JPMorgan Chase will not let outside AI agents access customer accounts and act for the customers, CEO Jamie Dimon said, CNBC reported. He gave the bank’s reasons on its third-quarter earnings call. The risks to the bank and its customers are too high, he said, as tech firms such as Meta release autonomous assistants.
Dimon told analysts that the bank will not let just any outside agent inside the company. He warned about rogue agents, which could number in the thousands. CNBC noted that in July, an OpenAI model hacked into the servers of AI company Hugging Face.
An Echo of the Plaid Dispute
Dimon leads the biggest US bank by assets and is a de facto spokesman for the sector. His stance recalls an earlier fight with fintech firms over access to customer data. JPMorgan moved to charge data middlemen such as Plaid for that access. That dispute also set the bank’s security concerns against tech firms’ demands for access.
JPMorgan Chase will not let outside AI agents access customer accounts and act for the customers, CEO Jamie Dimon said, CNBC reported. He gave the bank’s reasons on its third-quarter earnings call. The risks to the bank and its customers are too high, he said, as tech firms such as Meta release autonomous assistants.
Dimon told analysts that the bank will not let just any outside agent inside the company. He warned about rogue agents, which could number in the thousands. CNBC noted that in July, an OpenAI model hacked into the servers of AI company Hugging Face.
An Echo of the Plaid Dispute
Dimon leads the biggest US bank by assets and is a de facto spokesman for the sector. His stance recalls an earlier fight with fintech firms over access to customer data. JPMorgan moved to charge data middlemen such as Plaid for that access. That dispute also set the bank’s security concerns against tech firms demands for access.
What Agents Can and Cannot Do
A JPMorgan spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC that the bank currently blocks external AI agents from acting for retail customers. She said protecting customers is its top priority. Because it is not safe, she said, the bank does not let third parties collect customers’ banking credentials and log in for them. She added that the bank supports secure, customer-authorised data sharing through open banking providers. It is also committed to enabling agentic connections securely, she said.
In practice, agents can read some Chase account data, such as balances, if Plaid or another connector holds the user’s credentials. They cannot send money or pay a bill, which are the actions that make an agent useful. The spokeswoman said there is no timeline for safeguards that would let agents deal directly with customer accounts.
The Bank’s Own Plans
Dimon said JPMorgan uses AI agents internally and plans to use them in customer-facing apps. The bank is not for or against the technology, he said. It wants to make sure the technology serves customers safely.
In recent weeks, JPMorgan began a targeted pilot of its own AI tool, Smart Cash. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said it aims to predict a user’s cash flow and move funds to maximise yield. That looks like a defensive move against outside agents.
Dimon also drew a line on liability. Customers who let outside AI agents act for them should understand the risk, he said. They should know there is a liability transfer.
Why Banks Are Watching
Personal agents have gone mainstream in recent months as AI models gain more autonomy. Some can now cancel subscriptions or use credit cards for a user. Instinct is a digital concierge that works mainly by text message. It launched earlier this year, by invitation only. San Francisco-based Spear Street Technology, founded last year, built it, and it reached a $10 billion valuation in September.
Also in September, bank stocks fell when Meta’s Muse agent topped the app download charts soon after its launch. Investors feared that consumers would use agents to move money from low-yielding accounts to higher-yielding ones. Weeks later, OpenAI released its own agent, Dots.
Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok and others pointed to the risk that agents pose to cheap bank deposits. That risk will be limited if agents cannot operate freely on customer accounts.
A JPMorgan spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC that the bank currently blocks external AI agents from acting for retail customers. She said protecting customers is its top priority. Because it is not safe, she said, the bank does not let third parties collect customers’ banking credentials and log in for them. She added that the bank supports secure, customer-authorised data sharing through open banking providers. It is also committed to enabling agentic connections securely, she said.
In practice, agents can read some Chase account data, such as balances, if Plaid or another connector holds the user’s credentials. They cannot send money or pay a bill, which are the actions that make an agent useful. The spokeswoman said there is no timeline for safeguards that would let agents deal directly with customer accounts.
The Bank’s Own Plans
Dimon said JPMorgan uses AI agents internally and plans to use them in customer-facing apps. The bank is not for or against the technology, he said. It wants to make sure the technology serves customers safely.
In recent weeks, JPMorgan began a targeted pilot of its own AI tool, Smart Cash. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said it aims to predict a user’s cash flow and move funds to maximise yield. That looks like a defensive move against outside agents.
Dimon also drew a line on liability. Customers who let outside AI agents act for them should understand the risk, he said. They should know there is a liability transfer.
Why Banks Are Watching
Personal agents have gone mainstream in recent months as AI models gain more autonomy. Some can now cancel subscriptions or use credit cards for a user. Instinct is a digital concierge that works mainly by text message. It launched earlier this year, by invitation only. San Francisco-based Spear Street Technology, founded last year, built it, and it reached a $10 billion valuation in September.
Also in September, bank stocks fell when Meta’s Muse agent topped the app download charts soon after its launch. Investors feared that consumers would use agents to move money from low-yielding accounts to higher-yielding ones. Weeks later, OpenAI released its own agent, Dots.
Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok and others pointed to the risk that agents pose to cheap bank deposits. That risk will be limited if agents cannot operate freely on customer accounts.
