[OS] I built a free, open‑source Mac menu bar banking app for Germany (EU) users
Hey everyone, I’m a fintech dev from Germany and built a tiny banking side project for macOS, mainly for users in Germany and the EU (UK is coming soon). It’s meant for people who want to see their account balance at a glance in the menu bar instead of opening a full banking app. Problem Most Mac banking apps in Germany and Europe are heavy, window‑based, and often tied to a single bank or subscription. I just wanted a quick way to see my current balance and recent transactions without leaving what I’m working on. Comparison simplebanking is a lightweight macOS menu bar app that shows your live balance and recent transactions with multi‑bank support for common German/EU banks (e.g. Sparkasse, Volksbank, N26, ING, and others supported via Open Banking). Unlike many commercial tools, it is fully open source, focused on read‑only access, and runs locally on your Mac. No telemetry, no ads, no tracking. Pricing The app is 100% free to use. There are no subscriptions, no upsells, and the full source code is available on GitHub. If you like it, there’s an optional “buy me a coffee” link on the website. Transparency / Safety I’m the developer behind simplebanking.de (site includes imprint and privacy policy). The app connects to your bank via regulated PSD2/Open Banking using YAXI with read‑only permissions, so you cannot initiate payments from the app and your banking data stays on your device. This is designed specifically with EU banking regulation in mind. If you look into the source code, you’ll see references to OpenAI and similar services. These power an optional, experimental feature and are not required for the core banking functionality. Links Website & download: simplebanking.de Source code: https://github.com/klotzbrocken/simplebanking -> You can find more information about me and a link to my LinkedIn profile on my website as well (simplebanking.de) I’d love feedback from Mac users in Germany: what’s missing, what feels off, and what would make this a must‑have in your menu bar?
Collected discussion
How did you solve this API wise? Cost?
To be honest: the founder of yaxi is a friend of mine
as a fellow dev, huge respect for making this open source with zero telemetry. definitely dropping a star on the github !
Thank you
You must be nuts to use a 3rd party app for banking .
Because of what? The use of third party banking apps is regulated in the EU
I am trying to make something similar myself for personal use, something that pings me every time there is a new transaction. I have it somewhat working through enable banking. But it is kind of unreliable. What do you use to connect to PSD2? How often does your app ask to re authenticate, enable banking says every 90 days, but it pops up way more often, I think after x amounts of queries, but have not tested that.
Hey I use yaxi as a german privacy fokussed Open Banking Provider. They have a free tier too. Simplebanking refreshed every 4 hours per default
Nice! Been using MoneyMoney for a long time. Although a full-blown banking app this is really nice. Any plans to support Interactive Brokers, Cash Balance and Portfolio Value? I know they have an extensive API.
big fan of moneymoney as well (especially because of the extensions for all banks)
I did not test your app yet, but I checked Yaxi and I none of the (Belgian) banks I use seem to be supported.
They are working on that
Doesnt these APIs require business entity ? Or does it allow solo dev to onboard?
Yes! Just use Google SSO and you get an API Key for 1.000 TRX per month (free)
neat design!
THX
Very interesting, I’m a developer in the German banking app industry as well. I really like your idea and appreciate that you released it as open source. Like others already mentioned, the biggest hurdle is trust. I’m using (not working for) Finanzguru, and over time they’ve earned my trust through good marketing, but it took a long time. There should be a trust certificate or something similar people could rely on. EU regulations are a good thing, but they don’t create the trust I need.
Yes. Trust is the key. That's why I try to be 100% transparent.
looks good!
Just doing the onboarding: I have no indication why you would need a password and even more, why it doesn't get saved? Why are you storing credentials with your own encryption instead of using keychain? "No cloud" claim is wrong, using a third party SaaS is "cloud".
YAXI explicitly establishes an end-to-end encrypted channel between the user and the bank that remains private “between the user and their bank”; the client is responsible for setting up the connection, performing remote attestation, and managing this E2E channel. simplebanking stores your bank credentials (user ID, online-banking PIN, optional AI API keys) in a local encrypted file at ~/Library/Application Support/simplebanking/credentials-<slot>.json. The file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM; the key is derived from your master password via PBKDF2. The master-password prompt at startup unlocks that file. Why not just use the Keychain for everything? Two concrete macOS issues forced the layered design: Signing-identity ACL churn. On macOS, the Keychain attaches an app-specific ACL bound to the code-signing identity to every new item. Any new build with a different signature triggers a "wants to access your keychain" prompt. And Ad-hoc signing limitations as well. The encrypted file side-steps both problems: stable across signing changes, works on every build flavor, and adds defense in depth, if someone exfiltrates Application Support (malware, Time Machine leak, iCloud mis-sync), the bank data is useless without the master password.
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Hey 👋 its on the roadmap. Stay tuned!
damn this is actually sick! congrats!
Thanks!