Bank of America's Bill Pay does not work

[ipv6_fan]

After updating firefox and logging into the Bank of America web page, I tried to enter the Bill Pay section and after the browser following a set of hidden links, I was led to this page:

https://billpay-ui.bankofamerica.com/imm/BrowserPolicy/NoCookiesEnabled/8308

The content of that page is roughly as follows:

Why can't I access Bill Pay?

You might have cookies blocked or cross-site tracking prevented. Depending on what browser you're using, check your settings for these terms:

• Block third party cookies
• Cookie tracking
• Cross-site tracking

Make sure cookies are not blocked and cross-site tracking is enabled. Follow any additional instructions in your browser once you have adjusted these settings.

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

I am running the latest Firefox (131.0) on Ubuntu 20.04.6. As far as I remember, loading this site did not pose a problem for me in the past few times I've used it (probably in September). I'm encountering this issue despite disabling Enhanced Tracking Protection and running without Private Mode.

I was able to access the site using Chromium 129.0.6668.89. However, as I prefer to use Firefox as part of my bill paying process, I hope you'll take the time to address this issue.

I was unable to pinpoint any specific javascript code or cookie that could lead to this issue.

[danmhi · Accepted solution]

Thank you for submitting this issue, team is looking into it with priority.

Questions that will greatly accelerate us figuring out the problem:

Could you try checking the values of these prefs in about:config

• network.cookie.cookieBehavior.optInPartitioning
• network.cookie.CHIPS.enabled

if any of them is set to true, most likely CHIPS one, can you change them to false, refresh the page and report back if that fixes the issue?

Additionally, which trackers are listed as blocked under shield panel?

Thank you in advance, Dan

[DavidMoore]

I had the same problem and your solution fixed it.

The value of cookieBehavior was 0 and CHIPS was true.

There was nothing listed under the shield panel

[danmhi]

Thank you, this helps a lot.

Could you please attempt to change network.cookie.CHIPS.enabled value back to 'true', restart the browser and try to reproduce the error, meaning log in and go to Bill Pay section?

[DavidMoore]

Did what you asked.  Same error.

[danmhi]

Thank you, this was of great help. We identified the issue and are working on a fix. It will be resolved as soon as possible with the next update. Your efforts in making Firefox better are very appreciated. Development team sends their regards!

[umarmalik]

• Check Cookie Settings: Make sure you have both third-party cookies enabled and cross-site tracking allowed. You can do this by going to Firefox Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data.

• Clear Cookies and Cache: Sometimes, clearing your cookies and cache can resolve access issues. Go to Firefox Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data, then click "Clear Data."

• Disable Extensions: Some extensions might interfere with site access. Temporarily disable them to see if that resolves the problem.

• Check Site Permissions: Right-click on the site and select "View Page Info." Check the permissions for cookies and site data.

• Update Firefox: Ensure you’re on the latest version of Firefox. Sometimes, bugs are fixed in newer updates.

[arthur130]

Yes the "network.cookie.CHIPS.enabled" changed to false allow Bill Pay to operate correctly.  Mozilla should address these quirks before releasing an update, don't you think? 

[danmhi]

We treated this issue with high urgency and the fix is underway. Thanks for your patience!

[danmhi]

We have just released an update - Firefox 131.0.3 that fixes this issue. Please make sure to update your Firefox. Thank you for reporting this everyone and happy browsing!

[MIcentury]

I was very excited to see in the 131.0.3 release notes that it fixed a problem with bill pay.  I've been unable to use bill pay at my small local bank since v131.  My bank was unable to help me and I couldn't get bill pay to work with v131 even after opening everything up as much as I knew how (cookies, trackers, etc.).

Sadly, v 131.0.3 still has the same behavior of blocking bill pay with a very similar message to the BOA message posted earlier.

My local bank uses a site named: web13.secureinternetbanking.com and in the past, I also needed to exempt cookies from sites named: cwsb40.checkfreeweb.com and cw411.checkfreeweb.com.  I've also added these sites to the exceptions list for enhanced tracking without effect.

Thanks for working on this.

[MIcentury]

I checked the following parameters:

The value of network.cookie.cookieBehavior.optInPartitioning is false.

The value of network.cookie.CHIPS.enabled is true.

[MIcentury]

When I set network.cookie.CHIPS.enabled to false, my billpay popped up as usual.