Converting a PDF bank statement: what exists, and when you do not need us
We sell one of the seven columns, and it is the most expensive one. So this page starts with when the others are the better choice. Every fact comes from the providers’ public pages; where something is not stated there, we say so rather than guess.
In short: when you do not need FinVerify
- It is your own current account at UBS, Raiffeisen, ZKB or PostFinance: download camt.053 from e-banking. Free, and nothing to check. Details per bank on our Banks page.
- You only want a spreadsheet of your own statement: ClearlyLedger converts the first file free, checks the balances automatically and withholds the export when it does not reconcile.
- You have many pages, want Excel and will check the balances yourself: SmartKontoauszug charges CHF 0.25 per page and deletes the PDF immediately.
- You are a German tax firm and need DATEV formats: KontoCSV delivers camt.053 V8 and MT940 and says it is used by 217 firms.
- It is one short statement for yourself: an AI chatbot is usually enough, if you explicitly ask it to recompute the balances.
When FinVerify is the right column
When you need camt.053 or MT940 rather than a spreadsheet: of the converters here only KontoCSV delivers it, and there you check the balances yourself. When the statement is not from your own account, the account is closed, or the period predates camt activation. And when, for client money, you want a counterparty that is named in an imprint, hosts in Zurich and refunds the statement if it does not close. For plain Excel we are too expensive, and we say so above.
The comparison in detail
| FinVerify this service | camt.053 from e-banking your bank | ClearlyLedger converter with a balance gate | SmartKontoauszug online converter, CH | KontoCSV online converter, DE | DocuClipper SaaS, USA | AI chatbot ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output formats | Excel, CSV, camt.053; MT940 on request | camt.053, depending on the bank also CSV or MT940 | Excel, CSV; QuickBooks/Xero export on paid plans. No camt.053 | Excel, CSV, JSON, XML – camt.053 not mentioned | camt.053 V8, MT940, CSV, DATEV/Lexware profiles | Excel, CSV and US accounting formats; camt.053 not verified | table to copy, CSV on request |
| Who checks that the balances close | a person, per statement; discrepancy reported and the statement refunded | not needed, the file comes from the bank | automatic and blocking, per their own site: “If it doesn't reconcile, the export is withheld.” | balance check not mentioned on the website | you – the website tells you to check amounts, signs, dates and balances yourself | software: green “Reconciled” or red “Not Reconciled” badge; whether export is blocked on red is not documented | only if you ask; one vendor test measures 70–85 % full reconciliation |
| Third-party statements, closed accounts, old periods | yes, that is what the service is for | no, own accounts only, from the activation date | yes, any PDF; dedicated pages for UBS, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, ZKB | yes, any PDF; 7 Swiss banks listed | yes, “banks worldwide” | yes | yes |
| Who operates the service | PivotalPoint OÜ; terms and privacy policy on this site, reviewer named on request | your bank | no operator named; we found neither an imprint nor a terms page on 8 Sep 2026 | not checked | sole trader Tom Abraham, Paderborn (imprint) | US vendor; company details not checked | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google |
| Where the file is stored | Zurich (Google Cloud europe-west6) | at your bank | not stated | “servers in Germany” | not stated on the website | not stated in the documentation consulted | outside Switzerland, depending on the provider |
| Deletion | within 24 h of delivery, after 72 h at the latest | – | processed in memory, deleted after conversion; no AI training | PDF immediately after processing, data after 7 days | not stated on the website | not stated in the documentation consulted | per the provider’s policy |
| Scanned PDFs | yes, keyed manually | – | yes, including password-protected PDFs | not mentioned | yes, “scans and photos” | yes, OCR-based | yes, as an image |
| Price | CHF 9 per statement up to 10 pages, CHF 29 for 12 statements | free | first conversion free, no signup; then a subscription from $15 a month | CHF 0.25 per page, 10 free credits, no subscription | not stated on the website | from about USD 20–30 per month for 60 pages (subscription) | free or subscription |
| Best for | third-party statements and old periods that must go into Swiss accounting as camt.053 and be right | your own current accounts, always check here first | cheap Excel conversion with an automatic balance check | many pages cheaply into Excel, you check | German tax firms on DATEV, you check | ongoing volume, English-language, with automatic reconciliation | one short statement for your own use |
Provider facts as of 6 September 2026. Errors or changes: finverify@pivotalpoint.io, we will correct them.
Sources
- ClearlyLedger – homepage (balance gate, free conversion)
- ClearlyLedger – PostFinance page (scans, deletion, no AI training)
- SmartKontoauszug – homepage (price, formats, servers, deletion)
- KontoCSV – PDF to camt.053 (formats, check instruction, scans, firms)
- DocuClipper – How reconciliation works
- DocuClipper – Pricing
- Vendor test of AI models on bank statements (Floowed, maker of a competing product)
- Our Banks page with sources per bank
Why does FinVerify cost more than a converter?+
Because a person handles every file and answers for it. A subscription converter sells you compute; we sell a file that goes into bexio, Abacus or Banana, signed off by a named person, with a refund if it does not close. For a plain spreadsheet of your own statement it is not worth it, and that is what this table is for.
Why is the bank listed first?+
Because camt.053 from e-banking is free and needs no checking. A converter, us included, only makes sense where that route is closed: third-party accounts, closed accounts, periods before activation.