# AI Agents Could Fill Treasury’s Looming Talent Gap

> AI agents may solve treasury staff shortages as experienced workers retire.
- Title: AI Agents Could Fill Treasury’s Looming Talent Gap · Pymnts
- Summary: AI agents may solve treasury staff shortages as experienced workers retire. AI agents can maintain treasury operations when experienced staff retire by…
- Keywords: ai agents, treasury, fifth third, katherine weislogel, commercial payments, payment processes, retirement, workforce gap, business, finance, Agents, Fill
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/ai-agents-could-fill-treasurys-looming-talent-gap
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-10-19T08:03:34+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai agents, treasury, fifth third, katherine weislogel, commercial payments, payment processes, retirement, workforce gap, business, finance
## Treasury workforce shortage
Corporate treasury departments face a talent gap as experienced staff retire after decades of handling payment processes.
## Experienced staff knowledge
Staff know which systems don’t talk to each other, which exceptions require workarounds, and which processes depend on memory.
## Retirement urgency
Companies need to replace staff who are retiring after 20-30 years in treasury roles.
## Katherine Weislogel’s view
Fifth Third’s head of Commercial Payments Client Success says AI is a practical solution for treasury staff shortages.
## 30-year staff example
One client has employees with 30 years of experience approaching retirement with no replacement confidence.
## AI for process coordination
AI agents can connect payment steps without requiring manual handoffs between systems.
## Five-step payment process
A payment travels through five separate steps involving different people, technologies and decision points.
## Retirement impact
Losing experienced staff makes it harder to redesign payment processes that depend on their knowledge.
## Account onboarding example
AI can move customer account information from submission to live status in hours versus days.
## AI doesn’t control money
AI agents collect information and coordinate workflows but leave financial decisions to authorized employees.
## Gradual AI permissions
Companies evaluate AI permissions incrementally based on risk, starting with analysis rather than payment execution.
## Human oversight remains
Human checks and verifications will stay part of the process even with AI agents.
## First payoff
The first meaningful return on AI agents may be operational continuity, not autonomous treasury control.
## Key takeaway

AI agents can maintain treasury operations when experienced staff retire by automating disconnected payment processes.