Is there a budget app that does not connect to your bank?

Yes. Balance never connects to your bank or asks for bank credentials. Transactions come from CSV statements you import, from Apple Pay through an iPhone Shortcut, and from quick manual entries.

Is it safe to give a budgeting app my bank login?

Many apps use licensed, read-only connections, and in many countries that is regulated. Still, it means a third party can access your account data, and connections can break. If you would rather not share access at all, use an app that works from statements instead.

Is it a lot of work without bank sync?

Less than you might think. Apple Pay payments log themselves, and importing a monthly statement takes a minute or two because duplicates are skipped. Expect a few minutes a month.

Can Balance move money?

No. Balance has no connection to your bank, so it cannot move, send or withdraw money.

Can I delete my data?

Yes. You can export everything first, then delete your account and all of its data from Settings.

No bank login

Budget without giving away your bank password.

Balance never asks for your bank or card credentials. Your spending comes from statements you import, Apple Pay payments logged by a Shortcut, and quick notes. Free, private and fully exportable.

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Why it matters

The trade-off most budget apps ask you to make

Most budgeting apps get your transactions by connecting to your bank, either with your online-banking login or through a data aggregator. It is convenient: everything shows up on its own.

It also means a company, and often a second company behind it, can access your account data. Many people are uneasy about that, especially when the app is small or new. And the connection itself is fragile: bank connections can break whenever a bank changes something on its side.

Balance chose the other side of the trade-off. It has no connection to any bank, so there are no credentials to store, nothing to leak and no sync to break. The cost is that you bring the data in. We have worked hard to make that take minutes, not hours.

How your data gets in

Three ways, all on your terms

Import a statement

Download a CSV from your bank or card website and import it. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded; only the transactions you import are saved. Rows you imported before are skipped.

Apple Pay, automatically

An iPhone Shortcut sends each Apple Pay payment to Balance moments after you pay: merchant, amount and card name only.

How Apple Pay logging works

Quick add

Type “coffee 18” or “+5200 salary” and Balance fills in the category and date. Good for cash, transfers and anything else.

Bank sync vs no bank login

Both approaches are reasonable. Here is the honest trade-off.

Balance (no bank login) compared with apps that link to your bank
Feature	Balance	Bank-linked apps
Bank credentials or account access	Never	Required
Transactions arrive on their own	Apple Pay and card SMS (iPhone Shortcuts)
Can break when the bank changes something		Sometimes
Works with any bank that offers a statement download		Only supported banks
You decide exactly what is shared

Stay in control

Private by design, not by promise

Keys you can revoke

The Apple Pay key can only add expenses. It cannot read anything. Revoke it in one tap.

Touch ID lock on Mac

Ask for your fingerprint every time Balance opens on your Mac. Your fingerprint never leaves the device.

Export everything

Download every transaction as CSV, or a full JSON backup of accounts, categories, budgets and goals.

The details are on our security page. Ask Balance, our question box, works out answers on your device by default. Your questions go to an AI service only if you turn on Smart mode.

Questions people ask

Keep going

ArticleBudgeting without linking your bank: a privacy-first guideYou do not have to hand a budgeting app your bank password. How to build a budget from statements, Apple Pay and quick notes, and what you trade off.Read more

FeatureApple Pay expense trackerPay as usual with Apple Pay and an iPhone Shortcut logs each payment in Balance, sorted into categories. A few minutes to set up, no bank login. Free.Read more

PageSecurityHow Balance protects your data: no bank login, hashed passwords and session tokens, Touch ID lock on Mac and full export.Read more

PageData & permissionsExactly what data Balance can access, why we need it and how you stay in control.Read more

CompareBalance vs RiseUpRiseUp or Balance? Price, bank connection, coaching and privacy compared side by side, with sources and dates, including where RiseUp is better.Read more

CompareBalance vs a spreadsheetBudget spreadsheet or app? What Excel and Google Sheets do better, where they get tedious, and how to move your sheet into Balance with a CSV.Read more

Your money, your data. No bank login.

Create a free account in a couple of minutes. Import one statement and see your month.

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