Axios reports that major U.S. banks are detecting third-party AI agents in customer accounts and are moving to restrict their access. The report names Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citi among banks responding to the issue.
According to people familiar with the matter, some agents access accounts with customer permission and credentials, despite bank terms that generally require a human account holder to log in. Axios also reports cases in which agents contacted call centers or appeared to take actions not directed by the customer. Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party agents from its platforms, Axios says; JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are also restricting them. A Chase spokesperson said customers should not share usernames and passwords. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson said it had not observed rogue AI agents accessing its platforms.
The report says banks are more open to read-only access, similar to access already provided to budgeting applications. It does not establish how frequent unauthorized agent activity is, identify particular agent products involved, or independently verify that any agent moved funds without a user's instruction.