Imagine asking Claude "How much did I spend on dining last month?" and getting a real, accurate answer — not a guess, but actual data pulled directly from your bank accounts. With the BankSync MCP server, this takes less than 5 minutes to set up.
What You Can Do Once Connected
Once BankSync MCP is connected to Claude Desktop, your AI has live read access to your real financial data:
Use Cases
Spending Breakdowns
Ask Claude to total up any category for any date range — groceries, dining, subscriptions, travel.
Net Worth Snapshot
Get your assets minus liabilities across all accounts in a single question.
Recurring Charges
Identify subscriptions and recurring charges — including ones you've forgotten about.
Unusual Transactions
Ask Claude to flag any transactions that look out of the ordinary this week.
Month-over-Month Comparisons
Compare spending across any two periods without touching a spreadsheet.
Investment Holdings
Query your brokerage positions, allocation, and performance in plain English.
What You'll Need
- A BankSync account (free trial at banksync.io)
- Claude Desktop installed on Mac or Windows
- About 5 minutes
Step 1 — Sign Up and Connect Your Bank
Head to banksync.io and create a free account. Go to Banks in the sidebar and click Add Bank.
BankSync uses Plaid — the same secure, read-only connection used by Venmo, Robinhood, and thousands of other financial apps. Your bank password is never shared with BankSync.
After linking, BankSync runs its first sync in 30–60 seconds, importing your recent transactions, balances, and investment holdings.
Step 2 — Generate an API Key
API keys authenticate your MCP requests. To create one:
Open Workspace Settings
Click your workspace name in the top-left corner of the BankSync app.
Navigate to Developers
Go to Settings > Developers in the left sidebar.
Create a Key
Click Create API Key, give it a name (e.g. "Claude Desktop"), and click Create.
Copy the Key
Copy the key immediately — you won't be able to see it again. It starts with bsk_.
Step 3 — Add BankSync to Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop reads MCP server configuration from a JSON file. Open it in any text editor:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add the BankSync configuration:
1{2 "mcpServers": {3 "banksync": {4 "command": "npx",5 "args": ["-y", "@banksync/mcp"],6 "env": {7 "BANKSYNC_API_KEY": "bsk_your_key_here"8 }9 }10 }11}
Replace bsk_your_key_here with your API key. If you already have other MCP servers configured, add the banksync block inside the existing mcpServers object.
Step 4 — Restart and Test
Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. BankSync MCP connects automatically on startup. Look for the tools icon (hammer) in the chat input — click it to confirm BankSync tools appear.
Try these test prompts:
- "How much did I spend last month, broken down by category?"
- "What's my current balance across all my accounts?"
- "Find all my recurring charges and list them with their monthly cost."
Security and Privacy
How Your Data Stays Safe
Read-Only Access
Claude can query your data but cannot move money, make payments, or modify any accounts.
Bank Credentials Never Shared
Plaid handles authentication directly with your bank. BankSync never sees your banking password.
Instant Revocation
Delete your API key from Settings > Developers at any time to immediately cut off MCP access.
Encrypted in Transit
All data is transmitted over TLS. No financial data is stored in Claude's context after your session ends.
What's Next
Claude Desktop is just one of 40+ AI clients that support BankSync MCP. The same API key and config pattern works with Cursor, VS Code Copilot, ChatGPT, Windsurf, Warp, and more.
See setup guides for every AI client at banksync.io/developers/mcp-setup, and browse all 36 MCP tools at banksync.io/developers/mcp-tools.