How to Open a Business Bank Account with an AI Agent and Meow
Opening a business bank account is usually more manual than it should be. Even when the product itself is modern, the process often involves jumping between forms, document uploads, email threads, and verification steps before the account is ready to use. For founders, finance teams, and operators who are already managing a dozen other workflows, it is one more administrative task that breaks focus.
That is where an AI agent can help. Instead of clicking through dashboards and filling out forms by hand, you can give the agent the task, let it gather the required information, and have it work through the application flow on your behalf. With Meow and its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, that idea becomes practical.
Meow is a fintech platform for businesses that offers checking accounts, corporate cards, payments, invoicing, and treasury services. By connecting Meow’s MCP server to an AI agent, you can interact with banking workflows through natural language rather than a traditional web interface.
This is especially useful in situations where banking is just one step inside a broader operational workflow. A founder setting up a new company account, an operations lead standardizing finance setup across entities, or a coding assistant helping assemble the tools a new business needs can all benefit from a more automated approach. Instead of treating account opening as a standalone admin task, the agent can make it part of a larger setup flow.
In this tutorial, we’ll show how that works in practice using Claude Cowork and Meow. You’ll see how to connect the Meow MCP server, how the agent interacts with the account-opening workflow, what information you need to provide, and how to complete the process from conversation to application submission.
Disclaimer: Meow Technologies is a financial technology company, not a bank or FDIC-insured depository institution. The banking services described in this tutorial are provided by Grasshopper Bank, N.A.; Member FDIC.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
Have these ready:
- Claude installed on your Mac
- A business email address to associate with your Meow account
- Your business formation documents:
- EIN letter from the IRS
- Articles of Incorporation
- Government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license) for each authorized signer
- Basic details about your business and any beneficial owners (anyone owning 25% or more of the company)
Keeping these documents nearby makes the setup easier. Claude can read them and help fill in parts of the application for you.
Step 1: Configure the Claude App
Before you begin, you’ll need to ensure that Claude has access to the network and can run code and create files. To do that, go to the Settings section of your Claude app. To do that, open Claude Desktop* on your Mac. In the bottom-left corner, click your username, then choose Settings.
Next, click on Capabilities in the left sidebar.
Scroll down to the “Code execution and file creation” section and toggle on the Cloud code execution and file creation switch, and toggle on “Allow network egress”. Make sure the domain allowlist is set to All domains.
Now, you have two ways to use Meow with Claude.
Option 1: Using the Meow CLI
This is the path of least friction. To use this, you just need to go Claude Chat, Claude Cowork, or Claude Code and paste the following prompt to get started:
I want to get started with Meow for my AI agent. Read the docs at https://www.meow.com/skills.md and then set it up.
Claude will then download and set up the Meow CLI in your chat session and guide you through the application process.
Option 2: Adding the Meow MCP as a Connector
Meow.com also offers an MCP to allow your AI agent to use tools instead of running CLI commands. For the rest of this tutorial, we’ll use this MCP with Claude Cowork.
To set it up, go to Claude’s settings once again.
Here, open Connectors from the left sidebar. Then click Add custom connector.
In the dialog that appears, enter these details:
- Name: Meow
- Remote MCP Server URL: https://mcp.meow.com/cli
Then click Add.
This will set up a connection to the Meow MCP server.
After adding the connector, completely quit and reopen Claude Desktop. When the app starts again, Claude will detect the new Meow MCP server.
To confirm that the MCP server is connected, open Customize from the top left pane, and go to Connectors. You should see Meow there, along with the tools it has made available to Claude.
Step 2: Switch to Claude Cowork
The Meow MCP works across Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and Claude Chat. For account creation, we’ll use Claude Cowork.
Cowork connects directly to your local files and folders, which means you can drag and drop documents like your EIN letter, articles of incorporation, or driver’s license straight into the chat. Claude reads them from your filesystem and uploads them through the Meow MCP without you ever leaving the conversation.
Click the Cowork tab at the top of the Claude Desktop window to switch over.
Step 3: Start the Application
In the Cowork chat input, type the following prompt and hit Enter:
Create a new business checking account on Meow.
Claude will invoke the Meow MCP and kick off the guided onboarding flow behind the scenes.
You may be asked whether Claude can use context from your previous interactions or access connected tools (like your email or file storage) to pre-fill parts of the application. For example, it might pull your business email or documents directly instead of asking you to enter them manually.
Allowing this can speed things up, but you can also walk through each field manually.
Step 4: Authenticate with Meow
Claude will ask which email address you’d like to associate with your Meow account. Type it in and press Enter.
