Fidelity OFX connection issue with VPN on

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Dave

08 Nov, 2023 11:58 PM

Can a user still connect to Fidelity using Plaid? I have been connecting for quite some time now and this month (Nov '23) it has stopped. In looking at this reddit article it appears that Fidelity and Plaid no longer play well together: https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvestments/comments/16vl2cp/fidelity_no_longer_supported_by_plaid/.

I tried online at Fidelity and their bots could not answer if Plaid is still supported. I then tried similar chat bots at Plaid and got no where. I am too stupid to find a way to email either of these companies. I then called Fidelity and they were useless and would not confirm or deny that they support Plaid. Can you please provide insight on this connectivity issue?

  1. 1 Posted by dwg on 09 Nov, 2023 01:15 AM

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    The Infinite Kind is unlikely to have any more insight as to what is going on between Plaid and Fidelity.

    Certainly we have seen many things done by the Financial Institutions, some using "security" as an excuse, and in many cases a questionable excuse given what they have done.

    From a Moneydance perspective we know that Moneydance+ (Plaid) no longer works with Fidelity, Users have posted that at least some accounts work with Direct Connect (OFX).

  2. 2 Posted by dtd on 09 Nov, 2023 02:03 AM

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    Investment accounts appear to work with OFX (mine do), not so much bank accounts.

    And yes, it appears that Plaid and Fidelity are now in a bad relationship.

    Only time will tell what will happen here.

  3. 3 Posted by Dave on 10 Nov, 2023 02:51 PM

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    This comment was split into a new private discussion: Fidelity Plaid connectivity

    Thank you for this feedback. When Plaid came out I switched all my intuitions over to it. If Fidelity is not playing nice using Plaid, I still want to be able to download transactions. I tried to do this via OFX using the guidance in the link below. But each time I go into Online > Set Up Online Banking I get the MoneyDance+ interface only. I cannot find the option to connect to OFX Service. How do I connect to Fidelity using OFX if I already have Moneydance+ enabled for the other accounts?

    https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/kb/online-banking-and-bill-pay/direct-connect

  4. 4 Posted by dtd on 10 Nov, 2023 08:55 PM

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    I don't remember the whole process, since I've always maintained both sides.

    When you get MD+ have you disconnected Fidelity via MD+ ? (click on Fidelity, right click on connect, then disconnect) - note this is the bank itself, not an account)

    You may have to do something with Toolbox as well, but that may have been fixed at some point. Once disconnected, try Online>Setup Banking again, while in the account(s) you want to connect to OFX

    No guarantees, I haven't done this in quite some time and things have changed.

  5. 5 Posted by dtd on 10 Nov, 2023 08:57 PM

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    Note - I know Fidelity Investments works with OFX, I don't know about Fidelity Banking.

  6. 6 Posted by Dave on 10 Nov, 2023 09:22 PM

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    @dtd, before I went to MoneyDance+ I did have OFX and in regards to Fidelity, the accounts are on the investment side. In the past I removed all the OFX connections and went with Plaid. When I found out that Fidelity no longer works with Plaid, I did run the disconnect process.

    I made the attempt to be in the account and go to Online>Setup Banking. I just get the MoneyDance+ interface and no ability to create an OFX connection.

  7. 7 Posted by dtd on 11 Nov, 2023 12:39 AM

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    This sounds like a job for Stuart.

    It's night in UK, but I'll send him this link to see if Toolbox can help. (It probably can)

    There were problems with Disconnect from MD+ for an account in the past, I thought that had been rectified - what version are you currently using?

  8. 8 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 11 Nov, 2023 02:46 AM

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    Have you disconnected md+ from that account?
    If not, use toolbox, online banking tools, force disconnect md+ connection
    If you have, then toolbox, cleaning up banking links.
    Then you will be able to add ofx.

  9. 9 Posted by Dave on 11 Nov, 2023 12:15 PM

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    Stuart, I have disconnected Fidelity from md+ and it was successful. The issue I am finding is that when I go back into Online => Set Up MoneyDance+ it only allows for Plaid connectivity only. There is no option to connect using OFX. I am not terribly excited about removing all banking connections because I have a few and it would create a mess of clean up trying to reconcile them when reconnected.

    Is there an option somewhere where I can connect an account via OFX given that I already am using the Plaid connectivity? I am running v2023.1 (5006) an I updated the toolbox.

  10. 10 Posted by dtd on 11 Nov, 2023 07:53 PM

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    Dave - are you saying you did or did not take Stuart's advice on toolbox?

    I THINK these commands do not remove all banking connections, but let you choose which ones.

    @Stuart, can you verify these are individual choices vs. blowing everything away? Or is it all or nothing?

  11. 11 Posted by sth on 11 Nov, 2023 08:56 PM

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    I have the same issue. MD 5052. I tried toolbox but it did not give list the connection I wanted to force remove. That connection was removed by the normal MD menu and seems to have been completely removed.

