Most budgeting advice online is written for Americans: prices in US dollars, bank connections built for US banks, and one standard answer to getting your transactions in: log in to your bank through the app. Many Canadians used Mint for years, until it shut down on March 23, 2024. This guide is for Canadians who want a budget that works with their own bank, without handing their online banking password to a budgeting company.
BudgetVault is our app: free, no account, no bank connection, and your data stays on your device. Below we show how to use it with the CSV file your Canadian bank already gives you, and where a different kind of app is the better fit.
Why linking a Canadian bank account is harder than it looks
Open banking in Canada is still new. The federal government released its framework for consumer-driven banking in fall 2024, with 2026 as the target for putting it in place, and banks and apps take time to move over. Until they have, many apps that read Canadian bank accounts rely on a data aggregator, and some still ask you to type your online banking username and password into their own screen.
That matters for two reasons:
- Your bank agreement. Read the part of your online banking agreement about protecting your password. Many tell you not to share it with anyone, and sharing it can change who is responsible if money goes missing.
- Connections break. When your bank changes its sign-in page or adds a security step, a linked app can stop updating until you reconnect it, often without telling you.
None of this makes linked apps bad. It means the convenience comes with a login you share and a connection you maintain. If you would rather do neither, there is a simpler route.
The no-link alternative: your bank's CSV file
Canadian banks generally let you download your account activity from online banking, usually as a CSV file (sometimes labelled "spreadsheet" or "comma-separated"). It is the same data a linked app would read, except you choose when to download it and where it goes.
- Sign in to online banking on a computer. The download option is often missing from banking apps on a phone.
- Open the account or credit card you want, and find the option called Download, Export or Download transactions.
- Pick a date range and choose CSV. Start with the last two or three months.
- In BudgetVault, choose Import a CSV file and pick the downloaded file. It is read on your device and never uploaded.
Files with no column names
Some banks export bare rows: a date, a description, the amounts and a running balance, with no header line saying which is which. BudgetVault reads those too. It works out which column holds the date, the description, money out and money in from the values themselves, then shows its guess next to a preview so you can correct a column before anything is imported.
Credit card statements
On a credit card, money coming back is usually a refund, not income, and the payment you make from your chequing account is not income either. When you import a card file, tick This is a credit card statement. Refunds then lower the spending of the category they belong to, so a $100 grocery bill with a $40 return counts as $60 spent, and card payments such as "PAYMENT THANK YOU / PAIEMENT MERCI" are skipped as transfers between your own accounts.
Canadian dollars and dates
BudgetVault picks your currency from your browser's language and region, so a browser set to English (Canada) or French (Canada) starts in CAD; you can change it on the first screen or in Settings. Dates are read in the order your file uses, whether 2026-10-14, 14/10/2026 or 10/14/2026, and when every date in a file could be read both ways, you can switch the order before importing. The app itself is in English for now.
How the options compare
| Cost | Bank login shared | Effort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget apps that link to your bank | Usually a subscription | Yes, directly or through an aggregator | Low once connected; reconnect when it breaks |
| Your bank's own app | Free | No | Low, but only that bank's accounts and its categories |
| A spreadsheet | Free | No | High: every purchase typed in, formulas to keep working |
| BudgetVault | Free, no paid tier | No | Import a CSV every few weeks, or add spending in two taps |
If you like spreadsheets, our BudgetVault vs Excel comparison covers when each one wins. For more apps that work without a bank connection, see budget apps that don't connect to your bank.
Setting up BudgetVault in Canada
- Open the app. There is nothing to sign up for. Check that the currency says CAD.
- Import your chequing account, then your credit card with "This is a credit card statement" ticked. Transfers between your own accounts can be skipped so they do not count twice.
- Set a few budgets for the categories you want to watch: groceries, eating out, gas. Each one shows what is left this month and opens the transactions behind it.
- Keep it current. Add spending in two taps as it happens, or import a fresh file every few weeks. Transactions you already have are recognised and skipped.
- Back up now and then from Settings. Your budget lives in this browser on this device, which is what keeps it private, and also why a backup file matters.
On a phone, add BudgetVault to your home screen: it opens like an app and works offline.
When a bank-linked app is the better choice
Be honest about how you budget. If you want every account, including investments, to update by itself and you are comfortable with an aggregator holding that access, a paid linked app saves you the downloads. If you and a partner want the same budget on two phones, BudgetVault cannot do that: it has no sync, by design. For everyone who wants to see where the money goes without sharing a password, a CSV file every few weeks is enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does BudgetVault work in Canada?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser and does not connect to any bank, so it works the same with any Canadian bank or credit union whose online banking lets you download a CSV file.
Can I import from my bank if its file has no column names?
Yes. BudgetVault guesses the columns from the values and shows you the result with a preview. If a column is wrong, pick the right one from the list before you import.
My bank only gives me PDF statements. What can I do?
BudgetVault does not read PDFs. Look for a transaction download in online banking on a computer rather than the statements section; if there is none, you can add spending by hand, which takes two taps per purchase.
Is BudgetVault really free?
Yes. There is no paid tier and no account. You can read how we think about the hidden costs of free budget apps.
Where is my data stored?
In your browser, on your device. Your transactions are never uploaded to a server, which is why there is nothing to sign in to and why backups are your job.