Quicken Simplifi in Canada is expensive work in progress
I subscribed (through the Canadian App Store) to "Quicken—Budget & Money Planner", which is the same app that is offered in the US as "Quicken Simplifi". Since subscribing, I have tried to connect all of my Canadian bank accounts (as advertised in the app's description), but I have encountered the following major issues:
- While my accounts from Scotiabank were added successfully, I need to manually confirm with my bank's 2FA that I am trying to access my account every single time I use the Quicken app. I have not seen this behaviour on other apps that link to the same bank (e.g. Mint and YNAB).
- I have been unable to connect PC MasterCard at all. When I contacted Simplifi support I was told:
- You can't use Simplifi in Canada. It is only designed to be used in the US, or
- It's your bank's fault. They are blocking us.
Both of the above issues are not issues in YNAB or Mint (prior to it shutting down). I was drawn to Quicken Simplifi's simpler design and concept. While I still like the design of the app, it is not currently functional in Canada despite Quicken collecting subscription fees for the app.
Are other Canadian customers in a similar boat? Is anyone from Quicken able to weigh in on why Quicken support doesn't know that this product is being sold in Canada? Is this product going to get fixed, or should I be seeking a refund?
Comments
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And before someone posts "Simplifi isn't available in Canada", here is a screenshot of a discussion on Quicken's support community TODAY.
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Hope the product gets better for you @Jason Silverman . Yes, Simplifi is available in Canada per the support article enclosed, which was updated this week.
Hope Quicken can give you an extended trial. Mint users used a promotion last month to get a free year if they imported Mint data into the Simplifi account. I wonder if you can get a similar deal.
Simplifi User Since Nov 2023
Minter 2014-2023
Questionable Excel before 2014 to present
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Thanks @UrsulaA. Unfortunately, I really must have jumped the gun, as I signed up for the service via the iOS app in December, before the website was properly set up to allow Canadian signups, so I did not get a discounted trial as a Mint user. Happy for anyone with Simplifi support to help out with extending my trial because if things don't improve I'm going to have to cancel and ask for a refund for the annual subscription I've paid for.
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If you ask support via chat from the web or mobile app, they may work with you. Support offered me the Mint user option even though I originally signed up under another offer. I got the discount via the support chat.
Simplifi User Since Nov 2023
Minter 2014-2023
Questionable Excel before 2014 to present
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Thanks again. I may try that, although not sure how that would work if my subscription is through the App Store .
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My understanding is if you bought your app through one of hte App Stores you'd have to request a refund FROM that app store rather than from Quicken. I believe Quicken can only issue refunds when you purchase from them directly. Someone official may know better.
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Rob Wilkens1 -
@Jason Silverman, thanks for reaching out!
Yes, Quicken Simplifi just became available in the Canada App Stores at the end of last week. Very exciting news for us! As for receiving the additional 9 months for transferring from Mint, you'll want to contact our Support Team directly. Although we can't manage your Apple Subscription, they should have a way of working around it.
As for the MFA requests from your Scotiabank, it's true that we can't do anything about these, unfortunately:
For the PC MasterCard account, what is the full name of the bank and the URL used when signing in? I can double-check for you if you'd like.
-Coach Natalie
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@Jason Silverman [removed - no soliciting]
I'm looking for a Mint replacement, downloaded Simplifi but was prompted to pay immediately after creating an account without seeing which accounts I could link. Turns out the only ones I could link were my TD accounts. PC Mastercard, MBNA, and Questrade all had to be manual accounts which requires download transactions an importing them each month (IE - the same as managing finances in a spreadsheet for free). Ultimately, I canceled and requested a refund within the hour of trying Simplifi. I'd reconsider in the future if "available in Canada" meant I could link all major financial and now investment institutions without having to do all the import work myself.1 -
Thanks @Coach Natalie, but I don't think "We can't do anything about these" really cuts it. How was it that Mint did not prompt for these every time? Why doesn't [removed] require this every time (only on initial setup)? This seems to be a technical or contractual issue that Simplifi could fix if they were motivated enough to fix it. For now I think I'll be cancelling Simplifi as it's just not ready for primetime in Canada.
It's a shame, as I would have liked to use it as I prefer the format, design and simplicity. But failing to connect to my accounts and prompting me to confirm my identity every time I visit the app (which means transactions are not properly being updated in the background) makes it a non-starter at present.
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