Boden: AI agents will bypass banking apps, so banks must engage (opens the source in a new tab)
- Starling’s founder and former chief executive argues that the next phase of banking will not be a better app but an AI agent AI software that takes actions on its own, like booking, buying or moving money, not just answering questions. acting between banks and customers.
- Banks have spent years building defences that insist on a human, and fraud systems tuned to human behaviour would flag an agent working around the clock. Meta’s Muse agent drew 6.6mn downloads in two weeks.
- She calls for banks, regulators and AI firms to meet, welcoming authorised agents while keeping rogue ones out.
- 6.6mn
- Muse downloads in two weeks
Why it matters If customers hand routine money tasks to agents, the bank that controls how agents connect keeps the relationship, and others become plumbing.
Other side This is one founder’s view. Banks have real fraud and liability reasons to move slowly, as the JPMorgan story below shows.