A Pocketbook alternative built on CDR

Pocketbook shut down in March 2024. There is no single official replacement. Australians have moved to a mix of CDR-regulated alternatives like BankSync (sync to Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Excel, Claude, ChatGPT), WeMoney, Frollo, Up Bank (only if you switch banks), and overseas tools like YNAB and Rocket Money.

BankSync connects to every CDR-accredited Australian bank (Big 4, neobanks, mutuals, brokerages) using the regulated Consumer Data Right framework — not screen-scraping. Unlike Pocketbook, BankSync gives you the raw data: sync transactions, balances, and holdings into Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Excel, or query them in plain English from Claude and ChatGPT via MCP. You own and shape the budget yourself.

BankSync is paid SaaS, but it offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Pricing is transparent and lower than most competing CDR-regulated tools.

Yes. BankSync includes a rules engine and AI-powered enrichment so transactions are automatically categorised (groceries, transport, eating out, subscriptions). You can edit rules, override categories, and fine-tune them per account.

BankSync pulls transaction history directly from your bank via CDR (banks provide up to 7 years of history depending on the institution). You do not need an export from Pocketbook — connect your bank and history backfills automatically.

Yes. BankSync uses the regulated Consumer Data Right framework via Fiskil (Accredited Data Recipient ADRBNK000246). Your banking credentials never leave your bank. Consents are scoped, time-bound (up to 12 months), and revocable at any time. Screen-scraping tools required you to share your password — CDR makes that obsolete.

Every CDR-accredited Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI). That covers CommBank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, Macquarie, Up, ING, Bankwest, St.George, Bendigo Bank, Suncorp, HSBC Australia, plus credit unions, mutuals, and brokerages like CommSec, NAB Trade, and Westpac Online Investing.

WeMoney and Frollo are consumer PFM apps (closed-ended, mobile-first, ad-supported). BankSync is a data-pipe: it gets your bank data into the tools you already use (spreadsheets, databases, AI agents) so you can build whatever budget, dashboard, or report you need. It is the right choice if you outgrew Pocketbook because you wanted control of the data, not another app.