    However, I am not able to attempt a normal OFX connection to AMEX Savings. ALL new On Line setup connections immediate go to MD+ (ie Plaid)

  12. 12 Posted by dtd on 11 Nov, 2023 09:14 PM

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    Now there are two.

    sth - did you do this part?

    If you have, then toolbox, cleaning up banking links.

  13. 13 Posted by sth on 11 Nov, 2023 09:47 PM

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    I tried to force remove the connection in toolbox but it did not show the account to remove. I had removed it using the normal process and that seemed to work.

  14. 14 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 11 Nov, 2023 10:41 PM

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    Regardless, run toolbox cleanup online banking links...

  15. 15 Posted by Dave on 12 Nov, 2023 02:51 PM

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    I will not be able to run the toolbox until tomorrow. I will follow-up.

  16. 16 Posted by Dave on 13 Nov, 2023 08:54 PM

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    @Stuart, yes, running the clean up online banking links worked. But there still is an issue.

    I first ran Online Banking Tools ...View online banking configuration / connection data (OFX/DC and MD+)
    -- This showed that I had links to accounts that were still bound to MoneyDance+ where I did not see them in the Setup MD+ gui interface.

    As you recommended I then ran Online Banking Tools ... Force Disconnect an MD+ connection.
    I then went check the configuration as I did earlier and the disconnected MoneyDance+ connections are no longer there.
    I tried to go back to Online...Set Up MoneyDance+ to see if I could create the OFX connection. This was wrong. I then went to Online... Set up Online Banking which then let me select the OFX connection. I used Fidelity Investments and after signing in it presented me with a list of my accounts so I bound the first account and ran a download. This is what I received. Also note it appears to be running on port 80.

    There was an error communicating with your financial institution. The details of this error are below.

    Bank Name: Fidelity Investments
    Account: Fidelity Account *****
    Account Number: **********

    A communication or parsing error occurred. This could be the result of a network problem, a proxy error, or misconfigured server.
    Error Description: java.io.IOException: Unable to tunnel through ofxp.infinitekind.com:80. Proxy returns "HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request"

  17. 17 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 13 Nov, 2023 09:03 PM

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    Well, I see that the MD setup is:

    Name: Fidelity Investments (md:1117)
     use_ofx_certs:                 y
     access_type:                   OFX
     use_short_dates:               y
     proxy_tunnel_port:             80
     broker_id:                     fidelity.com
     fi_org:                        fidelity.com
     proxy_tunnel_host:             ofxp.infinitekind.com
     bootstrap_url:                 https://ofx.fidelity.com/ftgw/OFX/clients/download
     app_ver:                       2021
     fi_id:                         7776
     app_id:                        MDNC
    

    Can anyone else respond to this - ie. anyone else using OFX Fidelity Investments and the proxy?

  18. 18 Posted by dtd on 13 Nov, 2023 10:23 PM

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    I use OFX Fidelity Investments on two investment accounts. I'm pretty sure I don't use a proxy, but you sometimes never know what you've set up over time...

  19. 19 Posted by Dave on 14 Nov, 2023 03:55 AM

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    Is setting the proxy something an end user controls? If so and dtd does not use a proxy, how does an end user control this?

  20. 20 Posted by dtd on 14 Nov, 2023 04:27 AM

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    Well, it's sort of iffy here. A proxy is something to set up a surrogate to interface to other sites. It's both sort of a protective mechanism as well as an interface surrogate.

    Yes, that sounds odd, and I've actually simplified it a bit. Let's call it a "third person" who you go through to get things done, to protect you in some way.

    If you notice, I said I didn't THINK I used a proxy, but they can get set up in many ways. Anti-virus, VPN, etc.

    It could also possibly be on the other side, but given I can get in, I don't think so.

    The "unable to tunnel through" is definitely a proxy like statement, suggesting your side.

    So, yes, if it is on your side, you as an end user can control it. But just as I was unsure if I had one, you may not know you have one.

    No answers, I know, just some info.

  21. 21 Posted by dtd on 14 Nov, 2023 04:31 AM

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    The good news? The fact Fidelity gave you a list of accounts says you are connecting to them!!! Lots further along than before.

  22. 22 Posted by dwg on 14 Nov, 2023 04:52 AM

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    What is showing is an instruction to be acted on when using Direct Connect to send the request via Moneydance's tunnel server. This is set within the Direct Connect setup and cannot be changed by the user i.e. this information is set in Moneydance by reading the information from the data that TIK maintains on the required Direct Connect configuration for the institution.

    This is not the sort of Proxy that you see used on private networks to allow access to external web sites.

    Moneydance generally uses this where an institution requires that there be an identified and registered end point for a link to their download servers in this case the endpoint is ofxp.infinitekind.com as far as the institution is concerned

  23. 23 Posted by dtd on 14 Nov, 2023 05:10 AM

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    Ok, so now I will ask - why can I get in when Dave cannot?

