Monarch Money Not Syncing: How to Fix It

Checked October 28, 2026.

If Monarch Money is not syncing, start inside Monarch. The usual fix is to sign in at the bank, then update the login Monarch already has, then refresh. Switching apps does not come first. Most of what looks like a broken sync is the bank asking you to log in again, or the data provider and the bank failing to talk to each other.

This page is the troubleshooting guide. It is not a price review, and it is not a list of other apps. Whether the subscription is worth keeping is on is Monarch Money worth it. Cancel steps are on how to cancel Monarch Money. Export and the move to another app are on how to switch from Monarch Money. Other products are on Monarch Money alternatives.

Disclosure: we build FYN. This page is on FYN's site. The product note is at the end, after the fixes, and it is labeled as ours.

How Monarch connects to your bank

Monarch does not pull the account itself. The data-provider article, updated June 9, 2026, says a data provider is a third party that connects to the bank and hands the data to Monarch. Monarch never directly accesses the account.

Names differ slightly by page, and both wordings are on the help center. The connecting guide, updated August 19, 2026, says Monarch uses three main data providers: Plaid, Mastercard Data Connect (formerly Finicity), and MX. Monarch picks the one that should work best for that institution, and you can choose another. Getting started, updated October 27, 2026, lists the same three as Plaid, Mastercard (Finicity), and MX, and says the link is read-only. The June article still says Plaid, Finicity, and MX. The connection status article, updated April 22, 2026, says status messages come through Plaid, Finicity, MX, and others. It does not name the others.

A few accounts skip those providers. The connecting guide says homes connect through Zillow and vehicles through Vinaudit. Getting started lists connecting an Apple Card as a mobile-only step. The refresh article, updated May 7, 2026, says accounts connected through Apple FinanceKit show as up to date during Refresh all, because they use a different sync method. The data still syncs. What you do not get is per-account progress for those accounts during Refresh all.

On security, the June article says Monarch never sees your login credentials. It describes two methods. With OAuth, you sign in on the bank's own page or app, and the provider receives a token. The login is not shared with Monarch or the provider. Older connections pass the login to the data provider, which then pulls the data in the background. The article says all three providers support OAuth, and the bank, not Monarch, decides whether a given institution uses it. What gets shared is the balance, the transaction history, and the account type.

Getting started also says money cannot be moved in or out of the bank from inside Monarch.

Why the connection stops

The June article says connection trouble is almost always between the data provider and the bank. The account can look disconnected, or the data can be wrong: missing transactions, or a balance that is old. These are the causes that article and the status article actually list.

The bank changed MFA or the login. If you change the username, password, or multi-factor authentication, you have to sign in again inside Monarch. The status article's MFA message is: "This connection requires MFA, so you'll need to log in from time to time to keep it in sync. Login frequency is set by your institution." That shows up when the bank expires the MFA session quickly, when you have not finished a recent prompt, or when you skipped the last step. Some banks ask every day. Monarch says that is how the institution chose to sync.

The bank's security change broke an older link. The June article says connections that still use a credential-based method break more easily when the bank changes its login flow or the way it shares data. A security update at the bank can interrupt the connection until you update credentials. The connecting guide adds a Plaid-specific case: if the bank username changed, Plaid does not let you update the username on the existing connection. You add the institution again, which creates a duplicate, then move history with the Transfer Tool.

Access expired, so reauthorization is due. The status article's access-expired message is: "Your institution grants only temporary access to your data. To continue syncing, reauthorize the connection." Some banks only grant access for a limited time. The same article says you may need to reauthorize every 30 to 90 days. That is expected for those banks.

The provider and the bank stopped working together. The June article says a provider can have trouble connecting at all, and that a low success rate is usually the institution limiting third parties. A provider and a bank can also stop supporting each other. Store cards, mortgages, and some banks in Canada are named as hard to connect or hard to keep synced. The connecting guide adds car loans to that list and says to use a manual account in those cases. The help pages checked for this guide do not publish a live outage list for Plaid, MX, or Finicity, so this page does not name one. What you can check is the connection status dashboard. The status help article, updated June 10, 2026, says it covers US and Canadian institutions, updates once a day, and tracks the general trend for an institution and a provider. Your own account can differ from that average.

