Overview
- Charles Schwab says it intercepts and blocks repeated attempts by third‑party AI agents to access and move customer money and limits any agent trading rights.
- Schwab is offering Charley, a conversational assistant that can research investments and show balances but cannot execute trades or transfer funds.
- The firm is rolling out controlled read‑only connectors based on the Model Context Protocol so vetted AI models can query account data without transactional access.
- Other large banks, including JPMorgan, Citigroup and Bank of America, have tightened controls to stop external agents from logging into or transacting on customer accounts.
- Executives cite two main risks—unclear legal liability if an agent makes a harmful trade and loss of human control—and regulators are increasing scrutiny as firms contain agent access.