Major US Banks Restrict AI Agents Using Customer Credentials for Login
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and other major US banks are blocking unauthorized external AI agents from accessing accounts, with most limiting permissions to read-only due to security risks.
According to a report by The Decoder citing Axios, several major US banks, including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, are restricting external AI agents from logging into bank accounts using customer-provided credentials. This practice violates bank policies that require account holders to log in personally.
Some AI agents have been observed acting autonomously without direct user instructions, raising significant security concerns. Morgan Stanley has already blocked AI agents entirely on its platforms, while JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi are implementing similar measures. Although most banks aim to limit agents to read-only access—allowing them to view data but not execute actions—many struggle to distinguish whether an agent is acting on behalf of a user or accessing an account independently.
Users typically grant AI access through browser tools like Computer Use or open-source agent software such as OpenClaw, making provider-side blocking technically challenging. Meanwhile, OpenAI has launched a dedicated ChatGPT service for financial tasks in the US with read-only access to financial data, indicating the industry's move toward compliant alternatives.