Some of Canada’s biggest banks say they are now banning AI agents, like Meta’s Muse, while others are taking initial steps to limit them as the broader financial industry becomes increasingly concerned about potential harms to institutions and people’s wealth.
AI agents, or agentic AI, are software that acts as a personal assistant for accomplishing given tasks. A human user might give an AI agent parameters and prompts from organizing a calendar to drafting emails and making a shopping list.
However, an Axios report on Oct. 22 said some AI agents attempted to take actions that appeared to be independent of user instructions, citing people familiar with the matter.
In some cases, bank customers have shared their login ID and password with agents, with banks typically flagging and blocking those transactions, a person in the banking industry said in that reporting. Still, such transactions cannot be deemed unauthorized if credentials were shared by the customer.
That’s given rise to growing questions about whether Canadian banks are prepared for the trend.
Global News asked Canada’s five largest commercial banks on Oct. 22 if they planned to ban AI agents, as banks in the U.S. are doing, amid these reports. All banks that responded initially deferred to the Canadian Bankers Association, which said it cannot comment on the operational matters of its members.
TD and RBC later told Global News this week that they have moved to block all third-party AI agents.
“TD has made the decision to block all third-party personal AI agents from direct access to banking information, where authentication is required, while we ensure the appropriate safeguards, authorization mechanisms and oversight are in place,” a spokesperson for TD said Wednesday in a statement.
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Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) confirmed to Global News that it sent out a company memo alerting employees on Tuesday.
“RBC has decided to block third-party personal AI agents from direct access to authenticated RBC digital properties including online banking,” a spokesperson from RBC said in a statement.
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) also told Global News on Tuesday that it has taken steps to ban AI agents from accessing some of its systems.
“To protect our clients, BMO does not permit AI agents to access our digital properties or execute transactions,” a BMO spokesperson said in a statement.
BMO also referenced its security guidelines for protecting personal information, saying it will never make an unsolicited attempt to contact someone and ask for “sensitive information,” including passwords, PINs or verification codes.
It adds: “Never share this sensitive information with any unauthorized BMO channels, including through AI agents.”
A spokesperson for CIBC also responded to a Global News request Wednesday.
“We are following developments in personal AI agents closely as these technologies evolve,” a spokesperson for CIBC said in a statement.
“We do not support personal AI agents directly opening or accessing accounts. Clients should not share their banking credentials with an AI agent and should carefully consider what personal or financial information they provide to any AI service.”
Scotiabank said Wednesday that it will “limit” AI agents.
“To protect our clients and their financial information, Scotiabank will limit third-party AI agents from accessing its banking platforms as we closely monitor evolving concerns,” a spokesperson for Scotiabank said in a statement.
As the Canadian financial world takes note of the risks posed by AI agents, the federal government told Global News it’s aware of the reports stemming from the U.S.
“Our government is monitoring this issue closely, and so are banks,” a spokesperson for Canada’s minister of AI and digital innovation, Evan Solomon, said in statement on Oct. 22.
“Canadians should be extremely cautious about sharing their banking passwords with anyone, whether that’s an AI agent, an individual or a company.”
One example of an AI agent is Muse by Meta, which can take banking and payments information and make purchases on behalf of human users.
When Global News asked Meta for a statement regarding the concerns among the banking industry, a spokesperson referred to a blog post from September.
“Muse runs on its own dedicated computer in the cloud, contained so no one else’s agent can reach it. That is where Muse lives and where the data and credentials for any service a person connects are securely stored. A separate Sentinel agent runs on that same machine, kept apart from Muse at the system level. Nothing Muse does reaches the internet unless the Sentinel approves it, and it asks the person for permission when needed,” the blog from Meta said.
Amazon told Global News on Oct. 23 that it has requested Meta remove Muse from accessing its e-commerce platform on behalf of customers.
“We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,” said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement.
“This helps ensure a safe, secure, and reliable customer experience, and it is how others operate including food delivery apps and the restaurants they take orders for, delivery services apps and the stores they shop from, and online travel agencies and the airlines they book tickets with for customers.
Amazon added: “Agentic third-party applications such as Muse have the same obligations, and we’ve requested that Meta remove Amazon from the experience.”
– with files from Reuters and Global’s Jacqueline Hansen
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