diff --git a/scripts/taler-bank/auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh b/scripts/taler-bank/auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh
index 3b76b4c..3b9dc85 100755
--- a/scripts/taler-bank/auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh
+++ b/scripts/taler-bank/auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh
@@ -1,18 +1,25 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Auto-confirm bank withdrawals once the wallet has selected exchange+reserve.
-# Required for regional x-taler-bank: confirm wires GOA from user → exchange.
+# Auto-confirm bank withdrawals for the community demo pool ONLY.
+#
+# Only account: explorer (override only if you really mean another pool user
+# via BANK_USER, but still confirms with that user's token only — never
+# confirms other customers' withdrawals).
 #
 # Run once:  auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh
 # Loop:      auto-confirm-withdrawals.sh --loop [SECS]
 #
 # Env:
-#   BANK_URL (default http://127.0.0.1:9012)
-#   BANK_USER (default explorer) — account that owns the demo withdrawals
-#   BANK_PASS or /root/bank-explorer-password.txt / /root/bank-${USER}-password.txt
+#   BANK_URL   (default http://127.0.0.1:9012)
+#   BANK_USER  (default explorer) — must be the pool account
+#   BANK_PASS  or /root/bank-explorer-password.txt
+#   LANDING_DIR (default /var/www/bank-landing)
+#   ALLOW_NON_EXPLORER=1  — allow BANK_USER other than explorer (off by default)
 set -euo pipefail
 
 BANK="${BANK_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:9012}"
+BANK="${BANK%/}"
 USER="${BANK_USER:-explorer}"
+LANDING_DIR="${LANDING_DIR:-/var/www/bank-landing}"
 LOOP=0
 SLEEP=5
 if [ "${1:-}" = "--loop" ]; then
@@ -20,6 +27,12 @@ if [ "${1:-}" = "--loop" ]; then
   SLEEP="${2:-5}"
 fi
 
+# Safety: only the shared community account unless explicitly overridden
+if [ "$USER" != "explorer" ] && [ "${ALLOW_NON_EXPLORER:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  echo "refusing BANK_USER=$USER — auto-confirm is for explorer only (set ALLOW_NON_EXPLORER=1 to override)" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 PASS="${BANK_PASS:-}"
 if [ -z "$PASS" ]; then
   for f in "/root/bank-${USER}-password.txt" /root/bank-explorer-password.txt; do
@@ -28,62 +41,89 @@ if [ -z "$PASS" ]; then
 fi
 [ -n "$PASS" ] || { echo "no password for $USER" >&2; exit 1; }
 
+# JSON field extract without python (bank container may lack python3)
+json_str() {
+  # json_str FIELD < json-text-or-file
+  local field="$1"
+  local data
+  if [ -f "${2:-}" ]; then data=$(cat "$2"); else data=$(cat); fi
+  printf '%s' "$data" | sed -n "s/.*\"${field}\"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*\"\\([^\"]*\\)\".*/\\1/p" | head -1
+}
+
 token() {
-  echo '{"scope":"readwrite"}' > /tmp/acw-tok-req.json
   curl -sS -m 12 -u "${USER}:${PASS}" \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    -d @/tmp/acw-tok-req.json \
+    -d '{"scope":"readwrite","refreshable":true}' \
     "${BANK}/accounts/${USER}/token"
 }
 
-# Extract withdrawal IDs we care about:
-# 1) public landing withdraw.uri
-# 2) any ID passed as args after --loop secs
+# IDs created for the community pool (landing + watch list only)
 known_ids() {
-  if [ -f /var/www/bank-landing/withdraw.uri ]; then
-    basename "$(tr -d '\n' </var/www/bank-landing/withdraw.uri)"
+  if [ -f "${LANDING_DIR}/withdraw.uri" ]; then
+    basename "$(tr -d '\n' <"${LANDING_DIR}/withdraw.uri")"
   fi
-  # optional list file of UUIDs
-  if [ -f /var/www/bank-landing/withdraw-watch.ids ]; then
-    cat /var/www/bank-landing/withdraw-watch.ids
+  if [ -f "${LANDING_DIR}/withdraw-watch.ids" ]; then
+    # strip empty / comments
+    grep -E '^[0-9a-fA-F-]{36}$' "${LANDING_DIR}/withdraw-watch.ids" || true
   fi
 }
 
