AMEX High Yield Savings accounts not connecting (edited)

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  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @JLQ, thanks!

    I went ahead and got a ticket created with your info and will let you know when we hear back. Can you please also submit your logs for us? 🙏

    1. Log into the Quicken Simplifi Web App.
    2. Select Profile from the left-hand navigation bar.
    3. With the Profile menu open, hold down the Option key for Mac or the Alt key for Windows, and then click Send Feedback
    4. Leave all boxes checked, add a brief description of the issue, and then click Send.

    Please let me know when done!

    -Coach Natalie

    CTP-8131

  • JLQ
    JLQ Member

    Thank you. I just sent the log.

  • I signed up for an Amex HYSA to find it's not detectable by Simplifi. This is now the third account that I have that doesn't work. PHH mortgage, Morgan Stanley Access Direct and now my Amex HYSA. The whole point in Simplifi is all my accounts in one place. If it doesn't work then it's pointless as I now have to visit 4 sites to get a full view of my accounts

    Amex banking option doesn't work for me, but I don't use amex for banking, just credit card and HYSA. I try to add or reconnect an account, log in successfully to amex, but only have my credit cards available

    I've sent the feedback, but I'm going to shop around to see if an alternate exists that does support these accounts better. Just feels hokey that I reported the lack of PHH and Morgan Stanley well over a year ago now, and the response was effectively that it's their fault, not yours. That doesn't help me and I suspect the outcome here will be the same.

  • davethehedgehog
    davethehedgehog Member
    edited November 2023

    Doing a bit more digging into this [removed - accuracy]. The tell tale sign is the account addition tool. It looks the same for pretty much every site because it's piped directly from Plaid's API (I suspect). The issue isn't with Simplifi, it's with Plaid, they don't support PHH, MSAD or Amex HYSA's.

    Reading into it more, seems that banks don't actually want Plaid to work as it breaks their business model of driving you to their website to cross sell you new products

    So i guess the outcome is that these missing links are very unlikely to ever get fixed, the banks broke it, have no motivation to fix it and Plaid are powerless to make it work. So apps like Simplifi are stuck and as friendly and helpful they may be, and no matter how much they want to help, they likely can't :(

    Sorry Simplifi, unless you can come back and tell me I'm totally wrong, I think I'll go back to the spreadsheet. I already have to maintain that for these other accounts anyway

    It wouldn't be so bad if your manual accounts option allowed me to enter things like interest rates on mortgages and savings, so I could at least just enter transactions and have it automatically calculate based on the interest rates. I have that on a local spreadsheet, so it's definitely possible if an idiot like me can make it work

  • RobWilk
    RobWilk Superuser ✭✭✭✭✭

    @davethehedgehog If you're going with a spreadsheet, which may work fine anyway, have you considered tracking them as manual accounts in Simplifi? Not every account needs to be connected here.

    So far as I know, Quicken Simplifi does not -yet- use Plaid (but they claimed to be working on that). I suspect if you're right the issues may be similar. To be clear, I don't represent Quicken in any way, and you may get a better answer.


    Rob Wilkens

  • davethehedgehog
    davethehedgehog Member
    edited November 2023

    @RobWilk I would love to track them as manual. The problem is the manual account type doesn't seem to allow you to enter interest rates and have it automatically calculate or model future balances. So I can enter my balance, then a transaction, but that transaction is static whereas my principle changes monthly obviously, so it's not realistic and a pain to maintain. My spreadsheet takes in interest rate and calculates everything from that.

    If the manual account option was a little more capable, and it allowed the above that would be awesome. It would be a fix for sure, and I would be VERY happy to use it, as it would allow me to work in one place again, but right now it's limited without any calculation logic behind it.

  • RobWilk
    RobWilk Superuser ✭✭✭✭✭


    Rob Wilkens

  • lwyman
    lwyman Member ✭✭

    I have tried using all of the American Express options on Simplifi, and none work. The "American Express - Banking" option recognizes me and sends me a code, but after I enter it, Simplifi gives me a FDP-102 error and says it can't connect at this time. I've tried off hours and on different days with no luck. I know Amex links with other apps and can be accessed on-line with my credentials, so I'm confused why it won't connect with Simplifi.

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @lwyman, American Express blocks us on Mondays, so you won't be able to connect today. Please give this another try tomorrow using the "American Express - Banking" option and let us know how it goes.

    -Coach Natalie

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    Hello All,

    Can we have everyone give the "American Express Bank FSB" option another try for the High Yield Savings accounts, please?

