Trade war can hurt software & service businesses, too
This article is written by HedgeFlows Currency swings from global trade disputes can undercut service business profits – but often, the true impact is only noticed months down the line. While manufacturers may brace for tariffs and supply disruptions, service-based firms from SaaS startups to international consultancies are just as exposed to the shifting tides of foreign exchange (FX) markets. Yet, without the right tools and awareness, these risks might go unseen until it’s too late. This post explores how trade wars and FX volatility affect service sector businesses, why losses can remain hidden in financial statements, and what steps you can take to protect your margins. How currency moves can erode your profits Trade wars make headlines for abrupt price swings of goods and disrupted supply chains, but the knock-on effect on FX rates is just as critical. Political tension, tariff talk, and the prospect of weakening the US dollar have sparked significant adjustment in currency markets. Since the start of April, the US dollar has weakened by more than 6% against Swiss Franc and Korean Won, and 4-5% against a wide range of currencies such as EUR, GBP, ILS and MXN. Despite regular denials from central banks and government officials, speculation over a weaker dollar lingers, and global currencies are moving in response. For service businesses paid in one currency and with operational expenses in another, these FX moves quietly shape profit and loss. Unlike product-based businesses, where frequent orders and invoices can instantly reflect currency changes, the impact on services often lurks off the balance sheet. Many finance teams only focus on FX losses once they hit the income statement. By then, much of the damage is already done. Worse, not all FX effects even show up in company accounts, masking real losses and eroding business value over time. Hidden FX risks service businesses face 1. FX costs in software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies Consider a SaaS company earning revenue in US dollars but employing developers in Poland, Israel or Mexico. Each monthly payroll is paid in local currency. When the US dollar drops 5% against the Polish Zloty, Israeli Shekel or Mexican Peso, your US dollar costs for software development instantly rise by 5%. Since payroll is an expense, not an asset, it won’t appear on the balance sheet or reveal FX losses through your usual lines. You don’t see a separate “FX losses” entry in your profit and loss report for payroll outflows. Yet, if exchange rates remain steady going forward, your future R&D costs in dollar terms are now permanently higher. This quiet cost drag compresses margins and misses the eye of many boards and CFOs. Example in numbers Suppose you were spending $200,000 per month on developers in Mexico. If the USDMXN exchange rate drops 5%, your cost jumps to $210,000 almost overnight. But unless you’re monitoring real-time FX adjustments and adjusting forecasts, you may not react until the effect accumulates over many months. 2. Professional services and contract devaluation Service firms based in the UK, but winning large contracts priced in US dollars (or currencies pegged to the dollar, like the UAE dirham or Saudi riyal), face a different trap. Long-term deals locked in at a fixed exchange rate may quietly decline in value if sterling strengthens or the US dollar weakens. Since many of these projects invoice as they reach milestones, the fall in contract value isn’t immediately visible on your books. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind Until an invoice is raised, the future revenue sits as an off-balance-sheet expectation. A change in the dollar’s value transforms the pound amount you’ll eventually receive, but unless you recalculate contract values regularly, the risk remains hidden. This can leave your finance team underestimating future threats to cash flow and profitability. Why do these FX risks often go unnoticed? Service businesses have less tangible working capital than manufacturers. Currency effects filter through financial statements more slowly and often bypass headline metrics until the fiscal year closes. Payroll and professional fees are generally accounted for at spot rates, while revenue projections might lock in old assumptions. Traditional accounting tracks realised gains and losses, but the impact of shifts in currency on future contract values or long-term overseas payroll is typically off the radar. This quiet erosion of profit can materially change your margin profile by the time anybody spots a trend. Strategies for managing FX exposure Proactive currency risk management gives service businesses a fighting chance—even amid a trade war. Here’s where to start: 1. Monitor and forecast FX exposure regularly 2. Hedge critical exposures 3. Build FX awareness into pricing and contract terms 4. Improve internal reporting 5. Stay informed on policy signals The silent cost of doing nothing Currency-driven profit erosion grows more dangerous the longer it goes unaddressed. Service businesses, in particular, tend to be agile and cost-conscious, but ignoring FX exposure creates a blind spot that can wipe out hard-earned growth. If your business pays international staff, delivers long-term contracts in foreign currencies, or relies on predictable margins for growth, FX risk from trade disputes is real and urgent. It’s critical to bridge the gap between finance and operational leaders to build resilience for whatever the global market brings next. Try implementing some of these strategies or consult with a specialist to evaluate your current risks and possible protections. If you’re interested in more insights on managing FX risk or want help safeguarding your profits, check out our video explainer and get in touch with our team for a personalised assessment. Take control of your service business margins today Currency volatility from trade disputes is here to stay. Don’t wait for next quarter’s report to discover that avoidable profit loss is already baked into your numbers. Take a proactive approach to FX risk, educate your finance team, and incorporate currency moves into both planning and day-to-day decisions. With practical steps and the right awareness, service businesses can stop hidden FX shifts from quietly eroding future value and keep financial performance on a solid footing—even through…
Franklin
Checklist: Is Manual Reporting Slowing Down Your Cash Strategy?
