Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) bars personal AI agents from accessing online banking and other digital services

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced that it is barring third-party personal AI agents from directly accessing its online banking and other digital services, becoming the first Canadian bank to adopt such restrictions. In an internal memo on Tuesday evening, RBC said the decision was based on a security evaluation of agent technology, and that such agents accessing bank systems could create unacceptable customer risks, including actions beyond customer expectations or creating liability exposure, but did not specify which tools were involved. Last week, RBC CEO Dave McKay had said he was considering blocking Meta's Muse agent from accessing customer information. JPMorgan and Charles Schwab have also recently said they are restricting external agents' access to customer data. Peter Routledge, head of Canadian banking regulator OSFI, said the same day that it would strengthen oversight of large banks' AI practices, but would follow a principles-based regulatory approach and leave decisions to individual banks; OSFI published agentic AI guidance in the spring and plans to implement stricter rules.