Meow uses passwordless authentication, so rather than setting a password, Meow will send a one-time verification code to that email address.
Check your inbox for the Meow verification email, copy the 6-digit code, and paste it back into the Cowork chat.
Once the code is accepted, you’re authenticated, and the onboarding continues automatically.
Step 5: Enter Your Business Details
Claude will now walk you through your business information, asking one question at a time. You’ll need to provide:
- Legal business name
- Business type (e.g., LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp)
- EIN (Employer Identification Number)
- State of incorporation
- Business address
- Industry / brief business description
If you have your EIN letter and articles of incorporation handy, you can upload them at this stage instead of typing everything manually. Claude will parse the documents and extract the required information, asking you only for anything it couldn’t find.
If not, you can just answer each question as Claude asks. It handles all the formatting and submits the data to Meow on your behalf.
Step 6: Enter Your Personal Details
Next, Claude will ask for your personal information as the primary applicant:
- Your legal name
- The purpose of the account
- Any additional due diligence questions, if applicable
Answer each question as it comes. Claude keeps the conversation moving and only asks for what Meow actually requires.
Once Claude has everything, it will ask you to recheck the information before it moves ahead:
At this stage, Claude may also ask you some additional due diligence questions, if required by Meow. Answer those, if needed, before moving ahead.
Step 7: Upload Your Supporting Documents
Next, Claude will ask for the documents needed to continue the application. In most cases, that includes:
- EIN letter from the IRS
- Articles of Incorporation
- Government-issued photo ID for each authorized signer
In Claude Cowork, you can upload these by dragging the files into the chat window. Claude can read the files from your machine and pass them through the Meow connector as part of the application flow.
Step 8: Add Beneficial Owners
Meow is required by law to collect information about beneficial owners, which is anyone who owns 25% or more of the company, as well as any authorized signers on the account.
For each person, Claude will ask for:
- Title/role in the company (e.g., CEO, Managing Member)
- Ownership share (in %)
Answer each question as Claude asks. Your data is transmitted securely to Meow’s servers and is not retained by the AI.
Throughout this section, Claude continuously syncs your progress to Meow’s servers, so you won’t lose your place if you need to pause.
Step 9: Accept the Legal Agreements
Claude will share a link to Meow’s legal agreements. Click the link to open it in your browser, review the terms, and accept them.
Once done, return to the Cowork chat to continue.
Step 10: Complete Identity Verification (KYC)
The final step that requires your direct action is identity verification. Claude will provide a link to Meow’s KYC flow, which is powered by Plaid.
Note: You’ll also receive a separate email from Plaid with a secure link, in case you’d prefer to complete this step later or on another device.
Click the link and follow the prompts. This typically involves confirming your personal details and may include uploading a photo of your ID or taking a selfie.
Once you’ve completed the Plaid verification, come back to your Cowork chat and let Claude know by typing:
I've completed the KYC verification.
Step 11: Application Submitted!
Claude will finalize and submit your completed application to Meow. That’s it! Your business checking account will typically be ready within 48 hours, and Meow will notify you by email once it’s active.
If Meow requests additional information during review, you can handle it directly in the same chat. A quick check like “Any update?” will prompt Claude to look for any outstanding requests and guide you through responding to them.
Your AI agent just opened a business bank account without having you fill out a single form or log into a single dashboard!
What You Can Do Once Your Account Is Active
Opening the account is just the beginning. You can do so much more with Meow’s MCPs.
Similar to how you set up the Meow MCP earlier, you can add another MCP as a connector with the URL https://mcp.meow.com/ to your AI Agent, authenticate with OAuth, and now your AI agent can manage your business finances entirely in natural language:
- Check balances and transactions: Just ask Claude what your current balance is or to summarize recent activity
- Issue corporate cards: Request virtual or physical cards for your team
- Send payments: Initiate ACH transfers, wires, and crypto transactions
- Create and manage invoices: Draft, send, and track invoices without leaving the chat
- Monitor burn rate: Ask Claude to run a spend audit or flag unusual transactions
- Get a morning briefing: Have Claude summarize your cash position at the start of each day
All of it, from the convenience of a chat interface!
Final Thoughts
Opening a business bank account usually means working through a separate onboarding flow, gathering documents, and submitting information step by step. With Meow’s MCP server and Claude Cowork, you can handle that process inside a chat-based workflow instead.
In this guide, you connected Meow to Claude, started the application through the agent, provided business details, uploaded supporting documents, and moved through verification without switching to a traditional banking dashboard.
Once the account is open, the same setup can also support other banking tasks through the agent.
Ready to try it? Visit meow.com/mcp to connect your AI agent today!