Someday, my Mint will come: An Update
True to his word, Stephen (Director of Customer Advocacy at Mint.com) pushed my request up the queue and I received an email 5 days later from a representative of Mint.com. Sadly, it was not good news.
It's been awhile since I posted about my experiences with Mint.com. Here is an update.
True to his word, Stephen (Director of Customer Advocacy at Mint.com) pushed my request up the queue and I received a rather generic email response 5 days later from a representative of Mint.com. It was not good news.
- "Dear Laurel,
Thank you for contacting Mint.com.
Note: Mint would like to apologize for the delay in responding to some customer inquiries in a timely manner as we're experiencing high email volumes right now. But rest assured that we'll answer all your queries, requests and issues as soon as possible. Thank you.
Note: I am sending this because we only support the investments at this time.
While Mint's provider does a solid job at capturing many account types for many financial institutions, there will be times when one or the other may not be supported from the single login. We're gathering data on this information & will attempt to get them added via our provider. Mint can't provide an ETA for this, unfortunately, and we don't know if we will be able to resolve it with your particular bank."
I replied, thanking them for their response and asked what was preventing Verity from participating. I asked her to advise me on how I could help. I haven't heard anything back yet.
In regards to the "we only support the investments at this time"-- this represents a small segment of our membership that signed up for ShareBuilder investment accounts online-- not our investment accounts opened though our on-site investment advisors. Since its purchase by ING more than a year ago, we no longer have a relationship with Sharebuilder as they dissolved all their partnerships with their credit union clients once they were absorbed by ING.
I know we are probably one of thousands of financial institutions vying for their attention. So all we can do is keep asking-- and consider alternatives. In his Netbanker blog, Jim Brune announced that there were several online financial management tools to be featured in the annual Finovate event. So, if Mint.com can't accommodate us, maybe one of these services will.
Here are some other online PFMs worth checking out-- they all claim to offer personal financial tools, but you'll soon see that some are more feature heavy than others. Truth be told, I'm still learning about them myself and can't personally endorse one over another. And some of them are very new to the market and may still be in beta. It really comes down to what you are looking for and what kind of feature set will help you make financial decisions in a way that makes you comfortable.
If you are not ready to give up on Mint.com (and I'm not otherwise I wouldn't be writing this post), I suggest you make your desire known by filling out a request form on their site to add Verity Credit Union. I'm curious to see how many members do this, so if you don't mind, please post a copy of your request here in the comments section, too. After all, their Director of Customer Advocacy saw my last post. He may be inclined to respond again.
So, the journey continues.
The only thing I have to show for it is this, courtesy of my colleague, Stephanie, who is my counterpart at ATB Financial in Canada. She read my post and gave me the coveted tin of mints you see below when I saw her at BarCampBankBC in September.
She said that this was the closest she could come to getting me my Mint "and they taste like the ones you get at Starbucks!"
matt @ Thrive on October 21st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
I appreciate that you recognize comfort as a big part of what personal finance needs to be about – as the behavioral psychologist at Thrive, I’m very aware of just how uncomfortable finances can be for people.
Part of raising that comfort level is personal attention, which involves prompt support response, and that can be truly difficult. Honestly, I haven’t slept much in the week since we’ve launched because of the overwhelming interest in Thrive.
But I’d love to have one more e-mail to respond to: if you wouldn’t mind sending me an e-mail at feedback@justthrive.com, I’d love to see if we can’t work with you to get Verity working in our system.
JLo on October 22nd, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Maybe it’s also worth mentioning that Quicken Online is now free, and it interfaces with Verity accounts just fine.
Laurel McJannet on October 22nd, 2008 at 02:13 PM
JLo,
Good point. Just because there are up and coming online PFMs out there doesn’t mean we should ignore what is already established. Thanks for bringing that up.
Laurel McJ on October 22nd, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Matt, I’ll be emailing you today.
matt @ Thrive on November 3rd, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Laurel, did you get a chance to e-mail us? I’ve been trying to keep an eye on the feedback inbox but haven’t seen anything from you. Looking forward to getting Verity in the system.
Anonymous on December 1st, 2008 at 12:16 PM
I have submitted a request to Mint to support VerityCU. I hope they do!
David Balatero on December 7th, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Submitted a request to Mint.com as well.
Laurel McJ on December 11th, 2008 at 03:23 PM
Hi Everyone,
Not a word from Mint. Keep sending those requests to them!
Ian on January 6th, 2009 at 11:29 PM
I’ve submitted a request to Mint.com for VerityCU and got a semi-automated response back. I’ve followed up, but not heard back again. I hope Verity is supported soon!
Jayne on January 15th, 2009 at 08:39 PM
It’s funny how much technology can help you and how much it can tie you down… I’ve become so addicted to having Mint that the thought of not being able to use it makes me so sad.
Here’s what I just sent them:
Please Please Please Please Please support Verity Credit Union!
I just joined Verity Credit Union for their 4.05% APY CHECKING account, which is WAYYYYYY better than what any of the big banks are offering right now. I thought, “great! I’ll consolidate and put move all my money from US bank and WAMU into this one account”
But then I just discovered that Mint does’t support Verity! SOOOOOOOO SAD! I REALLY REALLY REALLY have loved Mint so much in this past year. It’s been so helpful for me to get my personal finances all organized.
I really wish I didn’t have to choose between a great rate and being able to use my favorite PF tool ever!
Please please please please please support my credit union! I love you too much to leave you!
Laurel McJ on January 16th, 2009 at 07:08 AM
Jayne,
I LOVE your plea to Mint.com—keep them coming, everyone!