The bank is blocking part of the data, or blocking refreshes. Some institutions share transactions but not balances, or only some account types. The June article says that missing piece has to be entered by hand, or you try another provider. Some banks cap how many refreshes are allowed, or block updates and new connections during certain hours or days. A forced refresh is what Monarch suggests there. A bank can also change what a number means. The example in the article is a loan that used to send the balance and now sends the amount paid, so the balance looks wrong. Another provider may not have that problem.

The bank has not sent new mail yet. The refresh article separates two clocks. Monarch can sync with the data provider, and the bank can still have sent nothing new. A refresh that finishes with old transactions is not, by itself, a broken connection. Many institutions, the connecting guide says, only share a transaction once it has posted, not while it is pending. New accounts also vary: some banks send a few months of history, some send years.

The same account is connected twice. Duplicate transactions are often a duplicate connection. The connecting guide says to check that the account appears once on the Accounts page, and to delete the extra connection if it does not. A provider switch can also show both the old and the new copy until the switch finishes. Chase has a known issue on that page: multiple Chase credentials can clash and cause duplicates or a connection that will not stay up. Monarch asks you to contact support for that one.

Something at the bank is waiting on you. The status article's "action needed" message means the bank is blocking the connection until you do something on their site: accept new terms, reset a password, update contact info, or read a security alert. Monarch cannot sync until the bank clears that hold. A plain "sign-in required" message means the saved login no longer works: you changed it, the bank signed you out, or there were too many failed attempts.

Fix it in this order

The connecting guide says the most common fix is updating login settings, and to do that before the rest. Do these in order. Stop when the account updates.

1. Sign in on the bank's own website, in a separate tab. If that login fails, or the bank's page is down, Monarch cannot get past it. Fix the bank login first. If the credentials are right and Monarch still says they are wrong, the connecting guide says to wait 24 hours. Institutions have temporary errors.
2. Read the message on the account. The four common ones, and what the status article says to do:
   • MFA required. On the account details page, click Update and finish the bank's prompt. If the code never arrives, check the phone or email the bank has on file. A security question, when the bank offers one, can stay connected longer than a code sent to your phone.
   • Access expired. Click Update on the account details page and sign in through the bank again. If that screen will not load, try a private or incognito window.
   • Sign-in required. Confirm the bank login works, then click Update and type the username and password yourself. Skip autofill and a password manager for this step. A private window is the next try. You may also get an MFA prompt or a CAPTCHA.
   • Action needed at the bank. Open the bank in a private window, sign in, and clear every prompt, alert, or new terms page. Then click Update in Monarch. If nothing appears, try another browser or device. If you reset the password, sign out and back in on the bank site before you return to Monarch.
3. Update login settings even if you already clicked Update. On web: Settings, then Institutions, then the three dots next to the institution, then Update login settings. The connecting guide says this refreshes the connection and can also pull in a newly opened account. Some banks ask for this every few months. Some ask more often. That interval is the bank's security setting.
4. Refresh. For one account, on web or mobile: open the account on the Accounts page, open the three dots on the Connection Status card, and choose Refresh. For every account on the web: Accounts, then Refresh all in the top right. On mobile: Accounts, the three dots in the top right, Refresh all. A progress line shows how many accounts have synced. You can dismiss it. Syncing continues. Apple FinanceKit accounts show as up to date in that list even while other accounts are still going. That display is not a failed refresh.
5. Wait, then refresh again, if the first pass did nothing. After an error, the connecting guide says wait 24 hours. If transactions stopped syncing, wait 24 to 48 hours, then click Refresh all. One or two missing transactions can be added by hand. A wrong amount is often a pending charge that has not posted. Check the figure on the bank's site before you treat it as a sync bug.
6. If the balance is wrong on a new connection, compare it with posted transactions and ignore pending ones. Then Refresh all, then Update login settings. If it is still wrong, the connecting guide says to contact support with the account and a screenshot of the balance from the bank.
7. Check the connection status dashboard for that institution. Use it to see whether the problem is widespread for that bank and provider, not as a promise about your login.

Duplicate connections. If transactions are doubled, confirm the institution is listed once. Delete the extra connection. To combine history, use the Transfer Tool on the web, then delete the leftover account. Getting started lists the Transfer Tool as web only. A second login at the same bank, through Plaid, is a different task. The connecting guide says: Add Account, search for the institution, and continue when asked if you want to connect it again. On the Plaid screen, confirm the phone number or choose "Not you?" to skip. The next screen lists connections you already have. Do not click those. Scroll to Add new account, then search and sign in with the other credentials.

