How to Fix 'Invalid Credentials' Errors

Last updated: August 20, 2026

Overview

An invalid credentials error — the underlying message from our data provider is "the provided credentials were not correct" — means your institution rejected the sign-in Mezzi passed along. Nine times out of ten the password is genuinely fine and something else is at fault: you're signing in to the wrong institution entry, the institution needs a separate third-party or online-access ID, or a security step wasn't completed. Sign in on your institution's own website first to confirm the credentials work, then retry the connection.

⚠ What You May See

  • "the provided credentials were not correct"

  • A sign-in screen inside the connection flow that clears your entry and asks again, without saying why.

  • The connection ending back at the institution search screen with nothing added.

  • A previously working account failing at the same message during a repair.

We see this across a wide range of institutions — Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Edward Jones, UBS, Ally Bank, E*TRADE, Raymond James, HSA Bank, ADP Retirement Services, Ascensus, BNY Mellon–Pershing, SoFi, credit unions — so hitting it doesn't mean your institution is unsupported.

⚙ How to Fix It

  1. Sign in on the institution's own website first. Open a browser, go to your bank or brokerage directly, and log in. If that fails too, the credentials are the problem — reset the password there and come back. If it succeeds, move to step 2.

  2. Check you picked the right entry in search. This is the single most common cause. Large institutions publish several entries, and they are not interchangeable — Charles Schwab and Charles Schwab – Retirement Plan Center are different logins, and so are the personal and business entries at most banks. Search by the name on the website where you actually log in. For an employer retirement plan, search for the plan administrator (Fidelity NetBenefits, Empower, Voya, Ascensus, ADP Retirement Services), not your employer.

  3. Use your online-access ID, not your account number. Some brokerages and plan administrators issue a separate web login distinct from the account number on your statement. Enter the one you use on their site.

  4. Complete every security step without closing the window. If a one-time code, security question, or approval tap in the institution's app appears, finish it. Closing early is reported as a failed sign-in.

  5. Retry after a password reset — and wait a few minutes. If you just changed your password at the institution, give it several minutes to propagate before reconnecting. Reconnecting instantly can fail against the old record.

  6. Check for a lockout. Several failed attempts can lock the account at the institution. If you're locked out, unlock it on their site before trying Mezzi again — further attempts extend the lock.

  7. If it's an existing account, repair rather than re-add. See How to Repair a Broken Account Connection. Re-adding creates a second account record and loses history.

💡 Why This Happens

Mezzi never sees or stores your institution password. Credentials are entered in the provider's secure sign-in window and exchanged for a read-only token, and the institution returns a pass or fail. When it fails, all we get back is a generic rejection — the institution doesn't tell us whether the password was wrong, the login type was wrong, or the account was locked.

That's why a correct password can still produce this error. Signing in to the personal-banking entry with retirement-plan credentials, or to a brokerage entry with an account number instead of an online-access ID, is a valid rejection from the institution's point of view and reaches us looking identical to a typo.

A smaller share of these are genuine institution-side faults during an outage, which resolve on their own within a day.

Important Notes

Repeated attempts can lock you out. Two failures are a signal to stop and check the institution entry rather than to try a third time.

Changing your institution password breaks the existing connection by design. After any password change, expect a repair prompt on that institution.

A wrong entry that connects successfully is its own problem. If you connect but see none of the accounts you expected, you likely chose a sibling entry. Delete that institution and reconnect using the correct one.

🗨 Still Need Help?

Email help@mezzi.com or text/call (415) 763-6997 with:

  • the institution name exactly as it appeared in the search list

  • the exact error text and a screenshot of the screen where it appeared

  • whether you can sign in successfully on the institution's own website

  • whether this is a new connection or a repair of an existing one

  • roughly when you tried, so we can match it to the provider's logs

You can also schedule a support call.

Common Questions

  • Does Mezzi store my bank password? No. Credentials go into the provider's own sign-in window and are exchanged for a read-only token. Mezzi never sees the password. See Is My Data Secure?.

  • My password is definitely right — why is it rejected? Most often because the institution entry is wrong, or the institution expects a separate online-access ID rather than the credentials you're using. Check the entry name against the site you actually log in to.

  • Which entry should I use for my 401(k)? Search for the plan administrator that hosts your plan's website, not your employer's name. That single change resolves a large share of retirement-plan connection failures.

  • Will resetting my password fix it? Only if the credentials were genuinely wrong. If you can already sign in on the institution's website, resetting won't change anything — the entry or the login type is the more likely cause.