[GNC] Can't reenter password for OFX DirectConnect

[Brad Morrison]

Hi Alex S/all,

Hopefully someone else will address the GnuCash aspect of your specific 
issue with the OFXDirectConnect. I would like to comment on the 
situation with banks allowing transactional data downloads in the OFX 
file format (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Financial_Exchange).

I am still trying to find a professional bookkeeper in the USA that uses 
GnuCash, but based on not seeing anyone respond on this mailing list to 
Bob Treumann's March 1 ask or my March 7 reply, I'm assuming that there 
are no US-based professional bookkeepers on this mailing list that use 
GnuCash AND are taking on new clients.

All 3 of the local (Sonoma County, CA, USA - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoma_County,_California) bookkeeping 
firms that I have asked about using GnuCash were unfamiliar with the 
software, 2 of the 3 only used Quickbooks (1 also used Xero), and only 1 
expressed any interest in using GnuCash, but did not email back when I 
followed up a week later. I found these bookkeeping firms through Sonoma 
County Go Local's directory 
(https://sonomacounty.golocal.coop/businesses/services-professional/accounting-tax-bookkeeping-and-payrol/). 
It does not appear that the 2 national bookkeeping organizations 
(https://aipb.org/ & https://nacpb.org/) that I found online have local 
chapters, although I have not asked them directly yet.

As part of this project of mine, I have been trying to find a bank that 
allows transactional data downloads in the OFX file format and using 
that inquiry as an opportunity to ask about whether the bank has a 
policy of sourcing/using open source software. I started with SRI 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socially_responsible_investing) banks 
that I knew of because I thought that they would be the most open to & 
interested in open source software and the concepts/philosophies of 
transparency and sharing behind its development and use. Every bank that 
I have asked so far has said that they do not allow transactional data 
downloads in the OFX file format and none have said that they have a 
policy regarding open source software. I have received responses from 
these banks so far:

  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneficial_State_Bank
  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamated_Bank
  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Premier_Bancorp
  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cooperative_Bank

I have sent inquires to more banks, but those are the only ones that 
have responded so far. I have not asked Regions Bank 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_Financial_Corporation), but after 
seeing your post, I was going to. However, it does not appear from their 
website messages section (https://www.regions.com/help > 
https://www.regions.com/digital-banking/digital-services/reggie-digital-assistant) 
that they accept incoming electronic messages from non-customers. I have 
also been surprised that Regions Bank does not seem to have a "Contact 
Us" tab anywhere on their header or footer list of standard options, so 
I used the "Help & support" section. Maybe they are not seeking new 
customers, but that would be unusual...? As a customer, you may want to 
reach out to ask Regions Bank if they still support OFX Direct Connect.

Finally, I have been able to find 2 regional credit unions that allow 
transactional data downloads in the OFX file format 
(https://www.redwoodcu.org/ & 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patelco_Credit_Union). I have only asked 
these 2 credit unions so far and since both said yes (and RCU even 
directed me to their page about financial data downloads - 
https://www.redwoodcu.org/ask-rcu/2199/) and none of the banks that have 
even responded to me have said yes, I wondered if some back end 
technology provider that FDIC insured 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation) 
banks use, but NCUA insured 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Credit_Union_Administration) 
credit unions do not use might be responsible for this lack of support 
for OFX...?

After having such little luck fishing for banks that support OFX, it 
just occurred to me over the weekend that it might be a good idea to ask 
banking associations 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Community_Bankers_of_America 
& https://www.icba.org/) and advocacy organizations that work with banks 
(https://www.greenamerica.org/finance & https://mightydeposits.com/) 
about interest from community banks in OFX, GnuCash, & open source 
software.

When I write local organizations, I usually reference the North Bay 
Linux Users Group (NBLUG - https://nblug.org/) because I am on the 
board, but I leave that part out of my template when inquiring with 
larger or non-local financial institutions & organizations. I'm open to 
any suggestions/ideas/help if anyone else is interested in this project...

Onward and upward,

Brad


On 4/24/23 13:59, Thepwnd via gnucash-user wrote:
> This is a weird one for me. I have an account with Regions Bank that I wanted to connect to GnuCash, so I walked through the steps to setup the AqBanking user as outlined on the wiki here -https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Setting_up_OFXDirectConnect#Where_to_find_connection_info  - I got the connection info from ofxhome.com, and it seemed to work as it was able to receive a valid SSL certificate, which I accepted.
>
> However, after entering my user ID and password to my Regions account, the output of the following window stated that either the username or password were incorrect. I doublechecked my username in the user configuration, and it was correct, but I am unable to recreate the prompt to reenter my password to try again. I even went so far as to delete the user and recreate it, and even that doesn't reprompt me for the password.
>
> Am I missing something? There are no instructions or mention on the wiki page about this problem or how to resolve it. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
>
> Thanks
> -Alex S
>
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