BananaTabHow BananaTab works.
BananaTab is a personal accountant you text. You connect your accounts once, it builds a model of how your money actually moves, and it texts you before you overspend instead of showing you a chart after you did. No app. No dashboard. Just texts.
Three things happen
Everything BananaTab tells you comes out of this loop. It runs quietly, and you only hear from it when the answer changes.
We build your financial model
Connect your checking, savings and cards once, through Plaid. BananaTab reads your income, recurring bills, spending patterns, shared money and goals, and learns what a normal month looks like for you.
IncomeRecurring billsSpending paceShared chargesYour goalWe model what happens next
From that model it runs thousands of possible versions of the rest of your month and turns them into one understandable forecast: where you're likely to land, and how much room you have.
You make better decisions
Know what you can comfortably spend, and what a decision changes, before you make it. The model updates as your life does, so the answer is about this month, not an average of last year.
Bank connection securely powered by Plaid. BananaTab never sees your bank password.
The model, plainly
Five things go in. One number comes out: the room between where you're heading and where you want to land. Every text is a version of that number.
The numbers above are an example. Yours come from your accounts, and they change as the month does.
What it texts you
The texts are short, and they arrive while you can still do something about them. These are the kinds of messages BananaTab sends:
Nothing here is a lecture. It is the number you'd want a friend who is good with money to tell you.
Ask it anything
Because it has the model, it can answer questions a budgeting app can't. Reply to any text, or start a new one. Tap a question to see how it answers:
Ask what you can afford, why a month feels tight, what changed, or whether a purchase fits. The answer is specific to your accounts, and it says the number out loud.
Your first month, in texts
What actually happens between leaving your number and the first time it saves you from a bad weekend.
- Day 0
You leave your number and connect your bank
Plaid handles the sign-in; BananaTab never sees your password. It reads your history and starts building the model while you make coffee.
- Day 0, a bit later
Your free spending review lands
A clear read on where your money went, what's on pace, and a plan to hit your number. Reply with a goal, or take the one it suggests.
- Whenever something changes
It texts you, and only then
A bill lands and changes your leftover. A category runs ahead of your pace. A charge looks shared. No daily digest, no streaks, no nagging.
- Any time
You text it first
“can I afford this?” gets a number, not a lecture. If a decision puts you over, it says by how much and leaves the decision to you.
- End of month
You find out how you did, and the model gets sharper
What it learned this month makes next month's forecast better. Reply STOP any time and it stops.
What BananaTab can and can't do
Reads, never moves
Access to your accounts is read-only. BananaTab cannot transfer, pay or withdraw. It watches and tells you.
All your accounts, one picture
Connect more than one bank or card. Balances and spending are read together, so "how am I doing" has one answer.
Splits the group stuff
Spending with friends? Say who was there. BananaTab splits it and sends the Venmo requests. How splitting works →
Stops when you say so
Reply STOP and the texts stop. Disconnect your accounts any time. Your number is only used to text you about your money.
✕Never tells you no
It tells you what a decision changes, says the number, and leaves the decision to you. Your call, every time.
✕Never sends money for you
Every Venmo request waits for your yes. Reminders to friends only go out when you approve them, and never more than three.
Why texts, not an app
Budgeting apps fail for a boring reason: you have to open them. A chart on your phone after you've overspent is a receipt, not advice. A text that lands on the 19th saying dining is running hot is something you can act on, and you reply to texts anyway. BananaTab lives in the one app you already check, and you only hear from it when there is something worth saying.
The free spending review is where most people start: a clear read on where your money went, what is on pace, and a plan to hit your number. Then the texts start.
Questions people ask
Is BananaTab an app?
No. BananaTab works entirely over text messages. You save one number and reply to texts. There is nothing to download and no dashboard to check.
How does BananaTab connect to my bank?
Through Plaid, the same connection used by most major finance apps. You sign in to your bank inside Plaid's secure window; BananaTab never sees your bank password. You can disconnect at any time.
Can BananaTab move my money?
No. BananaTab has read-only access to your transactions and balances. It can't transfer, pay, or withdraw anything. For bill splitting it sends Venmo requests on your behalf; the payment itself happens in Venmo, between you and your friends.
What does it text me?
Things you'd want to know before they become a problem: you're on pace to finish the month over your goal, a category is running ahead of your usual pace, a charge looks like it was shared, or your leftover after bills. You can also ask it anything about your money and get an answer in plain English.
How much does it cost?
The spending review is free. Standard message and data rates from your carrier may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop receiving texts.
Which accounts can I connect?
Checking accounts, savings and credit cards from banks supported by Plaid, which covers most US banks and card issuers. You can connect more than one, and BananaTab reads them together as one picture.
More questions? The FAQ has all of them, searchable.
Start talking to your spending.
A personal accountant charges hundreds an hour. We'll do the same review for free.