RBC blocks outside AI agents from online banking, calling the risk 'unacceptable'

Royal Bank of Canada will bar third-party personal AI agents from its online banking and other digital properties, the bank said, making it the first Canadian lender to shut out tools that customers authorise to read their accounts, transaction history and credit card data. Work on the block began immediately, according to Token Times.

RBC's head of technology and operations, Naim Kazmi, and head of personal banking, Erica Nielsen, said a security review of agent technology drove the decision. "While we recognize the potential of agentic AI to assist customers, we know that third-party personal AI agents accessing banking systems can create unacceptable customer risk, including acting beyond customer expectations or creating liability exposure," they said. A bank spokesperson, Jeff Lanthier, said the move puts client and system safety first and acknowledged it may disappoint the small share of customers who use such tools.

The step follows similar limits at U.S. lenders JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab. Bank of Montreal chief executive Darryl White said last week that customers should not share sensitive banking data with AI agents. RBC chief executive Dave McKay had said in a television interview that the bank was weighing blocking Meta Platforms' Muse from customer information.

Canada's top banking regulator, Peter Routledge, said he will leave the call to individual banks provided they follow the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions' principles-based guidelines. "Provided it's done in a responsible way, that to me is indicative of sound risk management," he told reporters at Tech Festival Canada, adding that customers can switch providers if they want such services. OSFI published guidance on agentic AI this spring and plans tighter rules as threats accelerate; the Financial Stability Board has also urged institutions to restrict agents' access to sensitive data.

Routledge, whose seven-year term ends in June 2028, said his priorities include an AI risk framework and a more risk-open culture at OSFI, and that his successor will have to supervise through the digitalisation of money and the arrival of AI. RBC ranked third globally for AI adoption for the fifth straight year, according to the AI benchmarking platform Evident.