  24. 24 Posted by dwg on 14 Nov, 2023 05:20 AM

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    No idea, All I can say is that the tunnel information is coming from Moneydance's DC setup data, the "md:1117" is the institution's id in Moneydance's list.

  25. 25 Posted by dtd on 14 Nov, 2023 05:26 AM

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    Thanks.

  26. 26 Posted by Dave on 14 Nov, 2023 03:25 PM

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    @dtd and @dwg, Something to add. Before MD+ I used OFX as the primary way to connect all accounts from various institutions. When I went to MD+ I thought I blew away all the connection information when I converted. Before last month, everything was operating fine on MD+. Is it possible that older configuration data still remains from the previous OFX connections? I have only run the Online Banking Tools ... Force Disconnect an MD+ connection as stated above. If I look in the Toolbox under Online Banking I see several items in the update function list as it relates to OFX. A few that catch my eye is the one about OFX Cookie Management and the other being Delete OFX Banking Service / Login Profile. I am not excited to just start running these updates given that I did not write these scripts. I would like to maintain my current MD+ connections and add back in the OFX functionality.

    Maybe the question should be, if I had OFX connections prior to MD+ and I now have to go back to OFX, what Toolbox functions should I run to ensure that OFX is in a clean state and has no meta data in regards to prior connections?

  27. Support Staff 27 Posted by Maddy on 14 Nov, 2023 03:47 PM

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    @Dave

    To ensure a Moneydance + connection has been removed fully, you can use this Toolbox fix:

    (Install the Toolbox from 'Extensions->Manage Extensions')

    Navigate to Toolbox (choose Update mode on the top left)-> Online Banking Functions -> Update Functions -> Cleanup missing Online Banking Links

    This will remove the stale MD+ association and allow you to select the OFX service method from "Setup Online Banking".

    You should then restart Moneydance for the changes to be applied.

    I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions or need more assistance.

    --
    Maddy, Infinite Kind Support

  28. 28 Posted by Dave on 05 Dec, 2023 04:45 PM

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    Maddy, I made an attempt to Cleanup missing Online Banking Links and the script said "I found no Invalid Online Banking Links / Orphaned Mapping links....". I then restarted MD and ran Download All Accounts. I did this to ensure that there was no attempt to download information into Fidelity. The download occurred for all other accounts and there was no attempt to use Fidelity. At this point I think that the Fidelity connection is no longer there and I should be good to reestablish the Fidelity connection.

    I then tried to reestablish a link to Fidelity Investments using Connect to OFX Service. I search for Fidelity Investments in the list and MD then it asks me to select a local MD account use. I do this and press Next. The next screen is attached and asks for a Broker ID which is blank and the Account Number is populated with my account number from MD. I press Next because I have no idea what the Broker ID is. The following screen is attached as well which show MD saying that it has everything it needs to connect. I press Finish and nothing happens. It does not ask me for user credentials nor does it try to go and connect. I try to download all accounts again and Fidelity is not even attempted.

    What am I doing wrong?

  29. Support Staff 29 Posted by Maddy on 05 Dec, 2023 05:15 PM

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    You should re-enable your accounts for application-based online banking. You can accomplish this by asking your bank to set up your account for direct connections from Quicken. Moneydance uses exactly the same OFX server connection protocol as Quicken but your bank representative may not know this and mistakenly believe that you can not connect in Moneydance.

    Calling up your bank and stating precisely the following should get you started:

    "Please enable direct connect on my account such that I can connect to your servers directly with Quicken. Also give me the login credentials I need to connect Quicken to this service."

    Application-based online banking often requires a different login/PIN than the ones that are used for ATM or web-based banking. When you enable your account for access from Moneydance or Quicken, your financial institution should let you know what customer ID/login and PIN to use as outlined here.

    --
    Maddy, Infinite Kind Support

  30. 30 Posted by Dave on 06 Dec, 2023 10:38 PM

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    Maddy,

    I called Fidelity and they stated that from an OFX perspective that there is nothing that they need to do. I then went through and followed guidance here, again: https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/kb/online-banking-and-bill-pay/direct-connect. What does not happen is that I do not get the Online Banking Authentication screen as show in the attachment to this post. What I get is the Broker ID screen and then the finish screen as in my earlier post. It appears that I am not able to set my user name and password in MD in order to establish the connection.

    I know this has been a long and drawn out process, I feel it on my end. But in the earlier part of this stream I was once connected via OFX, switched to Plaid and now have to go back to OFX. It does not appear that I am able to set my credentials using OFX when specifically trying to set up Fidelity Investments. Is there a ToolBox process that totally destroys all OFX connections and corresponding information to OFX enabled accounts without destroying what I have set up with Plaid connections? I think if I can get MD to not think it has user information of OFX that this will work and I can get the log on screen.

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