America's largest bank CEO Jamie Dimon makes it clear at earnings call that not giving AI Agents access to bank's data; calls it too risky for clients and JPMorgan
Jamie Dimon the CEO of America's largest bank JPMorgan Chase has made it clear that the bank will not allow external artificial intelligence agents to access customer accounts and carry out actions on the behalf of users, warning that the technology presently poses significant risks for both customers and bank.
According to a report by CNBC, speaking during the bank’s third-quarter earnings call, Dimon said JPMorgan Chase is taking a cautious approach as technology companies including Meta roll out increasingly autonomous AI assistants. "We're not going to allow just any ... outside agent to come in inside the company, because it's just too risky for clients and for JPMorgan," Dimon told analysts. Dimon further added that the possibility of large numbers of autonomous agents interacting with banking systems raises security concerns. "You don't want rogue agents, and it could be thousands of them," Dimon said
Bank blocks AI agents from taking actions confirms JPMorgan
A JPMorgan spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the bank currently prevents external AI agents from operating customer accounts.
According to the bank, third parties are not permitted to gain access by using customers' banking credentials and logging in on their behalf.While AI agents can access some account information in a read-only format through open banking providers and data connectors, they cannot carry out transactions such as sending money, moving funds or paying bills.The bank said it supports customer-authorised data sharing through open banking services and is working toward enabling agentic connections securely, but has not provided a timeline for allowing third-party AI agents to directly interact with customer accounts.
‘Liability transfer’Dimon said JPMorgan is using AI agents internally and plans to deploy them in customer-facing applications. He said the bank’s approach is not about being for or against the technology, but about making sure it serves customers safely. He also drew a line on liability when customers authorize outside agents to act for them. “If people are using them, they should understand the risk,” Dimon said.
“They should understand there’s a liability transfer.
”Defensive move: Smart CashIn recent weeks, JPMorgan began a targeted pilot of its own AI tool, Smart Cash, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said Tuesday. It aims to predict a user’s cash flow and move funds to maximize yield. That would appear to be a defensive move against external agents.
Why banks are nervous
Personal AI agents have gained mainstream popularity in recent months as models gain more autonomy, such as the ability to cancel subscriptions or use credit cards for a user.
Instinct, a text-message-based digital concierge, launched earlier this year on an invitation-only basis. Its maker, San Francisco-based Spear Street Technology, was founded last year and reached a $10 billion valuation last month.In September, bank stocks fell after Meta’s Muse agent topped app download charts soon after its unveiling. Investors feared consumers would use agents to move funds from low-yielding accounts to higher-yielding ones. Weeks later, OpenAI released its own agent, Dots.Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok and others have pointed to the risks such agents pose to cheap bank deposits. That risk would be limited, though, if agents are not allowed to operate freely in customers’ accounts.