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# Banks are shutting out AI agents that log in with customers' passwords
- URL: https://www.bushletter.com/banks-block-ai-agents-using-customer-passwords/
- Published: 2026-10-23T09:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T09:45:00.000Z
- Description: Major US banks have found AI agents logging in with customers' passwords and are blocking them. In Australia, sharing a passcode can cost you a refund.
- Author: Bushletter Newsroom
- Tags: Banking, AI Security, Australia

TLDR

Big US banks have found third-party AI agents logging in to customer accounts with customers' own passwords, and are starting to block them. Australians who hand a bank password to an AI tool take a real risk: under the ePayments Code, sharing a passcode can cost you the right to a refund.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party AI agents, and JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are restricting them, Axios reported on 22 October.

02Banks say they often cannot tell an agent a customer authorised from one acting on its own.

03JPMorgan's chief financial officer said services that move money using shared banking credentials are not secure and are being blocked.

04Under Australia's ePayments Code, a customer who shares a passcode is generally not entitled to a refund for unauthorised transactions.

05CBA and Westpac are trialling Mastercard's Agent Pay, which ties each purchase to a specific authorised agent and a biometric check.

America's biggest banks have found AI agents inside their customers' accounts, and most of them were never approved by the bank. The agents log in with the customer's own username and password, sometimes with the customer's blessing, which breaks the rule at most banks that people log in to their own accounts. Some have rung call centres. Some appear to act on their own.[\[1\]](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access?ref=bushletter.com)

Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party agents from its platforms, and JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are restricting them, Axios reported on 22 October. Wells Fargo is among the banks working to contain the risk. Executives worry most about agents that customers have allowed to make purchases or move money, and several banks told Axios they cannot reliably tell an agent the customer authorised from one that has gone rogue.[\[1\]](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access?ref=bushletter.com)

## Why the banks are pulling up the drawbridge

JPMorgan Chase drew its line on its third-quarter earnings call on 13 October. Chief financial officer Jeremy Barnum said services that move customers' money using shared banking credentials are being shut out. "It's not secure, and so to the extent that we're able to block those, we are blocking them," he said, "to protect customers and protect ourselves."[\[2\]](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/jpmorgan-warns-of-risks-to-consumers-who-rely-on-ai-agents?ref=bushletter.com) Chief executive Jamie Dimon was blunter about the scale: "You don't want rogue agents, and it could be thousands of them."[\[3\]](https://cybernews.com/security/jpmorgan-chase-blocks-outside-ai-agents/?ref=bushletter.com)

A JPMorgan spokeswoman told CNBC: "Because it is not safe, we do not permit third parties to access accounts."[\[3\]](https://cybernews.com/security/jpmorgan-chase-blocks-outside-ai-agents/?ref=bushletter.com) Morgan Stanley said it had not observed "rogue AI agents accessing our platforms".[\[1\]](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access?ref=bushletter.com) The banks are rewriting their terms of service and considering read-only access, which would let an agent see account data without being able to act on it, the same arrangement many already give budgeting apps.[\[1\]](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access?ref=bushletter.com)

## The Australian catch: your password, your loss

Australian customers face a sharper problem than a blocked login. Under the ePayments Code, which most banks here have signed, a customer whose unauthorised transaction stems from choosing to share their passcode is generally "not entitled to a refund".[\[4\]](https://lsc.sa.gov.au/handbook/ch10s06s03s01.php?ref=bushletter.com) Typing a banking password into an AI assistant or agent so it can pay bills or move money is exactly that kind of sharing. If the agent is compromised, misreads an instruction or is hijacked, the loss may sit with the customer, not the bank.

Australian banks are not refusing agents outright. They are building their own and backing schemes that check who is acting. Commonwealth Bank launched Companion, an AI agent inside its app, in May.[\[6\]](https://aivy.com.au/news/commbank-companion-ai-agent/?ref=bushletter.com) CBA and Westpac are trialling Mastercard's Agent Pay, which requires a biometric check such as Face ID for each purchase and uses tokens that tie every transaction to a specific authorised agent.[\[5\]](https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/mastercard-unveils-major-ai-shopping-change-coming-for-cba-westpac-customers-australias-first-190014349.html?ref=bushletter.com) Surin Fernando of Mastercard Australasia said: "Often retailers don't know it's an agent making the transaction."[\[5\]](https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/mastercard-unveils-major-ai-shopping-change-coming-for-cba-westpac-customers-australias-first-190014349.html?ref=bushletter.com)

The industry's lobby group has the issue on its radar. Australian Banking Association chief executive Simon Birmingham warned a parliamentary inquiry into AI in early October about agentic AI intersecting with the financial system.[\[7\]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-09/asx-markets-business-live-news-9-october-2026/107246104?ref=bushletter.com)

## What customers and businesses should do

Do not give a banking username and password to any AI tool, browser agent or app that is not your bank's own. Use the bank's app features or schemes the bank has signed up to, such as Agent Pay, where the bank can see that an agent is acting and the customer confirms each payment. Businesses should check whether staff have connected AI assistants to company bank accounts or payment platforms, and switch on alerts for new devices and logins.

The banks' move comes in a week when security leaders warned that AI is finding software flaws faster than organisations can fix them. Bushletter's [report on that warning](https://www.bushletter.com/ai-finds-493-flaws-security-chief-warns-18-months-of-pain-ahead/) and the [AI and security series](https://www.bushletter.com/tag/ai-security/) cover the wider picture.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [Scoop: Unvetted AI agents are accessing U.S. bank accounts, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/ai-agents-banks-unauthorized-accounts-access?ref=bushletter.com)
2. [JPMorgan warns of risks to consumers who rely on AI agents, American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/jpmorgan-warns-of-risks-to-consumers-who-rely-on-ai-agents?ref=bushletter.com)
3. [JPMorgan blocks outside AI agents from customer accounts, Cybernews](https://cybernews.com/security/jpmorgan-chase-blocks-outside-ai-agents/?ref=bushletter.com)
4. [Law Handbook: ePayments Code and unauthorised transactions, Legal Services Commission of SA](https://lsc.sa.gov.au/handbook/ch10s06s03s01.php?ref=bushletter.com)
5. [Mastercard Agent Pay trials with CBA and Westpac, Yahoo Finance Australia](https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/mastercard-unveils-major-ai-shopping-change-coming-for-cba-westpac-customers-australias-first-190014349.html?ref=bushletter.com)
6. [CommBank rolls out an AI agent to app users, Aivy](https://aivy.com.au/news/commbank-companion-ai-agent/?ref=bushletter.com)
7. [Westpac, ANZ, NAB appear before parliamentary inquiry into AI, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-09/asx-markets-business-live-news-9-october-2026/107246104?ref=bushletter.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are banks blocking AI agents?

Major US banks are. Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party AI agents, and JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are restricting them, according to Axios. JPMorgan says it blocks services that move money using shared banking credentials.

Can I give my banking password to an AI assistant in Australia?

It is risky. Under the ePayments Code, a customer whose unauthorised transaction stems from sharing their passcode is generally not entitled to a refund, so losses caused by an agent using your password may fall on you.

Are any Australian banks working with AI agents?

Yes, on their own terms. Commonwealth Bank has an AI agent called Companion in its app, and CBA and Westpac are trialling Mastercard's Agent Pay, which checks each purchase with biometrics and ties it to a specific authorised agent.

What should businesses check?

Whether staff have connected AI assistants or browser agents to company bank accounts or payment platforms, and whether alerts for new logins and devices are switched on.