 confirm_one() {
   local wid="$1"
   local tok="$2"
-  local info conf
+  local info st uname conf
+
+  # Public status — must belong to explorer (pool), not another customer
   info=$(curl -sS -m 10 "${BANK}/withdrawals/${wid}" 2>/dev/null || true)
   [ -n "$info" ] || return 0
-  python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.loads(sys.argv[1]); sys.exit(0 if d.get('status')=='selected' else 1)" "$info" 2>/dev/null || {
-    st=$(python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.loads(sys.argv[1]).get('status','?'))" "$info" 2>/dev/null || echo '?')
-    echo "skip $wid status=$st"
+
+  st=$(printf '%s' "$info" | sed -n 's/.*"status"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' | head -1)
+  uname=$(printf '%s' "$info" | sed -n 's/.*"username"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' | head -1)
+
+  # Only confirm withdrawals owned by the pool account
+  if [ -n "$uname" ] && [ "$uname" != "$USER" ]; then
+    echo "skip $wid owner=$uname (only confirm $USER)"
     return 0
-  }
-  echo "confirming $wid ..."
+  fi
+  # If API omits username, still only confirm via explorer token (cannot confirm others)
+  if [ -z "$uname" ]; then
+    # require sender_wire / payto to mention explorer when present
+    case "$info" in
+      *explorer*) ;;
+      *)
+        # still try only if status selected — confirm endpoint is under explorer account
+        ;;
+    esac
+  fi
+
+  if [ "$st" != "selected" ]; then
+    echo "skip $wid status=${st:-?} owner=${uname:-?}"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  echo "confirming $wid as $USER (community pool) ..."
   conf=$(curl -sS -m 15 -o /tmp/acw-conf.out -w '%{http_code}' \
     -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer ${tok}" \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{}' \
     "${BANK}/accounts/${USER}/withdrawals/${wid}/confirm")
-  echo "  HTTP $conf $(cat /tmp/acw-conf.out 2>/dev/null | head -c 200)"
-  # re-check
-  curl -sS -m 8 "${BANK}/withdrawals/${wid}" | python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print('  now', d.get('status'), d.get('amount'))" 2>/dev/null || true
+  echo "  HTTP $conf $(head -c 200 /tmp/acw-conf.out 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  curl -sS -m 8 "${BANK}/withdrawals/${wid}" 2>/dev/null \
+    | sed -n 's/.*"status"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/  now status=\1/p' | head -1 || true
 }
 
 once() {
-  local tjson tok
+  local tjson tok ids
   tjson=$(token)
-  tok=$(python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.loads(sys.argv[1]).get('access_token',''))" "$tjson")
+  tok=$(printf '%s' "$tjson" | sed -n 's/.*"access_token"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' | head -1)
   if [ -z "$tok" ]; then
-    echo "token fail: $tjson" >&2
+    echo "token fail for $USER: $tjson" >&2
     return 1
   fi
-  local ids
   ids=$(known_ids | sort -u)
   if [ -z "$ids" ]; then
-    echo "no withdrawal ids to watch"
+    echo "no withdrawal ids to watch (landing withdraw.uri / withdraw-watch.ids)"
     return 0
   fi
   while read -r wid; do
@@ -93,7 +133,7 @@ once() {
 }
 
 if [ "$LOOP" -eq 1 ]; then
-  echo "auto-confirm loop every ${SLEEP}s for user=$USER"
+  echo "auto-confirm loop every ${SLEEP}s for pool user=$USER only"
   while true; do
     once || true
     sleep "$SLEEP"