An Expense Tracker That Never Asks to Connect Your Bank
Most expense apps open with the same request: connect an account so we can import your transactions. It is a reasonable trade if you want it, and a hard no if you do not. HeyJerni is built for the second answer. Purchases come in by scanning the receipt or by an Apple Pay automation on your own phone, and there is no field anywhere in the app for a bank credential.
No bank linking, no account, no server. Free on the App Store.
What connecting a bank actually involves
When an app imports your transactions, it is usually through a data provider sitting between the app and your bank. Depending on the country and the provider, that means either handing over your online banking credentials, or authorising access through an open banking regime such as the Consumer Data Right in Australia.
Either way, a third party you did not choose ends up holding a view of your accounts, and your transaction history becomes data on somebody else’s systems for as long as their retention policy says.
None of that is fraud or a scandal. It is a trade: a complete transaction feed in exchange for access and a copy. It is a trade plenty of people are happy with, and a trade plenty of others would rather not make.
The trade, laid out
This is the honest comparison. A bank feed is genuinely better at one thing, and worse at others.
| Bank-linked app | HeyJerni | |
|---|---|---|
| Where transactions come from | Imported from linked accounts | Receipt scan, Apple Pay auto-log, or typed in |
| Catches purchases you forgot | Yes, everything on the account | Only Apple Pay purchases and what you scan |
| Needs a bank credential or open banking consent | Yes | No |
| Knows what you actually bought | Merchant name only | The receipt image, kept with the record |
| Where your history is stored | The provider and the app’s servers | An encrypted database on your iPhone |
| Works with no connection | No | Yes, after the one-time model download |
| Account required | Yes | No |
If a complete feed of every account matters more to you than where the data lives, a bank-linked app is the better tool and this page will not talk you out of it.
How purchases get in without a feed
Apple Pay auto-log
A Shortcuts automation on your phone records the merchant and amount at the moment you tap. Automatic, and nothing is connected to anything.
Receipt scanning
Photograph one receipt or a stack. On-device AI reads the merchant, amount and date, and the image stays attached as evidence.
Typed in when you have to
Cash, a bank transfer, a direct debit. The occasional manual entry is the cost of not handing over an account.
What you give up, and what you get back
You give up completeness by default. A bank feed catches the subscription you forgot you had; HeyJerni will not, unless you scan the receipt or pay for it with Apple Pay on that phone.
What you get back is evidence. A bank line reading a merchant name and an amount is not a receipt, and for a work expense the receipt is the part that has to exist. Scanning produces a record that stands on its own.
And you get a smaller footprint. No credential shared, no third party holding a copy of your accounts, and no service that can be breached, sold or shut down with your financial history inside it.
Choose this if you
- Do not want to give an app your banking login
- Would rather your transaction history stayed on your phone
- Mainly need records of work expenses, with receipts
- Pay with Apple Pay often enough for auto-log to carry the load
Choose a bank-linked app if you
- Want every transaction from every account, automatically
- Are tracking to build a budget rather than to keep records
- Do not mind a provider holding a view of your accounts
- Need transactions from accounts you never pay from directly
Frequently asked questions
Can I connect my bank if I change my mind?
No. There is no bank linking feature to enable. It is an architectural choice rather than a setting.
Then how does anything get tracked automatically?
Through Apple Pay auto-log. A Shortcuts automation on your iPhone records the merchant and amount at the moment of payment, without any connection to your bank.
Is manual entry not a lot of work?
Less than it sounds, because most purchases arrive either through auto-log or through a receipt scan that takes seconds. Typing is reserved for cash and transfers.
Does HeyJerni use Plaid or open banking?
No. It uses no bank data provider of any kind, and has no server that could receive account data.
What about my old transactions?
They are not imported, because there is nothing to import them from. Records start the day you start.
Is this less accurate than a bank feed?
It is less complete by default and better evidenced. A feed catches every line; a scan captures what you bought and keeps the proof.
Related pages
- Private expense trackerWhat no account and no cloud means in practice.
- Apple Pay expense trackerThe automatic capture that replaces a bank feed.
- Offline expense trackerWhy nothing needs a connection to work.
- HeyJerni vs MintThe comparison people arrive at after Mint shut down.
- Private Mint alternatives that do not link your bankFive options, including the ones that are not us.
Track expenses without handing over an account
Download HeyJerni. There is no connect-your-bank screen, because there is no bank connection to make.