    Let us know how it goes! 🤞

    -Coach Natalie

  • HYSAs worked for me using the FSB option and my old credentials for the American Express Personal Savings site.

  • vollmas
    vollmas Member ✭✭

    I was also able to get my HYSA's connected using the FSB option and my old credentials from the Amex Personal Savings site. However, this is merely a temporary solution, as Amex explicitly moved all of it's users off of that site, and who knows how much longer it will be accessible/available. Quicken team, you have a lot of Mint converts that are relying on you, and when a free service has more consistent connection options than a paid one, things get frustrating really fast. We appreciate your efforts to ensure that ALL of our accounts connect successfully and consistently to this platform.

  • Same issues, opened an Amex HYSA only to find it is unable to connect to Simplifi. Have tried numerous different days, times, methods, support team seems satisfied with just copy-pasting the same "solutions" of waiting until the next day or using FSB or Banking to connect the account. Hoping this is fixed soon.

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin
    edited December 2023

    @tylercdavis, it is my understanding that High Yield Savings Accounts with American Express must be added using the "American Express Bank FSB" option (this is outlined in our support article here). If this doesn't work, you'll want to try "American Express - Banking". If these don't work for you, please provide more details as to what specifically occurs and why it doesn't work so we can take a closer look.

    Thanks!

    -Coach Natalie

  • JLQ
    JLQ Member

    Quick update: it finally worked yesterday without any change on Amex side.

    I used Amex Banking and my usual login and this time the account was visible.

    Only problem: the 2FA key is requested each time I open Simplifi or refresh the accounts

  • lwyman
    lwyman Member ✭✭

    Still can't connect to American Express Banking - and I have tried the FSB option and that doesn't even recognize me. The American Express Banking option at least knows it's me, since it sends an SMS code to my phone, but when I enter the code, it gives me the 102 error. I've tried this on different days and different times of the day (and night). So I'm just assuming that if enough people have this problem, Amex and Simplifi will work a little harder to correct the problem.

  • lwyman
    lwyman Member ✭✭

    Well this seems pretty definitive -

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @lwyman, I'd suggest trying the "American Express - Banking" option outside of peak hours or over the weekend. It does seem, though, that most users have been able to connect their HYS accounts using the "American Express Bank FSB" option. What happens when you use this option?

    It is possible that American Express doesn't technically offer support for these types of accounts (I think I may have heard something about this), however, from our end, if you can't add an account, we will certainly look further into it for you. Additionally, I know we are still working on the connection with American Express; for example, Checking accounts will soon be available on the OAuth API connection from what I've heard (currently, only Credit Cards are available on the API).

    https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/6997452-new-and-improved-way-to-connect-to-your-financial-institution-oauth-api

    Please let us know so we can best assist!

    -Coach Natalie

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @GigaFusion, have you tried all of the American Express options in Quicken Simplifi — "American Express Bank FSB", "American Express - Banking", and "American Express"?

    Please let us know!

    -Coach Natalie

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @GigaFusion, to clarify, the only American Express account types that are currently supported for the OAuth API are credit card accounts, and you must use the option listed as "American Express" in Quicken Simplifi.

    It is my understanding that checking accounts with American Express will be migrated to the API next, but I'm not sure when this is expected to happen, nor am I sure if the other American Express options listed in Quicken Simplifi will also be migrated to the API, or how this will work. For now, you're supposed to use the "American Express - Banking" or "American Express Bank FSB" options for non-credit card accounts as outlined in our support article here: https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/6997452-new-and-improved-way-to-connect-to-your-financial-institution-oauth-api#h_d548c7460c

    The MFA prompts are most likely coming from a non-API American Express connection, and we won't be able to do anything further about them, or at least don't expect to see improvement with this, until the API migration has occurred.

    https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/4704254-why-do-i-need-to-re-authenticate-my-bank-with-every-refresh

    I hope this helps!

    -Coach Natalie

  • bbjorn
    bbjorn Member

    Found this thread searching through the help pages because I also struggled to get my Amex HYSA added to Simplifi when I joined recently. I think I managed to connect it using American Express - FSB or Banking… forget which one but it definitely was not the main "American Express" option that linked my credit cards to Simplify.

