What “without bank linking” means
Stash does not connect to your bank through Plaid or another bank-data aggregator. It does not ask for your online-banking username, password, PIN or one-time password. Instead, it can recognize supported transaction alerts already delivered to your Android device or Gmail account.
Three ways to capture expenses
| Method | What you provide | Best suited to | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual entry | Transaction details you type | Cash, unusual transactions and maximum control | Requires consistent effort |
| Stash notification or email import | Android Notification Access for apps you select, or optional read-only Gmail access | Reducing routine entry without a direct bank connection | Coverage depends on alert delivery and message format |
| Direct bank aggregation | A bank authorization or aggregator connection | Broad account feeds where supported | Coverage, intermediaries and data architecture vary by provider |
How Stash automation works
- You explicitly enable Android Notification Access and select eligible banking apps, connect Gmail through Google OAuth, or use both.
- Stash looks for messages that appear to describe financial activity and extracts available details on the device.
- A candidate appears for review so you can correct the amount, direction, date, account or category.
- Confirmed transactions update your local budget.
Gmail access is optional and read-only. Read the complete Gmail Access disclosure.
Privacy without unrealistic promises
Structured financial records are kept in Stash's encrypted on-device database. Stash does not operate a backend that stores your ledger. Optional Gmail import communicates with Google and optional exchange-rate refresh requests public currency data, so Stash is not described as completely offline. See the Privacy Policy for the exact data flow.
When this approach is — and is not — a good fit
Stash may fit if you use Android, want less manual entry, receive useful bank alerts and prefer not to connect a budgeting service directly to bank accounts.
Choose another approach if you need automatic balance history from every institution, desktop or iOS support, shared cloud budgets, or guaranteed capture of every transaction. Notifications can be suppressed, email formats can change and some events still require manual entry or statement reconciliation.
Common questions
- Does Stash use Plaid?
- No. Stash does not use Plaid or another direct bank-data aggregator.
- Does Stash need my bank password?
- No. Stash does not request online-banking login credentials, PINs or one-time passwords.
- Is Gmail required?
- No. Gmail import is optional; you can use notification import, manual entry or both instead.
- Will every expense appear automatically?
- No. Coverage depends on the notification or email your bank sends, Android delivery and the message format. Review and reconciliation remain important.