Connect Your AI Tools to Your Finances

The Monarch MCP (Model Context Protocol) connector lets you connect AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Gemini CLI directly to your Monarch data. Once connected, you can ask natural-language questions about your finances, like "what did I spend on restaurants last month?", "how's my net worth trending?", "which transactions need review?", or — with write access — "re-categorize my Uber rides to 'Rideshare' and add tag 'Work'."  The AI tool can read (and, with permission, modify) your Monarch data in real time.

Visit Monarch Settings > Integrations for more.

Table of Contents

• Quick start guide
• Supported clients & setup
• Authentication & permissions
• What you can do with the connector
• Managing connected tools
• Troubleshooting
• Privacy & data handling
• Frequently asked questions

Quick start guide

1. Copy the server URL: https://api.monarch.com/mcp
2. Add it as a custom MCP connector in your AI client.
3. When prompted, sign in to Monarch in your browser to authorize access.

Supported clients & setup

Claude Desktop

For the latest instructions, visit Claude's setup guide.

Claude Code

For the latest instructions, visit Claude Code's setup guide.

Gemini CLI

For the latest instructions, visit Gemini's setup guide.

Cursor

For the latest instructions, visit Cursor's setup guide.

ChatGPT

Note: This connection is web-only and requires a ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education plan.

For the latest instructions, visit ChatGPT's setup guide.

Other clients

We are always looking to add additional clients, but any clients outside of the ones listed above are not officially supported. You may be able to integrate with them independently.

Authentication & permissions

The connector uses secure OAuth authorization. The first time you connect a tool, you'll be redirected to Monarch in your browser to approve access. You never share your Monarch password with the AI tool.

There are two permission scopes:

By default, connections are granted read-only access. Write access is only granted if requested by the client and approved by you.

What you can do with the connector

Need inspiration? Check out these examples for some of our favorite ideas and suggestions.

Understand your spending

• "How much did I spend on groceries last quarter, and how does that compare to the previous quarter?"
• "What are my top five spending categories this month versus my budget?"
• "Which subscriptions am I still paying for, and have any of them gone up in price recently?"

Analyze your investments

• "How do my Roth IRA, 401(k), and brokerage accounts interact — am I holding overlapping funds across any of them?"
• "Based on my current holdings and contributions, give me a big-picture view of where I stand and what I might be missing."
• "Are there any funds I'm holding in a taxable account that would be more tax-efficient somewhere else?"

Plan for what's ahead

• "I want to retire early — based on my current savings rate, contributions, and investment returns, when does that become realistic?"
• "I'm thinking about leaving my job in the next year. Walk me through what my runway looks like based on my current accounts and spending."
• "We have a few big expenses coming up this year. Help me think through the timing and how they affect our cash flow."

Clean up your data (requires write access)

• "Find all my Uber rides from the last six months that are categorized as 'Food & Drink' and recategorize them as 'Transportation.'"
• "I have a bunch of transactions from a contractor I paid in March — can you tag all of them as 'Business' so I can pull them for taxes?"
• "There's a merchant showing up with three different names in my transaction history — merge them under one name so my spending totals are accurate."

Tip: If your client supports it, ask for a dry-run/preview before applying bulk changes.

Managing connected tools

Go to Settings → Integrations in the Monarch web app to see all connected tools. Each entry shows:

• The tool name (e.g., "Claude Desktop")
• When it was authorized
• When it was last active
• Its granted scopes

You can revoke any connected tool at any time. Revoking immediately invalidates the tool's access — it will no longer be able to read or modify your data.

Troubleshooting

Privacy & data handling

• Your financial data is accessed through Monarch on your behalf. The AI client/provider you choose only receives the data returned by the specific requests it makes (for example: the transactions, categories, balances, or other results needed to answer your question). Monarch does not scrub/transform the data returned by the MCP service, but the only PII returned is your name (used for MCP tools like household member lookups, credit score history, and transaction ownership/review fields). Other than name, no additional user account data is returned to the LLM through the MCP service.
• Monarch does not use your data for training LLMs. However, because you are connecting your own third-party AI provider to Monarch via MCP (and Monarch does not control that provider relationship), your AI provider may use data returned through the connector in accordance with its own policies and your settings with that provider.
• All communication uses HTTPS and secure authorization.
• You can revoke access at any time from Settings → Integrations.