I have had no follow-up since their Director of Customer Advocacy first contacted me.
And Matt@Thrive, I’m waiting to hear back from you!
David Balatero on January 24th, 2009 at 04:22 PM
Any way you can shoot Mint another email, Laurel?
Laurel McJ on January 24th, 2009 at 08:48 PM
Hi David,
I think I can dig around and find an email—I just realized that the Mint.com employee that contacted me via the blog had to leave his email address in order to post. I’ll try again and see if I can get their attention. It might be time to blog about it again.
Mark on January 28th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I’ve bugged Mint several times about this. Ugh! Other sites that use the same provider as Mint have Verity! Why not Mint??
David Balatero on February 5th, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Awesome, anything you can do to get up and running would be great. Is it a tech problem on your end? Because if I remember correctly, Quicken Online knows how to pull from Verity.
laurel mcjannet on February 5th, 2009 at 02:47 PM
Hi David,
Yes, our data is set-up so it can be downloaded into Quicken.
We don’t know if Mint.com is using the same technology to aggregate and pull in that data; I suspect it is different. So until Mint.com contacts me (Verity), we won’t know what the techincal requirements are and what we need to do to make it all work.
Keep logging those requests to get Verity on Mint.com at their site!
Another Mark on April 18th, 2009 at 09:20 AM
Is there any news or status update on this subject?
In mint.com there is a “Verity – Sharebuilder” account, but that is categorized as investment only. I also requested they add VerityCU checking, but judging by this thread it doesn’t appear likely for the forseeable future, unless you have news to share.
Are any of the other PFM sites
- wesabe, geezeo -integrated with VerityCU (aside from QuickenOnline, which seems a bit clunky to me)Ben on May 29th, 2009 at 02:01 PM
I requested they add Verity CU on Mint today – hopefully they listen soon!!!
matt @ Thrive on August 5th, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Just checking in, Laurel…I don’t have any recent email from you, so wanted to see how your customers are doing and if there is more we can to get VerityCU in the system?
Aiden on August 14th, 2009 at 03:31 PM
Just submitted a request myself. Hoping…
van on August 20th, 2009 at 08:30 AM
I’ve entered support requests but still nothing. Subsequently I have signed up for Yodlee and they do pull Verity information without any problems. They also have the nice feature of being able to aggregate all of my travel award programs…but the categorization is not as good, the charts not as good, etc. I still wish Mint worked…
Laurel McJannet on August 20th, 2009 at 09:23 AM
Hi Everyone,
I have not heard a word from Mint.com either. I’m glad to hear that Verity members continue to make requests for Verity to be included in their service. Admittedly, I haven’t made any attempts to contact Mint.com lately because I’ve been busy with our new website (coming soon) and our Online Branch.
gwen c. on August 30th, 2009 at 02:29 AM
I got the same gosh darn form letter from Mint.
I don’t get it. They support various podunk credit unions and banks with a fraction of the assets that Verity has.
It’s a frustration which kinda stinks for a new customer, but at least y’all are trying!
David L on January 5th, 2010 at 09:42 PM
Still no support, so I’ve filled in the form too…
Jason G on February 18th, 2010 at 02:07 PM
I am getting my mortgage through Verity and I am dissapointed that Mint.com still doesn’t support Verity. I also submitted a request to get it added on Mint, but just received a standard response letter. Ugh.
Hatt on February 25th, 2010 at 09:42 AM
Quicken Online already supports Verity CU. Quicken acquires Mint.com and is in process of transferring QO users to Mint. Mint.com to support Verity soon? Maybe, we’ll see.
Dan W on March 4th, 2010 at 01:23 PM
So this is really strange. Verity works for me in Mint… me and apparently no one else. It’s not perfect, it’s mis-categorized my mortgages as Credit Cards but it works. My girlfriend has a very similar account as myself (Velocity Checking, Prime Share Savings, 2 Mortgages, and a Joint Checking account) and she only sees an option for ShareBuilder. This is really quite bizarre. Has anyone else had any luck or a response from the tech people over at Mint? I see this thread has been going on for nearly a year and a half.
laurel mcjannet on March 5th, 2010 at 08:49 AM
Dan, you are not the only one. It appears that our Online Branch is allowing connectivity with Mint.com! My mortgages and other consumer loans are coming over as credit cards as well. In order for your girlfriend to see her Verity accounts, she’ll need to create a new account—her current log-in is still “linked” to the old system, even it never could pull her account information. I did this and behold, my Verity accounts and current information pulled into Mint.com.
So yes, it appears our Mint has come, but I’m keeping a wait and see attitude before I declare this connectivity here to stay—not because of anything Verity is going to do, but because connectivity is so dependent on our vendor, Mint.com and our security question vendor and what they allow. Enjoy your Mint!
Mark on March 22nd, 2010 at 09:52 PM
I created a new Mint account, and that does do the trick (right after unsuccessfully trying it in my old account). Is there really no way to add a Verity account to an existing Mint account? I like the progress, but I’ve been using Mint for over two years now, I’d hate to have to recategorize all those transactions…
laurel mcjannet on March 23rd, 2010 at 06:32 AM
Hi Mark—your question is best answered by Mint.com support. To be honest, all Verity did was change our online banking system and one of the unknown benefits was that it was compatible with Mint.com’s specifications for connection. My guess is that your “old” profile (which is expecting you to download transactions in a certain way from our old system) needs to be linked to your new one.
Mark on April 29th, 2010 at 02:04 PM
It works!
Ever since this last update when it was revealed that it would work with a new account, I’ve been trying it every so often with my original account. Today – it actually showed up as an option, and the login works successfully.
Finally!