Canada's largest bank has decided to block third-party personal artificial intelligence agents from direct access to its digital properties including online banking.
"We understand that this may be disappointing for the small portion of our clients who use these tools," Royal Bank of Canada said in a statement on Tuesday. "We make this decision with the safety and security of our clients and systems at the forefront."
In a separate post on Linkedin, RBC's chief executive Dave McKay said that while an AI agent could help consumers, these systems are becoming more autonomous and the stakes are high if something goes wrong, ranging from fraud and consumer harm to risks that could ripple more broadly through the financial system.
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"Trust is core to our relationship with our clients," he said. "While we appreciate the benefits of using AI to save time, nothing is more important than the security of client information."
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