Major US banks have been blocking third-party artificial intelligence (AI) agents from accessing customer accounts and carrying out transactions, as concerns grow over the risks posed by autonomous AI tools, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters.Banks are increasingly wary of AI agents that can perform tasks on behalf of users, particularly when the technology interacts with financial accounts and could take actions beyond a customer’s instructions.An Axios report on Thursday said major lenders had detected unauthorised third-party AI agents operating within customer accounts, with some attempting to take actions that appeared to be independent of user instructions. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.The banks taking steps to contain the risks include Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, according to the Axios report.In some cases, customers have shared their login IDs and passwords with AI agents, prompting banks to flag and block transactions, a person in the banking industry said. However, such transactions cannot be considered unauthorised if customers have voluntarily shared their credentials, the person added.Morgan Stanley has blocked third-party agents from accessing its platforms but has not seen instances of unauthorised or rogue AI agents, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Banking executives warn of AI agent risks
The issue has drawn attention from senior banking executives, who have raised concerns about AI agents acting independently while carrying out tasks on behalf of customers.JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said earlier this month that the bank was developing tools to manage the risks associated with AI agents performing tasks autonomously.“We’re not going to allow just any outside agent to come in inside the company because that’s just too risky for clients and for JPMorgan,” he said.Charles Schwab CEO Richard Wurster also said earlier this month that the brokerage was blocking unauthorised agents to retain control over authentication and the customer experience.“I get a report every day tracking how many times we’ve had to block one of the different agents, and it’s not many because I think people aren’t using it in that way in their financial life. We are blocking it because we want to have control over authentication and the experience,” Wurster said.The developments underscore growing concerns across the financial sector about the security implications of AI agents that can interact with online services, access sensitive information and initiate transactions on users’ behalf.
