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Can an MCP server read a bank statement PDF and categorise the transactions?

The honest answer has two parts. The MCP Bank Statement server reads a bank's CSV export, applies rules you teach it, and categorises, summarises and reconciles the transactions. It does not read a scanned or photographic PDF of a statement. If your bank only hands you a PDF, the path is: export the underlying data as CSV if the bank offers it, or use one of the dedicated PDF-reading tools named below.

Try it first, free, with a URL

/mcp/connect mints a free anonymous token and prints a ready URL per server. Paste the bank-statement URL into Claude Desktop, Claude.ai or Cursor as a remote server, and you can hand it a CSV export in the same session: no install, no account.

One click, no JSON. Download bank-statement.mcpb from the latest release and open it in Claude Desktop. It runs on the Node runtime Claude Desktop ships with, so your own PATH and node version never come into it.

Or a URL, with nothing installed. /mcp/connect mints a free anonymous token and prints the ready line:

claude mcp add --transport http bank-statement https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/bank-statement/t/<token>

Or from a clone, for a client with no bundle installer. Build once, then point the client at the built file:

git clone https://github.com/theluckystrike/mcp-servers.git
cd mcp-servers && npm install
npm run build -w packages/mcp-license -w servers/bank-statement

claude mcp add --scope user bank-statement -- node /absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/bank-statement/dist/index.js

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf and Cline take the same two strings as JSON, in claude_desktop_config.json or the client's own MCP config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bank-statement": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/bank-statement/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

The npm packages are not published yet, so the npx form below returns a 404 today. It is kept because it is what that config becomes the day the publish lands, with nothing else changed; installing these servers when npx does not work yet has the whole picture.

claude mcp add bank-statement -- npx -y @theluckystrike/mcp-bank-statement

What categorisation means here

You teach it with rules: a supplier name, a merchant, a recurring amount. After five rules a new receipt or transfer classifies itself without you typing the category again. Each rule is a plain phrase match on the transaction description, so "STARBUCKS" becomes your coffee category once. It also detects recurring charges over the last three months, so a subscription that quietly renews shows up as a repeat rather than a surprise.

Reconciliation is the part most people actually want. It takes a 31-day window of your bank transactions and a window of your invoices or expenses and matches them, so at the end of the month you can see which of the money in is accounted for and which is not. The output is a plain answer, not a spreadsheet you then have to read.

Honest about the PDF limitation

This catalogue is entirely pure JavaScript that runs offline, and OCR is neither pure JavaScript nor offline. So a scanned statement is deliberately out of scope, and the tool descriptions say no OCR rather than guess at a scan. The servers that genuinely read a statement PDF are the OCR-based tools: DocuClipper and Bankstatemently are the two built for exactly that job, and if you want to keep the documents on your own machine, a self-hosted Stirling-PDF behind gufao's MCP wrapper is the common answer. The photo of a receipt guide explains the same line for expenses: the model in your chat can often read a photo you paste in, and then this server stores and proves the figures.

Free tier and price

Free covers 2 accounts, 12 months of transactions, 5 rules, summary and search, reconciliation 31 days at a time, recurring detection over the last 3 months (5 charges). Pro is $19 once and adds unlimited accounts, history and rules, reconciliation over any range and every recurring charge. The product page is MCP Bank Statement, and the bank statement CSV guide walks a real export through it.

What it cannot do

No OCR and no scanned-PDF reading. A statement that exists only as a scan needs one of the tools above, not this server.
It does not log into your bank. You give it a CSV export you downloaded.
It does not move money. It tells you what came in, what went out and what is unaccounted for.

The larger picture

The statement feeds the books. A categorised export turns into cash book journal lines, and the balances against the money you invoiced live in statement of account. Together they are the reconciling half of a month-end close; see month-end close with MCP servers.

Questions

Does the MCP Bank Statement server read a PDF?

Not a scanned or photographed one. It reads a CSV export from your bank, applies rules you teach it, and categorises, summarises and reconciles the transactions. If your bank offers a CSV export, that is the input it wants.

What should I use for a statement that only exists as a PDF scan?

An OCR-based tool. DocuClipper and Bankstatemently are the two built for reading statement PDFs, and a self-hosted Stirling-PDF behind gufao's MCP wrapper keeps the documents on your own machine. This server is honest that it does no OCR.

Can I try it without installing anything?

Yes. /mcp/connect mints a free anonymous token and prints a ready URL per server, which you paste into Claude Desktop, Claude.ai or Cursor as a remote server. The free tier covers 2 accounts and 12 months of transactions.

How does the categorisation learn?

Through rules you add once per supplier or merchant. After about five rules a new transaction classifies itself, and recurring charges over the last three months are detected automatically.

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