Most banks text or notify you each time you pay. The Smart Budget uses those alerts. A Shortcuts automation passes each one to the app, which reads the merchant, amount, currency and date, cleans up the merchant name and picks a category.
What you need
- An iPhone with iOS 26.4 or later. iOS 27 adds the one-tap setup and bank app notifications.
- A bank that sends transaction alerts by text message or app notification.
- The Smart Budget, and Apple's Shortcuts app, which comes with iOS.
Bank texts on iOS 27
- Open the setup. In The Smart Budget, open Settings → Capture → Bank texts.
- Install the shortcut. Tap Install. The Shortcuts app opens the “Smart Budget Bank SMS” shortcut; add it.
- Turn the automation on. Back in the app, tap Open the shortcut, then Edit. Tap the small blue arrow and switch Automation on. Leave Confirm Before Run off. Apple installs shared automations switched off, so this switch is yours to flip.
- Wait for your next bank text. The setup screen says “Waiting for your first bank text.” until the automation runs, then “Working — your bank alerts log themselves.”
The automation runs for every text you receive, because iOS can't filter by bank. Each text is checked on your iPhone first. Anything that isn't a bank alert is ignored: it is not stored, logged or sent anywhere. One-time passcodes are dropped too.
Bank app notifications on iOS 27
If your bank alerts you through its app instead of by text, open Settings → Capture → Bank notifications.
- Install the shortcut. Tap Install and add the “Smart Budget Bank Notification” shortcut.
- Pick your bank and turn it on. Tap Open the shortcut, then Edit → App, choose your bank's app, tap the blue arrow and switch Automation on. More than one bank? Tap + next to the app to add another.
- Keep previews on. Notification previews must stay on for your bank's app, or there is nothing to read.
This automation runs only for the bank apps you choose.
Bank texts on iOS 26
On iOS 26 you build the automation yourself, once per bank. Open Settings → Capture → Bank texts and follow the three parts.
- Find your phrase. Paste a real transaction text from your bank. The app suggests a phrase that appears in your bank's alerts, such as “Credit Card ending with”, and copies it.
- Install the shortcut. Tap Install and add the “Process Bank SMS” shortcut.
- Build the automation in four steps.
- Open the automation creator; the app's button takes you to the right place in Shortcuts.
- Search for Message and choose it as the trigger. Leave the sender empty.
- Tap Choose next to Message Contains and paste your phrase. Turn off Run After Confirmation so it runs without asking.
- Tap Next, search for Process Bank SMS, choose it, and you're done.
The app confirms the first time the automation runs. iOS 26 has no notification trigger, so bank app notifications aren't captured automatically there; you can screenshot a notification, circle it with your finger and tap The Smart Budget in the row that appears.
What happens to each alert
- It is checked on your iPhone. A text that isn't a bank alert is dropped straight away.
- A bank alert is read with Apple Intelligence, on your iPhone or, on iOS 27, in Apple's Private Cloud Compute. With Apple Intelligence off or unavailable, built-in rules read common alert formats.
- The merchant name is cleaned up, a category is chosen, and the transaction appears on your dashboard. A purchase that arrives from two channels is merged, not counted twice.
- Your transactions never reach ZaatarLABS.
If nothing shows up
- Open the Shortcuts app's Automation tab and check the automation is switched on and runs without asking for confirmation.
- For notifications, check that previews are on for your bank's app.
- On iOS 26, the phrase must appear in the text of the message, not only in the sender's name.
Want past months too? Import a bank statement (iOS 27). New to the idea? Read why there's no bank login.
Try it
The Smart Budget is free on the App Store for iPhone with iOS 26.4 or later. iOS 27 adds one-tap capture setup, bank notifications, statement import and the Money Advisor.
Download The Smart Budget on the App Store or explore The Smart Budget.
Questions
Can my iPhone log expenses from bank texts automatically?
Yes. With a Shortcuts automation, The Smart Budget turns each transaction text from your bank into a transaction. On iOS 27 setup is one shortcut and one switch; on iOS 26 you build the automation in four steps.
Does the app read all my messages?
The automation passes every incoming text to the app, because iOS can't filter by bank. Each one is checked on your iPhone, and anything that isn't a bank alert is dropped straight away: not stored, not logged and not sent anywhere.
Does it work with bank app notifications?
Yes, on iOS 27. A notification automation passes alerts from the bank apps you choose. Keep notification previews on for those apps.
Is capture free?
Yes. Every way to capture is free, with unlimited logging. The free plan shows the last 45 days of history; Pro shows everything.