe this may be separate from an aggregator ID and password/signing into an aggregator link.
Please let us know how it goes!
-Coach Natalie
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"Simplifi is asking for the username and password that is used when signing in on the bank's website of pa529.com. I believe this may be separate from an aggregator ID and password/signing into an aggregator link."
I'm confused by all that lingo. Do I use the PA529.com uid/password or the underlying brokerage that they use, which is Vanguard?
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@Diver4242, you'd want to sign in through Simplifi the same way you'd access the account from the bank's website. If you go to pa529.com to sign in and access the account, that's what you'd use in Simplifi as well, and I'd suggest trying both of the options listed in my screenshot above.
-Coach Natalie
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I just tried both PA529 selections, neither one works. Made sure userid and password were correct. Tried both the PA529 uid/pw and the Vanguard one.
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Hello @Diver4242,
Thanks for giving those a try and posting back!
When you click on the URL displayed in Simplifi for "Pennsylvania College Savings Progr", it should pull up pa529.com in a new tab —
Are you able to sign in to the page that opens? If so, please follow these steps to troubleshoot a 103 error:
- Verify the bank being selected -- There may be several different versions of the same bank in the Add Account bank list, so be sure you're selecting the correct one. If you're not sure, compare the URL's shown for each bank.
- Verify your login information – Type your password/PIN into a text application to ensure you don’t have any typographical errors. Then, copy and paste your login information into Simplifi to ensure accuracy.
- Verify your login at the bank’s website – Try to sign in to your bank’s website using the same login credentials to ensure you've not locked yourself out of the account and that the credentials are still valid.
- Check for an app-specific password – Some banks require users to use a specific app password when connecting to a third party. Check with your bank to see if you need to use an app-specific password.
- Update your credentials – Try temporarily updating your password at your bank's website and then try again to connect to Simplifi. We recommend NOT using the following special characters: & < > / \.
More details on a 103 error can be found here. Please let us know how it goes!
-Coach Natalie
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When I click the URL up in the corner of the first choice (https://www.pa529.com/plan/investment-plan/) I get a 404 error, doesn't exist, so bad URL in Simplifi.
The second Simplifi choice sends me to https://www.pa529.com/ and I have to choose the login button in the top right, then click login under the investment plan on the page that shows up next. It seems you should have this URL ( ) for the first choice above. I can log in successfully at that URL.
Keep in mind your links in the add account dialog, which you asked me to click on, are http (non-secure) not https (secure). You can see that in the screen shot and red arrow you presented above. This is very bad, you should never use http, especially for a banking-related site, and your users should never be asked to click on something like that, it exposes them to big problems if there's a mistake and they aren't redirected to the https version and enter their login credentials into an unsecured page.
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Hello @Diver4242,
Thanks for confirming!
Since you were able to sign in from the link for "Pennsylvania College Savings Progr", how did it go with the troubleshooting steps?
-Coach Natalie
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It took me a while to hear back from them on an app specific password - they don't. I did all the other verification/troubleshooting steps. I think you're just using the wrong URL. I believe if you use the one I provided, it will work. One of the PA529.com urls you send to is completely invalid (404 error) as I said. Both (and all URLs) should always use https, otherwise you expose Simplify users to phishing and other malware attacks. If they have their security settings the way they should, their browser may flat out refuse to go to non-https forwards, so that will fail too. Soon it will be the default anyway.
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Hello @Diver4242,
Thanks for attempting the steps and posting back, although I'm sorry to hear that the trouble persists.
To clarify, the URL displayed in Simplifi for a financial institution is not always the same one used to connect from the backend. The financial institutions choose how to have their names displayed and what URL to display for them. Additionally, we don't use external links to connect your accounts from within Simplifi. The connection from within Simplifi is completely secure and encrypted.
With that said, the reason I had you select the link from Simplifi and sign in is to make sure you're selecting the correct instance. Now that we know the link for "Pennsylvania College Savings Progr" works and allows you to sign in, and with all of the troubleshooting steps having been followed, we can look at an escalation.
Please provide the following information for an escalation:
- Have there been any recent changes made to the bank's website or sign-in process?
- What is the exact URL you use when signing into your account from the bank's website?
- What type of account(s) are you attempting to add?
- The names of the account(s), as it/they appear on the bank's website.
- A screenshot of the Accounts Summary page on the bank's website that list all accounts and balances and has a wide enough scope to show the page URL. (This must be taken from a web browser and not a mobile browser. Also, feel free to redact any private info.)
- The format of your password. DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR ACTUAL PASSWORD. For example, the password of "Quicken123$" would be "Xxxxxxx###$". Please provide the actual special characters used in the format, but everything else should be coded like the example.
Thanks in advance!
-Coach Natalie
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- Have there been any recent changes made to the bank's website or sign-in process? I'm a new customer there.
- What is the exact URL you use when signing into your account from the bank's website?
- What type of account(s) are you attempting to add? PA 529 Invest
- The names of the account(s), as it/they appear on the bank's website. Are you asking me to post that to a public forum?
- A screenshot of the Accounts Summary page on the bank's website that list all accounts and balances and has a wide enough scope to show the page URL. (This must be taken from a web browser and not a mobile browser. Also, feel free to redact any private info.) Are you asking me to provide this on a public forum??
- The format of your password.
DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR ACTUAL PASSWORD. For example, the password of "Quicken123$" would be "Xxxxxxx###$". Please provide the actual special characters used in the format, but everything else should be coded like the example. Again, I'm not giving anything related to my password on a public forum and I should never be asked to. The only thing in my password that's not a number or letter is a couple of @ characters.
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Hello @Diver4242,
Thanks for providing some of the requested information!
We will need to gather all of the pertinent data in order to escalate this. Since you reached out to the Simplifi Community regarding this issue, you did post to a public forum. If you're looking for a more private support experience, you'd want to instead reach out to our Support Team directly. However, if you'd like to continue reporting this particular issue via the Community, you can DM the private details to me.
-Coach Natalie
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Hello @Diver4242,
I got your DM with the screenshot — thank you! We still need the format of your online banking password, which can be sent in the same DM thread. Also, just to clarify, is the account in question a 529 college savings account or some other investment account type? If the latter, what is the specific account type?
Thanks!
-Coach Natalie
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