Frequently asked questions

• Is my data secure if I connect an AI tool like Claude?
• What security reviews or audits has MCP gone through?
• Does Monarch retain my prompts or the AI's responses when I use MCP?
• What Monarch data is accessible through the MCP connector?
• Can I restrict MCP access to specific accounts, account types, categories, or date ranges? Will you add more granular permissions in the future?
• Can I grant only read access?
• Will my AI tool always ask for explicit approval before writing/changing data in Monarch?
• Is there an audit log of MCP access and actions?
• What other tools does the MCP integrate with?
• Are there rate limits? How can I increase my usage?
• What are the ID numbers I see associated with my accounts?
• Can I share my access with someone else?

Is my data secure if I connect an AI tool like Claude?

The connector uses secure OAuth authorization and all communication is sent over HTTPS. Your AI provider only receives the data returned by Monarch in response to the specific requests it makes. Once data is returned to the AI provider, it's handled according to that provider's policies and your settings with that provider.

What security reviews or audits has MCP gone through?

The integration has undergone internal security review and uses industry-standard OAuth authorization patterns and secure communication (HTTPS).

Does Monarch retain my prompts or the AI's responses when I use MCP?

Monarch does not retain your AI prompts or the AI's responses through the MCP connector.

What Monarch data is accessible through the MCP connector?

The connector can access Monarch data broadly. However, your AI tool only receives the data returned by the specific requests it makes (for example: the transactions, categories, balances, or other results needed to answer your question).

Can I restrict MCP access to specific accounts, account types, categories, or date ranges? Will you add more granular permissions in the future?

Not at this time. Today, access is controlled via permission scopes (read vs. write). We may add more granular scopes/controls as the integration evolves, but we don't have timing to share yet.

Can I grant only read access?

Yes. On the consent screen, uncheck Write and leave only Read ticked. The assistant can still answer questions about your finances but won't be able to modify anything.

Will my AI tool always ask for explicit approval before writing/changing data in Monarch?

It depends on the client and your settings. Most clients will prompt for explicit confirmation before running write actions, but some clients can be configured to run without confirmations. Remember: Monarch can't undo changes made by your AI tool. If you enable Write, review changes carefully (especially bulk updates) before confirming them.

Is there an audit log of MCP access and actions?

Monarch does not currently provide a customer-facing audit log that lists each MCP request and the data returned. You can view and manage connected tools in Settings → Integrations, including the tool name, when it was authorized, last active time, and granted scopes.

What other tools does the MCP integrate with?

The MCP server can be added to many AI tools and MCP-compatible clients. However, the clients listed above are the ones we officially support and can help troubleshoot. Other clients may work, but are not officially supported.

Are there rate limits? How can I increase my usage?

Yes — usage is subject to rate limits on calls.

• Reads (per day)
  • Core = 5,000
  • Plus = 10,000
• Writes (per day)
  • Core = 5
  • Plus = 10,000

A few things to note:

• These limits are based on write tool calls, not "number of transactions changed." For example, a bulk update counts as 1 write call (even if it updates multiple transactions).
• Bulk write operations still have their own per-call caps (e.g., bulk updates are capped at ~20 items per call).

If you run into rate limits (especially for write actions), upgrading to Monarch Plus can help extend your MCP usage.

What are the ID numbers I see associated with my accounts?

When you use the Monarch MCP connector, you may see long alphanumeric strings displayed alongside your accounts. These are internal Monarch identifiers — unique codes our system uses to reference your accounts behind the scenes. They are not your actual bank account numbers and contain no sensitive financial information.
Please Note: Monarch does not ever store your full bank account number; we only receive the last four digits from our data providers.

Can I share my access with someone else?

No — each authorization is tied to your Monarch account. If a teammate or family member wants the integration, have them connect from their own Monarch account.