--- title: "How to Connect Your Bank Account to Claude (3 Ways) | Candor" description: "Step by step: link your bank to Claude with a directory connector like Candor or Era, a custom connector by URL, or a statement, then check it and fix problems." url: "https://candor.money/how-to-connect-your-bank-account-to-claude" updated: "2026-10-19" --- # How do you connect your bank account to Claude? Updated 2026-10-19. Canonical page: https://candor.money/how-to-connect-your-bank-account-to-claude Claude has no bank connection of its own. To use your real numbers, it needs a connector, which is a service that links your bank and lets Claude read it once you approve. You can add one from Claude's directory, add one by URL, or upload a statement. Below are the steps for each, how to check it worked, and what to look at before you give a finance connector your data. ## How do you connect your bank account to Claude? Through one of three routes. Add a finance connector from Claude's directory, such as Candor Finance or Era Context, which links your bank in its own app. Add a custom connector by URL for a service that isn't in the directory. Or upload a statement to a chat. As of October 17, 2026, Anthropic offers no built-in bank connection in Claude. Choose one place for the bank connection. Two finance connectors that both link the same bank through Plaid leave two copies of your data and two connections to remove later. Claude Money, a Money tab reported in testing in the Claude iOS app in mid-September 2026, would link bank accounts directly. Anthropic has not announced it, named a data provider, or given a date, so this page covers what works today. - [Claude for personal finance, and what Claude Money may add](https://candor.money/claude-personal-finance) ## Which way should you connect? Use a directory connector if you'll keep asking about your money and want current figures. Use a custom connector only for a service you trust that isn't in the directory, because Anthropic hasn't reviewed it. Upload a statement for a one-off look with no ongoing connection. Checked against Anthropic's help center and Claude's directory, October 17, 2026: | | Directory connector | Custom connector by URL | Uploading a statement | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Best for | Questions you come back to, with current figures | A service you trust that isn't listed | A one-off look at one period | | How your bank connects | In the service's own app, often through Plaid | In the service's own app | You download and upload a file | | Who can use it | Every Claude plan; on Team and Enterprise an Owner enables it first | Every plan; Free allows one custom connector | Anyone who can upload files | | Anthropic's review | Screened (Community) or tested (Verified). Candor Finance is Community | None | Not applicable | | Can it move money? | Depends on the service. Candor has no tool to move money | Depends on the service's tools | No | ## How do you add a finance connector from Claude's directory? In Claude on the web or Desktop, open Customize, then Connectors, and select the plus button to browse the directory. Personal finance connectors such as Candor Finance and Era Context are under Finances. Open one, read its label and details, select Connect, and sign in to the service. Then link your bank inside that service. 1. Open Customize, then Connectors, in Claude on the web or Desktop, and select the plus button next to Connectors. In a chat, you can also select the plus button (or type /), then Connectors, then Manage connectors. 2. Browse Finances, or search by name. On October 17, 2026, the Finances category listed about 390 connectors, most of them for businesses and market data. Personal ones include Candor Finance, Era Context, and Intuit Credit Karma, alongside brokerages such as Interactive Brokers and Webull. 3. Open the connector and read its label. A checkmark means Anthropic tested its tools; Community means Anthropic screened it but did not review it in depth; Custom means you added it yourself. Then select Connect and sign in to the service. 4. For Candor: sign in to Candor or create your account and start your trial, then approve Claude's access. That gives Claude access to your Candor workspace. It doesn't give Claude your bank login. Link your bank in Candor through Plaid, or import statements if your bank won't connect. Candor's listing notes that you connect your financial accounts in Candor. 5. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds the connector for the organization first: Organization settings, then Connectors, then Browse connectors, then Add to your team. Each member then connects it in Customize, then Connectors, and signs in. Add connectors on the web or Desktop; they are there the next time you open Claude on iOS or Android. 6. Check that it worked. Start a new conversation with the connector turned on and send the message below. Claude should name the accounts Candor covers, or say none are linked yet. Having a connector in your list doesn't mean Claude is using it in that chat. ```text Open my Candor workspace and tell me which accounts it covers and how current they are. ``` - [Set up Candor in Claude](https://candor.money/connect/claude) ## How do you add a custom connector by URL? Open Customize, then Connectors, select Add, then Add custom connector, and paste the service's remote MCP server URL. Choose how to sign in, select Add, and approve access. Free plans get one custom connector, and on Team and Enterprise an Owner adds it for the organization. Anthropic has not reviewed custom connectors, so add only services you trust. 