The key facts
- In the letter “Protecting your finances in the AI World,” Bank of America urged customers not to share their credentials with AI tools and agents
- The bank confirmed the authenticity of the letter published on social media
- Under most banks' agreements, the customer is responsible for the actions of anyone they share their login and password with
The bank's warning
Bank of America sent customers a letter titled “Protecting your finances in the AI World,” urging them never to share their login and password with another person or a third-party service — “including an AI tool or agent offering to act on your behalf.” A bank spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was published on social media, TechCrunch reports.
Why this matters now
The reminder was prompted by a growing practice: customers are increasingly handing their credentials to personal AI assistants as these tools spread. TechCrunch lists the risks of such a step: an agent could carry out financial transactions without the owner's knowledge, the bank could mistake the agent's actions for a hack and block access, and a vulnerability in the assistant itself could lead to credentials leaking to fraudsters.
Liability and the industry's unresolved question
The bank stated plainly in the letter: “If you do share your credentials, keep in mind that you are responsible for any activity resulting from such access.” According to TechCrunch, most banks' agreements place responsibility on the customer for anyone they have given their login to. The warning came as banks, payment providers and processing companies are still figuring out how to let AI agents access bank accounts — for example, for agentic payments, where an agent autonomously buys goods at the best price or at the right moment — and, reportedly, are running into agents gaining unauthorized access to customers' money. These issues were discussed at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.