This article is written by Treasury4 A 6-Point Gut Check for Treasury and Accounting Teams The report wasn’t late, but it wasn’t early.The spreadsheet opened with a warning—something about links.One tab said “FINAL_v2,” another said “USE THIS ONE.”Someone changed the numbers, but didn’t say which ones. It was 5:07 PM.You sent it anyway. If that felt familiar, this checklist is for you. But not just to save time. To fix the manual breakdowns holding your cash strategy back: No time to read? Take these takeaways with you: What This Checklist Is (and Isn’t) This isn’t a tech wishlist. It’s a real-world gut check for teams who are still duct-taping their way through: You don’t need a full overhaul. You need to know where the friction is—and how to start fixing it. How to Use This Checklist Pick one report you run regularly. Then go line by line. If the problem shows up, check the box. That’s your signal: there’s a fix worth pursuing. Small improvements—like cleaning up version control or documenting categorization rules—save hours weekly. But more importantly, they give you space to get out of triage mode and into strategy. Your Manual Reporting Breakdown Checklist: You spend more time gathering data than analyzing it It starts with a simple request: “Can we get an updated Cash Position Report by 10?”You check the ERP. One export. Then the bank portal. Another. Then your GL detail for classifications, and maybe a budget file to explain any large movements. Now it’s 9:26 AM and you’re still stitching together numbers instead of analyzing them. The CFO’s follow-up—“Where did that $1.4M go?”—is going to be harder to answer than it should be. Short-term fix: Pick one high-friction report—Cash Visibility, Collections, or Forecasting—and consolidate the source files you always pull. Even if it’s still manual, combining them into a single, stable worksheet reduces rework and gives you a more consistent base. No more chasing down the same data five different ways every time. Long-term fix: When your data lives in a structured system—with change tracking, dimensional filters, and consistent inputs—you skip the manual prep. Reports populate automatically, and your job shifts from gathering to interpreting. You can break down cash by entity or region, trace variances to specific transaction types, and answer questions like: Instead of scrambling to gather inputs, you’re interpreting patterns—and giving leadership answers they can act on. Reconciliation happens manually in Excel You’re scanning rows in the Statement of Cash report, trying to figure out why the inflows don’t match what’s showing in your GL.One transaction’s miscategorized. Another’s double-counted. You sort by vendor, trace back through AP exports, and manually match payments against receipts. Again. It’s late, and you’re still cross-referencing cells instead of reviewing exceptions. Short-term fix: Write down the rules you already use—what fields you match first (amount? vendor?), what you do when the data doesn’t align, and where you allow for timing differences. Turn that into a simple reference doc. Then build formulas to automate the first pass, so you’re not relying on visual spot checks every time. Long-term fix: In a modern cash & treasury management platform, reconciliation logic doesn’t live in your head—or your Excel formulas. It’s embedded in how the data flows and flags exceptions automatically. You can reconcile faster, trace line items down to the transaction level, and answer: Instead of redoing the same matchups every cycle, you’re reviewing only what’s changed—and trusting what hasn’t. Categorization rules aren’t documented You know that vendor X always goes under Office Expenses. That transfers between accounts shouldn’t show up in Cash Flow from Operations. That refunds hit a separate line—unless they’re credit memos, in which case… it depends. It all lives in your head—or maybe scattered across sticky notes and half-finished SOPs. Short-term fix: List the rules you apply without thinking. Start with categories you touch the most—like transfers, one-off reimbursements, or CapEx. Even a rough reference doc can speed up your own process and help others step in with confidence when needed. Long-term fix: When categorization logic is embedded in your system—not manually applied—it happens once, and it sticks.Every transaction is labeled accurately from the start, so your reports reflect reality: Clean categorization = cleaner reporting, less rework, and fewer questions down the line. Multiple versions of the same report exist Your manager is reviewing FINAL_v4, but AP is still working off FINAL_v3_REVISED. Meanwhile, someone just shared a file called “Use This One (NEW).xlsx.”You’re all looking at different numbers—and no one’s sure which is right. Version control shouldn’t depend on memory, naming conventions, or Slack threads.At this point, it’s not just a workflow problem—it’s