Banks Warn of Risks as AI Shopping Agents Outpace Fraud Protections
A coalition of major banks, including NatWest, Bank of America, ING, Capital One, ASB Bank, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has warned that the rapid development of AI-powered shopping agents is outpacing existing fraud protections. These tools, designed to select and purchase goods on behalf of consumers, pose new risks related to scams, data privacy, and unclear liability in disputes. The banks highlighted vulnerabilities such as AI agents collecting card details for third-party sites or favoring payment methods with weaker consumer safeguards. They also noted the potential for bad actors to impersonate these tools or merchants using social engineering tactics. The report calls on policymakers for clearer regulations, including transparency requirements and stronger data security measures. The warning comes amid growing adoption of AI in shopping, as companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta promote chatbots for retail use. However, consumer trust remains mixed—while half of U.S. consumers have used some form of AI help with purchases, only about a quarter are comfortable letting an agent handle both the purchase and payment.
Topics: agentic commerce AI banking consumer protection fraud prevention