On Thursday, Anthropic launched a personal finance beta that lets US subscribers on Pro, Max and Ultra plans link bank and card accounts to Claude. According to The Next Web, the chatbot can read balances and transactions to answer spending questions, but it cannot move money.
Key takeaways
- Anthropic rolled out a new personal finance beta for select US subscribers.
- Users link bank and card accounts through Plaid so Claude never sees passwords.
- The feature remains strictly read-only and lacks ads or sponsored recommendations.
- OpenAI introduced a similar banking integration for ChatGPT in May.
How does the Claude personal finance beta work?
Users connect their financial institutions through Plaid, which prevents Claude from seeing actual bank passwords. Once linked, the chatbot can explain monthly spending habits, identify duplicate charges, spot extra fees, and build charts using balances alongside up to two years of transactions. Help pages indicate that Hub chats are excluded from training, and linked account data stays out of shared memory.
Certain limitations apply to the tool. For investment, loan and credit card accounts, Claude reads only balances and credit limits. Subscribers can connect up to 16 US banks. Help pages note that any figures shared during chats remain in artifacts and shared links until users delete them, even after a bank is unlinked.
How does it compare to other chat tools and what is next?
OpenAI launched a comparable feature in May that lets ChatGPT view bank accounts through Plaid, starting with its high-priced tier. Unlike OpenAI, which has started showing ads in ChatGPT, Anthropic states that its tool has no ads. Anthropic calls this feature a first step and is exploring ways Claude could work with licensed professionals and regulated firms for major money decisions.
What this means for users
Subscribers gain an easy way to analyze spending habits without risking unauthorized transactions, because the tool cannot move, manage or invest funds. Anthropic warns that Claude can make mistakes, advising users to check important figures directly with their bank. The company already built a separate version for financial advisers and integrated small business finances through Xero.
Frequently asked questions
It is a new feature that lets US subscribers on Pro, Max and Ultra plans link bank and card accounts to Claude so they can ask about their spending.
No, the feature is strictly read-only. According to The Next Web, Claude cannot move, manage or invest money, and it cannot access bank passwords.
Users connect their accounts through Plaid. This ensures that Claude never sees their actual bank passwords during the process.
No, Anthropic states that the personal finance beta has no ads or sponsored recommendations, and it does not offer its own financial products.
OpenAI launched a similar feature in May allowing ChatGPT to see bank accounts through Plaid, but OpenAI has already started showing ads in ChatGPT.
Based on reporting by The Next Web. Read the original article
