Claude tests a Personal Finance hub with read-only bank connections

[Scholar29]

Anthropic is testing a new way for Claude to help people manage their money. Engadget reports that a Personal Finance hub is being trialled for US subscribers on the Pro, Max and Ultra plans

Bank accounts connect through Plaid, which covers more than 12,000 institutions including Chase and Citi. The access is read only, and the hub cannot move, manage or invest money, though Claude can see up to two years of transactions

The hub can flag unexpected fees, double charges and rising bills, and it can build spending charts and budgets. Conversations inside the hub are not used for model training, and there are no ads or sponsored products

That makes for a clear contrast with ChatGPT Finances, which launched in May and opts users into training by default. Claude's version also does not give investment advice, keeping the focus on everyday spending

Spotting a forgotten subscription or a duplicate charge is exactly the sort of dull job an assistant should do well. Read only access is a sensible limit, and keeping finance chats out of training will reassure cautious users. Trust will still be the deciding factor for many people

Would you connect your bank account to an AI assistant? And which money tasks would you most like help with?

Now Claude can help with your finances too - Engadgetwww.engadget.com

[HitmanMatt53]

Two years of transaction history gives a lot of context. Patterns become obvious over that time. Rising bills that creep up slowly are easy to miss. Seeing them on a chart would be a wake up call. I would use it for that alone