After more than a decade on the wrist, Banktivity’s Apple Watch app is retiring. Starting with Banktivity 10.3, it will no longer be shipped with our iPhone app. It’s a small chapter in Banktivity’s history, but one that began with a lot of excitement. In this post I’d like to share why we’re bringing it to a close.
We built our watch app for the very first version of watchOS. It’s easy to forget just how much anticipation surrounded the Apple Watch. Tim Cook had introduced it with the “one more thing” line Steve Jobs had made famous, and developers were eager to explore what this new device could do.
We were excited to be part of it. The early Apple Watch had its limitations—even something as simple as checking email could take a while—but the idea of having useful information right on your wrist was compelling.
So we built a little version of Banktivity, which was still called iBank at the time. Back then, watch apps could include a “Glance”: a screen that offered a quick bit of information without requiring you to open the full app. It seemed like a natural fit for checking in on your finances. I wrote about our Apple Watch app in 2015, and looking back at that post brings back some of the excitement of those early days.
Over the years, Apple Watch has evolved considerably, finding a particularly strong role as a health and fitness companion. Our watch app, meanwhile, hasn’t kept pace. As we focused on other parts of Banktivity, it received less attention than it needed.
Now the time has come to say goodbye. Starting with Banktivity 10.3, the Apple Watch app will no longer be available.
There are two main reasons for this decision. First, Apple’s current developer tools no longer support building our watch app in its existing form. The way Apple Watch apps are developed has changed substantially since we wrote ours, and bringing it up to date would require far more than a few fixes. We would essentially need to rebuild it from the ground up.
Second, the app’s reliability has declined with newer versions of watchOS. We don’t want customers relying on a feature that no longer delivers the experience they should expect from Banktivity.
That brought us to a crossroads. We could invest in rebuilding the watch app and reimagining its role today, or we could devote that time and effort to improvements elsewhere in Banktivity. We’ve chosen the latter.
Retiring a feature is never an entirely easy decision, especially one we were excited to introduce. But maintaining a useful, reliable app also means being thoughtful about where we put our energy. We believe focusing on the core Banktivity experience is the best way to serve our customers at this time.
To everyone who used Banktivity on their wrist over the years, thank you. We’re glad we got to be part of those early days of Apple Watch, and we look forward to sharing what’s next for Banktivity.
- Saying goodbye to Banktivity for Apple Watch - November 9, 2026
- Banktivity 10.1: Built on a Stronger Foundation - September 3, 2026
- A Little Help? - April 13, 2026