Anthropic adds Personal Finance in Claude via Plaid

Anthropic said Thursday that Claude can connect U.S. paid users' bank and card accounts through Plaid for read-only spending questions, TechCrunch and The Verge reported.

By Dex Okafor · WhatsNewPaper Desk

1 hr ago1:00 PM

Wire reporting: (Reuters, via CNA)

Anthropic said Thursday that Claude is getting a Personal Finance tool that lets users connect bank and credit card accounts through Plaid and ask questions about their money, with access limited to read-only^1,4.

The company said the feature cannot move, manage or invest funds^1,4. TechCrunch reported that it is rolling out in beta this week to Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers in the United States¹. The Verge and CNA, carrying Reuters, reported the same U.S. paid-plan beta^3,4.

Users can ask where money went in a given month, and Claude will total spending across connected accounts and sort it by categories such as rent, utilities, food and shopping^1,4. The Verge said the chatbot can also address bills remaining before payday, whether a large purchase is affordable and how much could be saved each month⁴. TechCrunch said Anthropic also described flagging duplicate charges, unexpected fees and rising bills, and explaining terms such as APR¹.

Anthropic said Claude sees, for accounts the user connects, the bank name, account name and type, last four digits, balances, credit limits and up to two years of transaction history^1,4. Login happens through Plaid, so Claude does not receive the bank password, The Verge reported⁴.

TechCrunch quoted Anthropic saying Personal Finance has no ads or sponsored recommendations and does not offer its own credit cards, loans or savings accounts¹. The company also said conversations in the Personal Finance hub are not used to train its models^1,3. The Verge reported Anthropic's statement that the tool is not designed to give investment advice⁴.

TechCrunch and The Verge both placed the launch after OpenAI added similar ChatGPT personal finance tools in May, also using Plaid^1,4. Techmeme summarized the story as Anthropic's counterpart to ChatGPT Finances². CNA, carrying Reuters, noted the rollout comes as Anthropic prepares for a highly anticipated initial public offering³.

The Verge quoted Anthropic calling Personal Finance a first step and saying it wants people to work with licensed professionals and regulated firms, and that it is exploring how to do that in Claude⁴. Independent verification of how the beta performs, and of error rates on balances, was not in the coverage^1,4.