The Starling Bank founder thinks AI agents will make banking apps unnecessary
Anne Boden, who built one of the first UK neobanks, laid it out in the Financial Times:
- The next phase of banking bypasses the app, an agent sits between you and the bank
- It knows your preferences, acts within the limits you set and completes the purchase
- A nice interface means nothing to an agent, it picks on price and terms
- Neobanks lose their edge too: the direct relationship through the app
- Banks should work with the AI companies that could protect or replace their revenue
- She wants banks, regulators, OpenAI and Anthropic at the same table
The same week, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi said they are limiting outside AI agents' access to customer accounts
On the Crypto Card side it is the opposite:
@raincards already issues single-use virtual cards that authorized AI agents can create, with spend limits