1. Get the server URL from the service. Some bank-data services, often called MCP bridges, link your bank through Plaid and give Claude read access to transactions and balances. 2. In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, select Add, then Add custom connector. Enter a name and the URL, and select Continue. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it instead: Organization settings, then Connectors, then Add, then Custom, then Web. Members then find it in Customize, then Connectors, and select Connect. 3. Pick the sign-in option the service asks for, select Add, and complete its sign-in. Then turn it on in a conversation from the plus button, then Connectors. 4. Check that it worked with the same kind of question: ask Claude which accounts it can see and the date of the latest transaction in each. Anthropic's warnings for third-party connectors matter more here. The developer decides which tools the connector has and can change them. Anthropic doesn't run its servers or control what it does with your data. Watch for prompt injection and for actions you didn't ask for. Any directory connector can also be added by URL, so if a service is listed, add the listed one. ## How do you upload a bank statement to Claude? Download a statement or CSV export from your bank, redact full account numbers so they're gone from the file, and attach it to a chat with one specific question. Ask which account and dates it read. On Free, Pro, and Max, use an incognito chat or turn off Model Improvement first if you don't want it used for training; Team and Enterprise chats aren't by default. 1. Download a PDF statement or CSV export from your bank's website. 2. Remove full account numbers and anything else you would not want kept in a chat. In a CSV, delete the column. In a PDF, use a redact tool that removes the text; a box drawn over a number leaves the number in the file, where Claude can still read it. 3. Attach the file and ask one question, such as where your spending went last month. 4. Check that it worked: ask Claude which account and date range it read. Deleting the chat removes it from your history, and Anthropic says it deletes it from its back-end systems within 30 days, longer where the law or a policy violation requires. On Free, Pro, and Max, if Model Improvement was on when you uploaded it, de-identified copies can stay in Anthropic's training pipelines for up to five years, and deleting the chat doesn't remove them. An incognito chat is never used to improve Claude. ## How do you check a finance connector is safe? Before you connect, check its label in the directory, whether its tools can change anything or only read, what the service says about storing your data and training on it, and Claude's Model Improvement setting. Candor is read-only, has no tool to move money, and does not train AI models on your financial information. The label: Verified connectors had their tools tested by Anthropic, Community ones were screened but not reviewed in depth, and Claude reminds you of that before you connect a Community connector. Anthropic says even Verified isn't a security audit, because the developer runs the connector and can change its tools after review. The tools: a finance connector that can only read cannot move money, even if a prompt hidden in a web page or document tries to get Claude to. Read the tool list on the connector's directory page. Your Claude settings: on Free, Pro, and Max, Anthropic uses chats to improve its models if you allow it, under Model Improvement in Claude's Privacy settings, and incognito chats are not used for that. Team and Enterprise chats are not used for training by default. One exception applies either way: a conversation flagged for safety review may be used to improve Anthropic's abuse detection, including training its safeguards models. Your bank's own settings: most banks list the apps linked to your account and let you remove them, and Plaid Portal at my.plaid.com shows connections made through Plaid. - [What makes AI money management safe](https://candor.money/safe-ai-money-management) ## What if it doesn't work? Most problems are a sign-in that didn't finish, a connector that isn't turned on in the conversation, or a bank that won't link. Reconnect from Customize, then Connectors; turn the connector on from the plus button in the chat; and if Plaid can't reach your bank, import statements in Candor instead. Claude says it can't reach the connector: the sign-in usually didn't finish. Reconnect it from Customize, then Connectors. In Candor, the Connections page shows whether Claude is connected. Connected, but Claude doesn't use it: connectors are turned on per conversation. Select the plus button, then Connectors, and switch it on. You can request a connector but not connect it: on Team and Enterprise, an Owner has to enable it for the organization. The bank won't link or shows only balances: not every institution connects through Plaid, and some share only part of your history. With Candor, statements are the fallback. To disconnect: open Customize, then Connectors, select the connector, and disconnect it. For Candor, that stops Claude's access to your Candor workspace; your bank stays linked. To remove a bank, disconnect it on Candor's Accounts page. ## Where does Candor fit? Use Candor for questions you'll work through over time, like whether you can afford time off, which debt to pay first, or whether a raise changes your plan. Claude gets exact figures from your records and a weekly review of