A missing account at a bank you already linked. Settings, then Institutions, then the three dots, then Update login settings. Sign in again and select the account that was left out. If that creates a duplicate, delete the duplicate.

You have to reconnect all the time. The connecting guide says some institutions require that, and Monarch cannot override the bank. Update login settings when it asks. If it is constant, a manual account is the option they suggest for that institution. The steps for a manual account and a CSV are in the last section.

When to switch the data provider

Switch after the steps above have failed, or when you can see that another provider has a stronger record for that bank. Do not switch a connection that is already working. The provider article, updated October 23, 2026, says switching an existing connection is available on the web, and that your transaction history moves with it. You do not use the Transfer Tool for that path.

A connection can hold several accounts. Switching moves all of them. You cannot move one account and leave the others. On the confirm step you can stop syncing an individual account instead of moving it. That account keeps the history already in Monarch and stops updating.

The same article says a switch cannot be undone. You can switch again later. There is no reverse button once it starts. You will sign in at the bank again. That can be a password, a one-time code, or a prompt in the bank's app. An optional download of transactions, balances, and account history is offered first. The data moves either way.

Do not send an investment account to MX unless you have checked what you will lose. The article says MX does not send investment holdings. Moving an investment account to MX permanently removes its holdings, including cost basis. Transactions, balances, and holdings you added by hand are not affected. Monarch says it does not flag this during the switch.

1. On the web, go to Settings, then Institutions.
2. Open the three dots next to the connection and choose Switch provider.
3. Read the comparison. It shows the current provider next to the recommended one, with ratings for connection success, connection longevity, and average update time. Use the dropdown if you want a different option. Choose Get started.
4. Download a backup, or choose Skip.
5. Sign in at the bank and follow the prompts until you are back in Monarch. Those screens come from the bank and the new provider, so they differ.
6. Check that each old account is paired with the right new account. Fix any pair that looks wrong. Then choose Permanently switch provider.
7. Wait. The article says this is usually under a minute. Then choose Finish.

While the switch runs, both copies of an account can show up in the account list and in net worth. That should clear when the switch finishes. If duplicates are still there afterward, contact Monarch. New "added to Monarch" dates will show the switch date, not the original connection date. Transaction history is not affected by that date change. Account names may look slightly different. You can rename an account by editing it. Budgets and goals carry over, including Save up and Pay down goals.

If you already deleted the old connection, or you are on mobile, the article says to add the institution again and pick the provider you want. On mobile, Add account is the + in the top right. If an alternate provider exists, a three-dot icon next to the institution name shows the recommendation and the backups. Then use the Transfer Tool on the web to move balance and transaction history from the old account to the new one.

When you add an institution for the first time, Monarch recommends the provider with the strongest connection history. The three-dot icon next to the name is where you override that, if another provider is offered.

How to contact Monarch support

Try the steps above before you write in. When you do, name the institution and the account. If transactions are missing, include an example, and a screenshot from the bank is what the connecting guide asks for. If the balance is wrong, include a screenshot of the correct balance.

Signed in: the Monarch FAQ, updated September 12, 2026, says to open Help and Support from the left side of the dashboard, then Contact Support. That path gives an instant answer or a ticket. The CSV import article says the same door: Help and Support, then a request to open a ticket.

Not signed in, or the contact button will not load: the login article, updated October 21, 2026, says to email [email protected]. That article is about signing in to Monarch, which is a different problem from a bank that will not sync. Use it when you cannot reach the in-app button.

Getting started says opening a ticket works best for institutions that are already well supported. If the dashboard shows that bank as a poor connection for every provider, a ticket will not invent a feed the bank does not offer. A manual account is the path the connecting guide gives you instead.

If sync keeps breaking

Fix the connection first. This section is for a bank that asks you to reconnect constantly, or that never stays up. It is short on purpose. Comparing apps, and the export and cancel clicks, live on the pages linked above.

A manual account, still in Monarch. Getting started says manual accounts fit balances that rarely change, such as a mortgage or an auto loan, and assets that are not at a bank. The connecting guide recommends them for store credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and certain Canadian banks, and for an institution that makes you reconnect all the time. You can edit the balance when it changes. You can also add a transaction by hand.

