A Bankers Journey with AI From Skepticism to I Have a New Friend

Why We Started With the Hardest Problem in AI

Payman AI CEO Tyllen and CPO Akash kick off the Build Series with a raw look at what it actually takes to build AI agents that move money inside real banks. After hearing from big banks and Anthropic about their AI ambitions, Tyllen and Akash share what two years on the ground with community banks, regional banks, and fintechs has taught them. Why they started with the hardest problem (giving agents access to money), what breaks when you try to deploy agents inside banks, why MCPs alone don't cut it, the adoption curve from internal copilot to autonomous financial agent, and where agent commerce is actually headed. Deployed across multiple institutions with real dollars moving through the system, this is the story behind agentic banking from the team building it.

A Bankers Journey with AI From Skepticism to I Have a New Friend

Most bankers hear "AI in banking" and think chatbots, hype, or another vendor pitch. Karen Grindrod thought the same thing. Then she started working with an AI agent in real banking operations, and everything changed. Join Akash Desai (Payman AI) and Karen Grindrod (Middlesex Federal Savings) for a candid 45-minute conversation about what actually happens when a community bank puts agentic AI to work. Just a real banker sharing her real experience. What You'll Learn - What it actually looks like when a community bank starts working with an AI agent in day-to-day operations - The concerns Karen had going in and the specific moments that changed her mind - How trust gets built between a banker and an AI agent - the controls, the guardrails, and the surprises - What Karen would tell other bankers who are still evaluating whether agentic AI is ready

From Digital to Agentic Banking

Banking evolved from branches to apps. The next evolution is AI that doesn't just respond to customers - it acts on their behalf. Join Tyllen Bicakcic CEO of Payman AI and C.J. Conrad from Middlesex Federal Savings for a 45-minute conversation on what Agentic Banking means for community and regional banks. What You'll Learn * The evolution from chatbots to AI that executes real banking actions - why "answering questions" is no longer enough * How Middlesex Federal Savings is evaluating this shift - a real banker's perspective on agentic AI * What trust, oversight, and safety look like in an agentic model - the controls that make autonomous execution possible * Whether your bank is ready and what to look for - practical signals and next steps