what's worth talking through. The plan you settle on is saved in Candor for your next conversation or another agent. Candor is read-only and never moves money. Claude goes through the numbers with you and tells you what works, what doesn't yet, and what would have to change. Candor is not a licensed advisor and gives no advice; your agent makes the suggestions and you make the call. Era Context is the other personal finance connector most people compare, and they overlap: both connect your accounts and give Claude your records. Era is a Verified connector and is adding transfers between your own accounts in private beta, each with your approval; Candor is read-only. The comparison below covers where they differ. - [Era alternative: how Candor compares](https://candor.money/era-alternative) ## How this page was checked Steps come from Anthropic's help articles on connectors and custom connectors, its connector verification page, and its privacy article on model training, all re-read on October 17, 2026. The directory's Finances category and Candor Finance's listing were checked that day in claude.ai. Menu names can differ on the phone apps, and Anthropic changes them often, so check the linked sources. Candor is in the comparison because this is Candor's site. ## Start this with your agent Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT, or the agent you use. It sets up Candor, walks you through approving its access and connecting your accounts, then starts on the plan. If setup stalls, your AI's setup guide below has the steps. ```text Set up Candor from https://candor.money/START.md and walk me through connecting it here. Tell me which accounts you can see in Candor and how current each one is. Then compare my last two complete months of spending and explain the three biggest changes. ``` ## Common questions ### Is connecting my bank account to Claude free? Directory connectors work on every Claude plan, including Free, and Free allows one custom connector. Each service sets its own price. Candor starts at $8.25 a month on the annual plan ($99 a year), or $14.99 month to month, and the first 7 days are free. ### Does Claude see my bank password? No. You sign in to your bank on Plaid's screen inside the finance service, and Plaid says it does not share your bank username and password with the apps you connect. Never type a bank password into a chat. ### Can Claude move money once my bank is connected? Only if a connector gives it a tool that can. Candor has no money-movement tools, so Claude cannot move money through Candor. Check each connector's tool list before you connect it. ### Is Claude Money available? Not as of October 17, 2026. It was reported in testing in the Claude iOS app in September, and Anthropic has not announced it. Today, Claude reaches bank data through connectors or files you upload. ### Does Anthropic train Claude on my financial chats? On Free, Pro, and Max, Anthropic uses chats to improve its models if Model Improvement is on in your Privacy settings; incognito chats are not used for that. A conversation flagged for safety review may still be used to train Anthropic's safeguards models. What a connector's own service does with your data is set by that service, so read its policy too. ## Sources - [Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11176164-use-connectors-to-extend-claude-s-capabilities), Anthropic, 2026-10-17 - [Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp), Anthropic - [Connector verification](https://claude.com/docs/connectors/verification), Anthropic - [Is my data used for model training?](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training), Anthropic, 2026-03-16 - [Is my data used for model training? (Claude for Work)](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/7996868-is-my-data-used-for-model-training), Anthropic - [How long do you store my data?](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data), Anthropic - [Candor Finance in Claude's connector directory](https://claude.ai/directory/candor-money), Anthropic - [Era Context in Claude's connector directory](https://claude.com/connectors/era-context), Anthropic - [Anthropic prepares Claude Money for personal finance](https://www.testingcatalog.com/anthropic-prepares-claude-money-for-personal-finance/), TestingCatalog, 2026-09-14 - [How Plaid works for consumers](https://plaid.com/how-it-works-for-consumers/), Plaid - [Privacy policy](https://candor.money/privacy), Candor ## Keep reading - [Claude for personal finance, and Claude Money](https://candor.money/claude-personal-finance) - [How to connect your bank account to ChatGPT](https://candor.money/how-to-connect-your-bank-account-to-chatgpt) - [Best personal finance MCP servers](https://candor.money/mcp) - [Era alternative](https://candor.money/era-alternative) - [Is Chase blocking AI agents?](https://candor.money/chase-blocking-ai-agents) - [Where do I actually stand?](https://candor.money/explore/first-pass) - [What changed this week, and what's coming?](https://candor.money/explore/weekly-review) ## Bring Claude the money question you've been putting off. Claude works through it from your real figures, Candor's weekly review raises what's worth talking through, and the plan you settle on is kept for next time. Candor is read-only and cannot move money. It does not train AI models on your financial information, records every agent read and change with its reason, and lets you revoke access or export and delete your Candor data at any time. Agents can install Candor themselves from https://candor.money/START.md.