A CSV, still in Monarch. The CSV article, updated August 14, 2026, says you can import transactions into a synced account or a manual account. Importing is web only. On a synced account, balances stay as they are. On a manual account, you can adjust the balance. The import cannot be undone. To remove what you imported, you bulk-delete the transactions or delete the account. Test with a small file first.

The path is Accounts, then + Add Account, then Import transaction and balance history, then Import transactions. Upload the CSV. Monarch maps columns by keyword. Review the mapping. If you use + Add Account, the file needs Account, Amount, and Date. Credits and debits share the Amount column. A purchase is a negative number or a number in parentheses, such as -58.12 or (58.12). A deposit is a plain number, such as 58.12. Category, tags, and notes are optional. If the columns are missing or duplicated, the importer asks you to fix the file.

On the overlap step, read the choice before you confirm. Prioritize CSV deletes existing transactions in that account between the earliest and latest dates in the file and replaces them. Prioritize Monarch keeps what you have and only fills earlier gaps, so some CSV rows may be skipped. Import all can create duplicates. If the CSV was exported from Monarch and has a transaction ID column, you can match on that ID and update rows instead of adding new ones. Budgets and cash-flow totals cannot be imported. A file that is too large should be split. The connecting guide points at the CSV formatting guide if an import fails.

A spreadsheet you keep yourself. Download transactions from the bank, or from Monarch while you are still logged in, and keep the file. No app on this page is required for that. It will not refresh on its own.

Receipts, when the feed is stale. A receipt still shows the merchant, the amount, and the line items when the bank feed is behind. How to file paper, photos, and email is on how to keep track of receipts. That is a tracking method. It is not a bank connection.

Another app. If you have decided the reconnect loop is not worth it, use Monarch Money alternatives for the comparison, how to cancel Monarch Money for the cancel steps, and how to switch from Monarch Money for the export and the next app. Whether to keep paying Monarch at all is on is Monarch Money worth it. This page does not rank those apps.

FYN (our product). FYN is free to start. The pricing page does not ask for a card on the free plan. Free includes receipt scanning: photos and emailed receipts, 20 a month as one count. You can track spending from those receipts without linking a bank. That is manual tracking from the receipt, not a live feed. Automatic bank sync is on FYN Pro only, at $9.99 a month, through Plaid, for up to 15 accounts. The free plan does not connect a bank. If you already have a statement file, the switch guide describes Import a statement on the Accounts page. This page does not repeat those column rules, and it does not claim that FYN's Plaid connection will succeed where Monarch's Plaid connection failed. Monarch can also try MX or Finicity. FYN's bank link does not offer those.

FAQ

Sources

Checked October 28, 2026. Each Monarch claim on this page is from one of the help-center articles below, fetched that day. Updated dates are the "Last Updated" lines on those articles. FYN limits are from this site's pricing page. This page does not cite a live outage board for Plaid, MX, or Finicity, because the articles below do not link one.

• Three main providers (Plaid, Mastercard Data Connect formerly Finicity, and MX), add-account steps, Update login settings, the troubleshooting list, duplicates, the Chase note, the Plaid username limit, manual accounts for store cards, mortgages, car loans, and some Canadian banks: Guide to Connecting Your Accounts, updated August 19, 2026.
• What a data provider is, why there are three, OAuth versus credential connections, and why a connection is inconsistent: Understanding Data Providers and Connections, updated June 9, 2026.
• Choosing a provider, switching one on the web, history moving with the connection, and the MX holdings warning: Choosing and Switching Your Data Provider, updated October 23, 2026.
• MFA required, access expired, sign-in required, and action needed at the bank: Connection Status Messaging, updated April 22, 2026.
• Refresh one account, Refresh all, and why a finished sync can still show old data: Refreshing Your Accounts, updated May 7, 2026.
• The public dashboard covers US and Canadian institutions, updates once a day, and is an average: Checking the Connection Status, updated June 10, 2026. The dashboard itself is monarch.com/connection-status.
• Read-only access, the provider names, manual accounts, what to try when an account will not connect, and which tools are web only: Getting Started with Monarch, updated October 27, 2026.
• Help and Support, then Contact Support: Monarch FAQs, updated September 12, 2026.
• [email protected] when you cannot sign in: Login Issues and Security, updated October 21, 2026.
• CSV import on the web, required columns, and the warning that an import cannot be undone: Importing Transactions Manually, updated August 14, 2026.
• FYN free receipt counts, and Pro bank sync at $9.99 a month: fyn.fyi/pricing.