Banking technology company Backbase has acquired Kasisto, a leader in agentic AI for financial services, integrating the company’s banking-grade artificial intelligence directly into its platform as African banks face challenges with legacy IT systems that hinder their digital transformation.
Kasisto’s financial intelligence models are now part of Backbase’s Banking Operating System. This change aims to help banks and financial organisations in Africa overcome limits in their infrastructure that have slowed the use of AI technology.
A recent survey of 277 bank executives across Africa, conducted by Backbase with African Banker magazine, found that the main challenge to adopting AI in established banks is integrating old systems.
The problem is with the structure of the banks. Many traditional African banks use old core systems that were not designed for modern digital services. This makes it hard to add new technology without creating separate systems that don’t work well together.
“We see too many banks build AI in isolated pockets, like a chatbot in digital self-service or automation in the contact centre, without resolving the disconnect between those teams and back-office operations,” said Ayman Daoud, Vice President of Africa Regions at Backbase.
What Kasisto’s AI does and why it matters for African banks
In short, KAI converts a customer’s intent into action without human involvement; it can verify eligibility, apply policies, and trigger workflows to resolve requests end-to-end. It also enables proactive outreach, addressing issues before they become complaints.
The platform has already been deployed in Africa. At Nedbank, KAI cut the number of live agent conversations by half within one year of launch. Absa has also deployed the platform. Those outcomes give Backbase a proof point that the technology works in African banking conditions specifically, not just in Western markets.
Lance Berks, CEO of Kasisto, said the continent is actually well positioned to leapfrog older banking models. “Africa is particularly well placed to leapfrog Western banks with decades-old core systems,” he said. “Backbase and Kasisto give those institutions purpose-built agentic intelligence from day one, rather than retrofitting it onto legacy infrastructure later.”
Legacy IT maintenance costs banks billions worldwide, but the problem hits hardest in Africa. Financial institutions there face high operational costs while serving a large, mobile-first population that increasingly expects digital-first banking, much of it from agile fintechs and mobile money operators that don’t carry the same infrastructure burden.
