# Do Banks Need AI Employees More Than Core Upgrades?

> Banks can add AI coworkers without replacing legacy systems, Kastle CEO says.
- Title: Do Banks Need AI Employees More Than Core Upgrades? · Pymnts
- Summary: Banks can add AI coworkers without replacing legacy systems, Kastle CEO says. Banks can modernize lending and customer services using AI agents that work…
- Keywords: kastle, banks, core upgrades, ai employees, financial services, lending, business, finance, Need, Employees, More, Core
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/do-banks-need-ai-employees-more-than-they-do-core-upgrades
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-10-12T08:03:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: kastle, ai, banks, core upgrades, ai employees, financial services, lending, business, finance
## Kastle CEO Rishi Choudhary
Kastle CEO Rishi Choudhary believes banks have been approaching AI modernization from the wrong end of the technology stack.

> Rishi Choudhary, Co-Founder and CEO of Kastle, believes that banks have been approaching AI modernization from the wrong end of the technology stack: the legacy end.
## AI Agents on Top of Legacy Systems
Kastle proposes AI agents that operate on top of existing banking infrastructure without replacing core systems.

> We think of the agents as the action layer on top of [legacy cores].
## AI Agents as Coworkers
AI agents function like coworkers, handling tasks such as customer calls and compliance alerts while updating bank systems.

> An agent receives an assignment such as a customer call, case file or compliance alert, then executes the authorized work and updates the bank’s systems.
## Limited Authority for AI Agents
AI agents cannot independently reverse payments or make changes without human oversight.

> An AI collections agent, for example, may process a customer’s payment but cannot independently reverse it.
## AI Agents Grow with Performance
Banks can start with repetitive tasks for AI agents and gradually increase their responsibilities as they prove reliability.

> An AI loan officer assistant might begin with outbound lead screening. After demonstrating reliability, it can advance to automated prequalification and eventually take complete loan applications.
## Community Banks Benefit Most
Community banks can use AI agents to handle repetitive work while keeping human staff focused on customer relationships.

> For community bankers, the objective is to transfer repetitive administrative work to agents while preserving human attention for relationships and complex customer needs.
## Why AI Agents Work
AI agents solve operational friction that causes customer calls, not just answering more calls.

> You’re onboarding an agent exactly how you would onboard a person.
## Key takeaway

Banks can modernize lending and customer services using AI agents that work with existing systems without costly core upgrades.