    My only issue is being asked for the 2FA code from Amex every single day I log on here. If I am understanding the above correctly, that is not something that can be fixed right now? Is this related to how I added the HYSA to Simplifi? It's extra annoying because if I open Simplify on my PC I am asked for the 2FA code from Amex, but if on the same day I open Simplifi on my phone or laptop, it will also ask me for the code on each of those platforms even if I already entered it on a different device that day. In other words, I may have to enter a 2FA code three separate times on a given day if I open Simplifi on all of my devices.

    Honestly, it's my only gripe with this application (besides Transamerica accounts not linking, which doesn't seem to be Quicken's fault).

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin

    @bbjorn, thanks for the inquiry!

    That's right that we have no control over the MFA requests: https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/4704254-why-do-i-need-to-re-authenticate-my-bank-with-every-refresh

    For American Express, though, hopefully this gets better as we migrate Checking and other account types to the OAuth API, just like the Credit Card accounts are already on. 🤞

    I hope this helps!

    -Coach Natalie

  • azcarefres
    azcarefres Member
    edited January 8

    I have both an AMEX bonvoy credit card and high yield savings.

    I tried these:

    American Express : I only get credit card not high yield savings

    American Express Bank FSB : in a loop asking for me to re-enter credentials

    American Express - Banking : in a loop asking for me to re-enter credentials

  • SGranada
    SGranada Member

    Before I switch to Simplifi from Mint I also had this problem. What I did was create a log in in the Amercian Express banking website and used that log in for the savings account. Brought that same workaround here and it's working.

  • Coach Natalie
    Coach Natalie Administrator, Moderator admin
    edited January 9

    @azcarefres, thanks for reaching out!

    As outlined in this existing topic, it seems that High Yield Savings Accounts with American Express need to be connected using the "American Express Bank FSB" option in Quicken Simplifi. When viewing your connection attempts from our end, I see a 103 error for this bank option, which indicates invalid credentials. You can troubleshoot this error by following these steps:

    1. 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 URLs shown for each bank.
    2. 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 Quicken Simplifi to ensure accuracy.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Update your credentials – Try temporarily updating your password at your bank's website and then try again to connect to Quicken Simplifi. We recommend NOT using the following special characters: & < > / \.

    Please also take a look at @SGranada's previous comment (click here) to see if that helps at all.

    Let us know how it goes!

    -Coach Natalie

  • So I have been having the same errors with my AMEX HYSA but I just resolved it. When using the "American Express Bank FSB" option in Quicken Simplifi I was getting a 103 error which I just found out was an incorrect password. I used the old password for AMEX HYSA before they merged the AMEX CC with HYSA and it linked!!!

  • AaronG
    AaronG Member
    edited February 2

    Hi. I have the same issue with HYS. Please advise

    American Express, banking, fsb options aren't working. Please advise

  • Coach Kristina
    Coach Kristina Moderator admin

    Hello @AaronG,

    To help troubleshoot this issue, I checked on our end. It is showing a FDP-103 (invalid credentials) error when you try to connect. To troubleshoot the 103 error, please follow these steps:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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: & < > / \.

    Please let me know how it goes!

    -Coach Kristina

  • ChristyL540
    ChristyL540 Member
    edited February 16

    FINALLY GOT IT TO WORK! I used what others said above. 😎

    Use "American Express Bank FSB" with your OLD login credentials, prior to AMEX combining the credit card/banking. Each time you login to Simplifi you will have to do the 2 step verification though. However, at least it does work for now. Thank goodness for someone giving this a try! I've been searching and searching for an answer to this! Anyone who recently opened up their account may not be able to utilize this option though.

    Tags: FDP-102 FDP-103 American Express Savings

  • I am also having issues adding my AmEx HYSA to Quicken Simplifi, however unlike a lot of the users in this thread I am a new savings customer with AmEx so I do not have a log-in from before they merged with the credit card log-in. I have had an AmEx credit card for years and was able to link the account to Simplifi with no issues when I created my Simplifi account a couple weeks ago. I only opened the savings account about a week ago, however, and while I can log in to my AmEx account and view the savings account I am still not able to link it in Quicken.

    I have tried checking my already linked AmEx account but it only shows my credit card.

    I tried re-connecting that account but again, it only shows the credit card.

    I tried the American Express - Banking connection and get as far as a 2 factor authentication code, but after entering the code I receive from AmEx it sits on the "Securing Connection" screen and spins for several minutes and then errors out.

    I tried the American Express - FSB connection but that immediately rejects my AmEx credentials.

    For the time being I have manually added the account as I do not expect to see much activity on it, however I would like to get this connection working so I don't have to manually update the interest every month.

This discussion has been closed.