Automatic Bank Account Synchronization in Money Manager EX

[frankieorabona]

Hello everyone,

I have been using Money Manager EX for a long time to manage my personal finances, but I also use other applications such as Wallet by Budgetbakers and, in the past, Spendee and other Android apps. The main reason I use (or have used) these apps is that, unfortunately, I have never been able to efficiently synchronize data on MMEX Android.

Unlike other apps, MMEX does not have a proper synchronization feature with bank accounts. The only way to enter data is manually, based on bank statements, or by importing CSV files, which only capture some information correctly. For example, after importing, I still have to manually categorize all transactions one by one, making the process quite cumbersome and time-consuming.

I have noticed that many competing apps greatly simplify this process by integrating with services like Salt Edge, which allow direct bank account connections to automate both transaction import and categorization. Another major advantage of these solutions is that, over time, they learn to automatically categorize expenses based on past transactions. For new transactions, the categorization is generally accurate, although sometimes it may be incorrect, but at least most of the work is done automatically, significantly reducing manual effort.

I was wondering: would it be technically possible to implement a similar feature in Money Manager EX? Are there any ongoing discussions or plans regarding this?

Thanks in advance for your work and attention!

[MlinMMEX]

Hello,
To help you

1. "The only way to enter data is manually" Well, yes. There is no actually direct (magical ) integration to get data from sources, either banks or other services.

2. "I still have to manually categorize all transactions one by one, making the process quite cumbersome and time-consuming." Wrong.

So... neither can MMEX
a) provide magic to get the financial data, the whole financial data, and nothing but the financial data,
b) but there are automation that can make the effort worthwhile. The I have regex and configuration to get the "CSV import" smart enough.

Anyway, I already have researched such services, and all of them require addtional subscriptions. If you like and manage Excel, look for Tiller. https://www.tillerhq.com/excel/

[Renato]

From my point of view, such an interface would certainly be a desirable solution.
However, the banks cannot agree on a standardised interface, which means that due to the country-specific distribution of MMEX, many banks would have to program specific interface solutions, keep them up to date and also support them.
I fear that the MMEX team does not have the necessary capacity for this. Remember, MMEX is freeware.

Just by the way: I have been working with MMEX for 15 years now. During this time I have entered around 9000 bookings, which equates to around 1.6 bookings per day. I never had any problems coping with this volume. If MMEX is used for non-private purposes, then of course you will have more bookings and then you will want such features. But MMEX was not designed for commercial purposes.

[frankieorabona]

Hello,
To help you

1. "The only way to enter data is manually" Well, yes. There is no actually direct (magical ) integration to get data from sources, either banks or other services.

Regarding point 1: My message wasn’t really asking for advice on how to manage transactions manually—I already know that everything has to be done manually. Instead, I was suggesting to the developers to evaluate the possibility of integrating MMEX with the service I mentioned (Salt Edge, which synchronizes bank accounts from various banks—almost all in Italy, where I live).

To make things easier, I currently use Wallet by BudgetBakers because some accounts (such as Revolut in Italy) do not allow transaction exports in PDF, Excel, or CSV formats. So, I synchronize this account (and others) with Wallet, then export a .CSV file to import into MMEX.

There are apps (I’ve tested at least 50 before settling on MMEX and Wallet) that allow free account synchronization, while offering paid features like advanced reports and other tools (which I don’t need since I use MMEX).

2. "I still have to manually categorize all transactions one by one, making the process quite cumbersome and time-consuming." Wrong.

So... neither can MMEX
a) provide magic to get the financial data, the whole financial data, and nothing but the financial data,
b) but there are automation that can make the effort worthwhile. The I have regex and configuration to get the "CSV import" smart enough.

Regarding point 2: I didn’t quite understand what method you use... I don’t know regex, but I imagine it’s something like an Excel macro?

As for Tiller, it wouldn’t really be useful for me. As I mentioned, I already have a lifetime subscription with Wallet by BudgetBakers, which provides bank synchronization—the exact feature I was asking if MMEX could implement.

Anyway, I already have researched such services, and all of them require addtional subscriptions. If you like and manage Excel, look for Tiller. https://www.tillerhq.com/excel/

As for Tiller, it wouldn’t really be useful for me. As I mentioned, I already have a lifetime subscription with Wallet by BudgetBakers, which provides bank synchronization—the exact feature I was asking if MMEX could implement
I understand that Salt Edge is a paid service, but there are other open banking and financial aggregation providers that offer free access for the kind of feature I’m looking for (bank transaction imports and automatic expense categorization).

For example:

Nordigen (now part of GoCardless) (Europe)

• Free access to bank data via PSD2 API

• No cost for data aggregation, but advanced features (like analytics) are paid

TrueLayer (Europe, UK, Australia)

• APIs for bank account access and open banking payments

• Free developer plan with limited access

Wouldn’t it be worth considering integration with one of these services in MMEX?

[frankieorabona]

From my point of view, such an interface would certainly be a desirable solution.
However, the banks cannot agree on a standardised interface, which means that due to the country-specific distribution of MMEX, many banks would have to program specific interface solutions, keep them up to date and also support them.
I fear that the MMEX team does not have the necessary capacity for this. Remember, MMEX is freeware.

Just by the way: I have been working with MMEX for 15 years now. During this time I have entered around 9000 bookings, which equates to around 1.6 bookings per day. I never had any problems coping with this volume. If MMEX is used for non-private purposes, then of course you will have more bookings and then you will want such features. But MMEX was not designed for commercial purposes.

