Claude can now tell you where your money went, if you're in the US, and it can look but it can't touch
By Brett Gavaghan, Founder of Adaptd ·
Anthropic has started a beta of Personal Finance in Claude, which reads the bank and card accounts you connect and answers plain-English questions. It's US-only and not in Australia yet.
The short version
- Personal Finance in Claude connects bank and card accounts and answers questions about your spending and bills.
- The beta is rolling out on paid plans in the US only, so it isn't in Australia yet.
- Use its read-only design as your test for any AI tool that asks to connect to your money.
Most of us have a rough idea where the money went. We just prefer not to ask. Claude would now like to tell you anyway, provided you live in the US.
What is Personal Finance in Claude?
Personal Finance in Claude is a new beta feature that reads the bank and card accounts you connect and answers questions about them in everyday language.
Ask "Where did my money go this month?" and it adds up spending across your accounts and sorts it by category. It can point out charges that hit twice and bills that have crept up. Access is read-only, so it can't move, manage or invest your money.
Who can use it, and what can it see?
Personal Finance is rolling out on Claude's Pro, Max and Ultra plans in the US, and it isn't in Australia yet. Anthropic's announcement doesn't mention other countries.
You sign in to your bank through Plaid, so Claude never sees your password. For the accounts you pick, it sees balances and up to two years of transactions. Chats inside the Personal Finance hub aren't used to train Anthropic's models, while anything outside the hub follows your usual privacy settings. Anthropic also says Claude can make mistakes, so check important figures with your bank.
Should your business care about it?
Your business should care about how Personal Finance is built, because Australians can't switch it on yet and it's a personal tool, not bookkeeping software.
My take: your books stay in your accounting software for now. The part worth borrowing is the design. It's read-only and you choose which accounts it sees. Use that as your test the next time any AI tool asks to connect to your bank or accounts. If you're tempted to paste statements into a chatbot in the meantime, check your plan's training setting and strip the account numbers first.
It can look but it can't touch, which is more restraint than most of us show at the checkout.
Wondering what this means for your business?
That's exactly what the discovery call is for.