In this article
On October 16, 2026, Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said the firm blocks dozens of attempts every week by outside AI agents, Meta's Muse among them, trying to move client money with the client's own password, and JPMorgan is doing the same. The reason comes down to one question: when the agent gets it wrong, who pays? The lesson for a business owner is simple: never give an AI agent the password to your company's bank account. Saudi Arabia already has a regulated route: open banking, whose framework the Saudi Central Bank issued in November 2022, delivered by licensed providers that reached 32 payment companies in May 2026. If the idea is new to you, start with our guide to open banking in Saudi Arabia.
What happened at the US banks
According to The Next Web on October 16, 2026, Wurster said Schwab blocks outside AI agents trying to get into client accounts and act on them, at a rate of tens and twenties a week, and named Meta's personal agent Muse. He was blunt: we don't want someone just giving their password to an agent that comes in and acts on their behalf; we can't control it, the client can't control it, something could go wrong and who's liable?
- JPMorgan: CEO Jamie Dimon warned of rogue agents on the bank's earnings call. The bank lets outside tools view account data but not send money or pay bills.
- Schwab: it opens read-only MCP servers to outside tools, meaning balances and research with no transfers, and steers clients to its own assistant, Charley, announced on September 30, 2026 and rolling out in phases from October.
- The law: there is still no US federal statute settling who is liable when an AI agent makes a mistake in financial services, so the banks decided on their own to shut the door.
Why this matters to you in Riyadh or Jeddah
The agents US banks are blocking are available here too: browser extensions that read your pages and carry out tasks, as we explained in our piece on ChatGPT inside Chrome, and agents that log into websites and click buttons for you. The temptation is real: your finance team wants an agent that pulls the bank statement and matches it to invoices every morning. But when the agent logs in with a real password, it sees everything the owner sees and can do everything the owner can do, and the bank sees an ordinary login it cannot tell apart from the account holder.
The problem is not how smart the agent is. It is three things: the password has left your hands for a service you cannot audit, the agent's permission is not limited to reading or to an amount, and when something goes wrong there is no party contractually responsible.
The regulated alternative: Saudi Central Bank open banking
What US banks are now improvising, structured read access and no uncontrolled transfers, has had an official framework in Saudi Arabia for years:
- November 2022: the Saudi Central Bank issued the Open Banking Framework. Its first release focused on the Account Information Service, which lets you share your account data securely with a third party, with your consent.
- January 2023: it launched the Open Banking Lab, where banks and fintechs test and certify their services before offering them.
- September 2024: the second release covered the Payment Initiation Service. It standardises how the service is offered reliably and securely, and clarifies the responsibilities of every party. That is precisely the answer to who is liable.
- May 2026: the central bank licensed another account information provider, bringing the number of licensed payment service companies to 32, and stressed dealing only with licensed institutions.
- September 16, 2026: its Open Banking Forum with the banks set next-stage priorities, including banks' readiness for payment initiation and expanding use of open banking by businesses.
The practical difference: with open banking you never hand over your password. You approve a defined permission for a licensed provider, and the bank knows who is asking for the data and why.
Steps for your company this week
- Ask your team directly: has anyone given the bank portal password to an AI tool or browser extension? If yes, change it today.
- Separate reading from paying: statement matching and reporting only need read access. Get it through an account information provider licensed by the Saudi Central Bank, not an agent logging in as you.
- Keep payments under human approval: every transfer goes through the maker and approver roles in your bank's corporate portal, and no AI agent holds approval rights.
- Check the licence: before connecting any finance app to your account, look it up in the list of licensed institutions on the Saudi Central Bank website.
- Ask your bank about official channels: if your accounting or ERP system needs bank data, ask about an API connection instead of automated logins to the portal.
The Origami view
We read the Schwab and JPMorgan decision as an early signal: AI agents will reach every financial system, but only through the front door. A company that builds its finance automation today on passwords pasted into an agent will rebuild it tomorrow; one that builds on regulated interfaces can add agents on top safely.
The Saudi market's advantage is that the framework is ready, its providers are licensed, and the central bank says openly that wider use by businesses is a priority. What most companies lack is not regulation but the work of connecting their internal systems to these channels instead of stopgap workarounds.
Conclusion
AI agents are useful in finance work, but not with your bank password. Put reading through open banking and a licensed provider, keep payments under human approval inside your bank's portal, and change any password that has gone to an outside tool. If you want to connect your accounting or operations system to your bank the regulated way, talk to us.
Sources
- Saudi Central Bank — Second Release of the Open Banking Framework, September 2, 2024: Payment Initiation Service and stakeholder responsibilities.
- Saudi Central Bank — Issuance of the Open Banking Framework, November 2, 2022: Account Information Service and the Fintech Strategy.
- Saudi Central Bank — Launch of the Open Banking Lab, January 4, 2023.
- Saudi Central Bank — Licence for Tatbiq Darahem, May 10, 2026: 32 licensed payment service companies.
- Saudi Central Bank — Open Banking Forum with Banks, September 16, 2026: next-stage priorities.
- Charles Schwab — Meet Charley, September 30, 2026.
- The Next Web, October 16, 2026: Schwab and JPMorgan on blocking agents.
- Yahoo Finance / Forkast: the absence of a US federal law on agent liability.
Frequently asked questions
Can I give an AI agent my company bank password so it can reconcile statements?
We advise against it. The agent sees and can do everything the password holder can, the bank cannot tell it apart, and no party is contractually liable for mistakes. For reconciliation, use the Account Information Service through a provider licensed by the Saudi Central Bank.
Why are US banks blocking AI agents?
Because clients hand the agent their password, so neither the bank nor the client controls it, and nobody knows who is liable when it goes wrong. Schwab blocks dozens of attempts a week and allows only read-only balance access via MCP servers; JPMorgan allows viewing but blocks transfers and bill payments.
What is the difference between the Account Information Service and the Payment Initiation Service?
The Account Information Service lets a licensed provider read your account data with your consent; it came in the first release of the framework in November 2022. The Payment Initiation Service lets a payment be started securely from a third-party app; it came in the second release in September 2024, which also clarifies each party's responsibilities.
How do I check that a finance app is licensed before connecting it to my company account?
Look it up in the list of licensed and permitted institutions on the Saudi Central Bank website. The central bank stresses dealing only with licensed institutions, and the number of licensed payment service companies reached 32 in May 2026.
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