I understand your point of view, and I know that MMEX is a free software maintained by volunteers, so integrating such a feature could be challenging in terms of development and maintenance.

You gave your example... but I manage both my own accounts and those of my family (I even shared my database). I have around 10 banks that I need to synchronize every week, and I can assure you that I have processed 9000 transactions just since 2022.

Of course, I understand that developing such a feature depends on the available resources, but perhaps a lightweight integration with an existing open banking API could be feasible, without requiring MMEX to directly manage individual connections for each bank.

Wouldn’t it at least be worth exploring this possibility?

[Renato]

However, I see a completely different problem: security.

For such a solution, the access data to the bank accounts / service providers such as Nordigen / TrueLayer etc. would have to be stored in MMEX.

This would mean additional security measures in MMEX, otherwise MMEX could be sued / held liable for any problems. In this regard, there have already been bad grades / reviews for the current storage option of access data on the accounts.
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MMEX15.png (25.64 KiB) Viewed 17194 times

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The following article from 2021 shows that these solutions are not so easy to implement even for service providers such as Nordigen (which was taken over by GoCardless, by the way), it is in German, but you know how to translate it into your language.
https://www.it-finanzmagazin.de/geschic ... en-131619/

There are also some other such service providers such as Tresio, see: https://tresio.ch/docs/verbinden-sie-ih ... grationen/

It says:
How to connect your international banking platforms

TRESIO's partnership with GoCardless (formerly: Nordigen) enables powerful connectivity with over 2,300 leading European banks in 32 countries. Our partnership with Plaid enables seamless integration with over 10,000 banks in the US and Canada. TRESIO's integration with Ebics is specifically designed to facilitate connections with non PSD2-enabled Swiss banks.

[frankieorabona]

I understand your point about security, and it is certainly a crucial aspect. However, managing banking credentials wouldn’t necessarily be an issue for MMEX if it leveraged OAuth-based APIs provided by Nordigen, TrueLayer, or other open banking providers.

These services do not require storing banking credentials within MMEX but instead use secure access tokens, which can be managed without compromising user security. Essentially, MMEX could act as an intermediary, requesting data from APIs without ever storing usernames or passwords.

Your response makes me think that you have never used apps like Spendee, Wallet, etc. The process works exactly like when you purchase from an e-commerce site and pay with your credit card. You don’t enter your credentials on the e-commerce site itself, but rather through a secure payment platform. The same applies to these open banking platforms: MMEX would not and should not store any account access credentials.

Regarding concerns about legal liability, MMEX could implement this feature similarly to many other personal finance apps, offering an option to connect bank accounts without storing login data in the local database. For example, Wallet by BudgetBakers and similar apps already provide this functionality without compromising user security.

I read the article about the history of German banking APIs, and I understand the implementation challenges, but times have changed. Nordigen is now part of GoCardless, and many open banking solutions have improved security and compliance. Tresio, Plaid, and GoCardless are examples of providers that offer secure banking connections in multiple countries without requiring software to manage credentials directly.

I think it would be worth considering whether this could be managed and developed without completely overhauling the entire database. I’m not saying that it must be done, but rather that we should at least consider exploring whether it is feasible.

In summary, if MMEX wanted to explore this option, it could do so safely by using secure authentication standards without handling banking credentials directly. Don’t you think it would be worth further exploring this possibility?

[Renato]

I don't need apps like Spendee or Wallet because I don't see any use for them either.
However, I am still very familiar with the problem of bank account synchronisation from my previous work at Fides Treuhandgesellschaft (part of the dissolved CS) as https://fides.ch/.

Of course, such a feature can / should be examined / pursued further, but this will be a major project and will keep the developers busy. It will then probably be at the expense of the large task list (currently desktop=496, Android=28, Ios=17).
By the way: I don't think the current securities solution in MMEX is suitable for an automatic transfer of bank data.

But I always appreciate it when users of MMEX think about improvements and make good suggestions for them.

[frankieorabona]

I completely understand that this would be a major project and a significant workload for the developers, especially given the current backlog.

However, I am not suggesting that this feature should be implemented right now, but rather that it could be considered when the backlog is lighter and fewer urgent issues need attention. Of course, it would need to be carefully evaluated, weighing both the pros and cons, to determine if it could be implemented without drastically changing MMEX’s structure.

[MlinMMEX]

Hmmm very interesting thread indeed...

So, from your point of you @frankieorabona I would love to brainstorm on a "Minimum Viable Process" to make a mix of both manual and automation, with my several accounts, which I also suffer to "export each-and-import each".

So... AFAIK, right now in MMEX v1.9.0

IMPORTS: CSV imports should be done one-by-one. No shortcuts... (regex = regular expression for automatic categorization)
(well, some automation on transaction creation this way)
viewtopic.php?p=24929#p24929

EXPORTS FROM BANK: Regarding the exports from the bank, I got curiosity on how to really get those CSV file created by automation.

[frankieorabona]

I just found some posts on GitHub discussing the implementation of automatic synchronization with bank accounts in MMEX.
It looks like I'm not the only one who feels the "lack" of such a feature. Here are some references:

- Online Bank Sync: Discussion about direct bank transaction import.
GitHub Issue #2119

- HBCI/FinTS Transaction Import: Request for support to import transactions via HBCI/FinTS.
GitHub Issue #2274

- Make Use of APIs for Banking Integration: Proposal to use APIs like Plaid for bank integration.
GitHub Issue #3672

From what I can see, this feature is planned for a future milestone, but there is no confirmed timeline yet.

[guangong]

Alternatively, import transactions from your statement might be more practical.