How does MSN Money retrieve data

[Gabe Lerner]

Does anybody know how MSN Money actually retrieves the banking data?
Is it done in cooperation w/ the banks or do they just screen scrape it

from the web sites?

[Cal Learner]

MSN Money can directly access the sites of OFX enabled institutions
if you add the accounts in from MSN Money. In that case no screen
scraping is involved.

The following would describe the situation for Microsoft Money 2007:
=====================================================
It's done both ways. See the descriptions on the pop-ups from
http://www.microsoft.com/money/bankonline.aspx

If the term "third party" is in the description, there is screen
scraping.

If it says "web" then you download via a web site of the
institution.

If it says Direct without using the term "third party", it is the
more desirable direct direct access to an OFX server provided by
your financial institution.
=================================================================

If the description using the above site uses the term the term
"third party", assume there is no OFX server available, and that
screen scraping would be involved.

[Gabe Lerner]

Thank you for the response. Do you possibly know where I can obtain a
list of OFX servers for banks? Would an individual be able to connect
to them, or only big companies like MS/Intuit? Is there some 3rd party
provider that will handle all this for you? For example, my bank is
Washington Mutual yet after searching their site and google, I cannot
find a way to connect to them directly.

Thanks Again!

[Cal Learner]

In microsoft.public.moneycentral, Gabe Lerner wrote:

>Thank you for the response. Do you possibly know where I can obtain a
>list of OFX servers for banks? Would an individual be able to connect
>to them, or only big companies like MS/Intuit? Is there some 3rd party
>provider that will handle all this for you? For example, my bank is
>Washington Mutual yet after searching their site and google, I cannot
>find a way to connect to them directly.

WAMU may have gone thru some changes. I would call their customer
service and ask what the current situation is.

[Mark]

I'm not aware that WaMu had an OFX server.
It's indicated as "third party" provided on the Is my bank online site:
http://www.microsoft.com/money/bankonline.aspx?FirstLetter=W&FinananceOrganisationType=BanksOnly

-Mark
"Cal Learner" <via_ne...@please.tnx> wrote in message
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