Citi will not let third-party AI agents into its customers' accounts
IA en un minuto newsroom · Editor: Jon Elgezabal
In 30 seconds
Citigroup will shut out AI assistants from other companies that try to access its clients' accounts or carry out operations in its digital banking, according to a Financial Times exclusive. In the United States, banks are worried that these tools could shift deposits into products paying more. JPMorgan Chase had already announced a similar block for its retail customers on October 13.
Citigroup will not allow AI agents from other companies, assistants that carry out tasks on their own on behalf of the user, to get into its customers' accounts. The Financial Times reported it on Friday, October 16, in an exclusive: the bank told the paper it would not permit "third-party AI agents or assistants to log into a customer's account or transact directly within our digital banking platforms".
According to the Financial Times, banks in the United States fear that these assistants could move billions of dollars in deposits into accounts that pay a higher return.
Citi thus joins JPMorgan Chase. Its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said on October 13, while presenting third-quarter results, that the bank will not let just any outside agent into its systems, because it would be too risky for customers and for the bank itself. The bank later confirmed to CNBC, as reported by Crowdfund Insider, that it already prevents outside AI agents from acting on behalf of its retail customers: it does not let third parties obtain a customer's banking login details to sign in for them, although it does accept customers authorising their data to be shared securely.
Why it matters · analysis and opinion
The promise of assistants that manage a person's money runs here into the most important door, the bank's. If lenders do not let an agent in with the customer's login details, these tools will have to go through authorised, agreed channels, and it will have to be settled who is liable if an operation goes wrong. The fear the Financial Times cites also says a lot: banks are not only talking about security, they are also protecting their deposits from anyone who could take them elsewhere with a click. Anyone testing assistants that pay, compare accounts or move funds should check now whether their bank allows it and through which route, because handing passwords to a third party may clash with the bank's terms.
Source: Financial Times · Written with the help of AI: how we make the news
