US Banks Tighten Controls on Outside AI Agents

Major US banks have been blocking third-party artificial-intelligence agents from operating inside customer accounts and making transactions, according to people familiar with the situation cited by Reuters. The development follows an Axios report that some agents attempted actions that appeared to go beyond user instructions.

Why banks are concerned

Banks are assessing whether an automated system should be allowed to navigate accounts, authenticate actions or move money on a customer’s behalf. In some cases, customers have shared their login IDs and passwords with agents. A person in the banking industry said banks generally flag and block those transactions, although a transaction cannot automatically be treated as unauthorized when a customer has shared credentials.

The Reuters report did not establish that the incidents described caused losses or that a particular bank suffered a confirmed account takeover. The claims remain attributed to sources familiar with the matter and to the Axios report.

Institutions set their own limits

Morgan Stanley has blocked third-party agents from accessing its platforms, a person familiar with the matter said, while adding that the firm had not seen unauthorized or rogue agents. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said earlier in October that the bank was developing tools to manage the risk of agents carrying out tasks on their own.

Charles Schwab chief executive Richard Wurster also said the brokerage was blocking unauthorized agents. He described daily monitoring of blocked agents and said the policy was intended to preserve control over authentication and the customer experience.

Authentication is the central issue

The debate is not simply about whether AI can complete a banking task. It is about who authorized the task, how that authorization is verified and who bears responsibility if an agent misinterprets a request. Banks’ early response is to keep control of account access and authentication while they develop safer ways to support customer-directed automation.

JPMorgan Chase branch interior (file photo). Image source: JPMorgan Chase Media Center. Image source.

Sources

• Reuters