a data integrity and access control issue. Short-term fix: Pick one location—shared drive, folder, or workspace—and make it the single source of truth for recurring reports. Set a clear naming convention (like LIVE_[ReportName]) and communicate which version is active. It’s basic, but even this reduces risk and confusion across the team. Long-term fix: In a system with built-in version control and change tracking, there’s no ambiguity. Everyone sees the same report—same filters, same timestamp, same logic—whether it’s a Cash Visibility dashboard or a Statement of Cash rollforward. Because the data lives in a centralized, governed environment, changes are tracked, access is permissioned, and every update is transparent.No last-minute file swaps. No conflicts across departments. Just one version—clean, current, and review-ready. Only one person can run the report You’re out for two days. Someone pings you asking how to refresh the Forecasting report.You left notes… somewhere. But the logic isn’t obvious, the filters are finicky, and there’s a manual adjustment you always make that no one else knows about. Now they’re either guessing—or waiting on you. Short-term fix: Write down the steps, filters, and edge cases for one key report. Don’t worry about formatting—just capture the logic and common pitfalls. Share it in your team drive. It’s not a full handoff. It’s a safety net. Long-term fix: When reporting lives in the system—not in one person’s brain—it becomes scalable. Rules and logic are documented, data access is governed, and processes aren’t blocked by PTO or context gaps.Anyone…
Top 9 Treasury Management System Benefits
This article is written by our partner, Nilus You’re prepping for a board call, and someone asks, “Where’s our cash right now across all entities?” If your answer still involves logging into eight portals and piecing together spreadsheets, it’s time to rethink how you’re working. It’s time to start evaluating a modern Treasury Management System (TMS). In an era where treasury teams are under increasing pressure to do more with less, legacy tools simply can’t keep up. Disconnected bank portals, manual reconciliations, and error-prone forecasts slow down decisions and increase risk. But the right TMS flips that script, streamlining complexity, improving liquidity management, and turning financial operations into a competitive advantage. Whether you’re a CFO, a global treasury lead, or a finance professional ready to elevate your function, this post will walk you through the top 9 reasons to invest in a TMS, with real examples, practical takeaways, and none of the fluff. Because in treasury, precision isn’t optional, it’s mission-critical. Here’s how a modern TMS will transform your treasury operation. 9 Key Benefits of a Treasury Management System 1. Cash Forecasting That Keeps Up Updating a rolling 13-week forecast every Friday shouldn’t feel like rebuilding a spreadsheet from scratch. But for many treasury teams, it does. That’s because data lives in five different systems, timelines shift, and nothing is ever quite up to date. A modern TMS automates the heavy lifting, pulling in real-time inflows and outflows from ERPs, banks, and AR/AP systems. It means your forecast evolves with your business, not behind it. The outcome? Fewer last-minute surprises, tighter variance control, and no more scrambling to clean up models before Monday’s liquidity review. 2. Automate the Boring Stuff (and Get Hours Back) You shouldn’t have to babysit a payment run or manually tag every line item in your bank statement. But if you’re using spreadsheets or outdated systems, that’s often the case. A TMS takes those tedious routines off your plate: think payment batches that route through built-in approvals, nightly bank reconciliations that match transactions automatically, and AI tagging that classifies inflows and outflows without manual input. These aren’t just “nice to haves,” they’re hours of work handed back to your team every week. When automation takes care of the repeatable stuff, your team can focus on higher-value tasks like liquidity planning, debt strategy, or vendor negotiations. That’s the real payoff. 3. Real-Time Liquidity, No Detective Work Required Let’s say the CFO needs a cash update before a board meeting. You could spend the next hour chasing balances across APAC, EMEA, and the U.S., or you could just open your dashboard. With a TMS, you get a real-time view of every account, entity, and currency in one place. You’ll know where cash is sitting idle, which regions need support, and how much headroom you really have to invest or borrow. It’s like flipping on the lights in a room that used to be full of blind spots. 4. Spot Risk Before It Becomes a Crisis Treasury risk isn’t abstract; it’s watching a surprise FX swing shrink your cash buffer overnight, or discovering too late that a key counterparty is exposed. A good TMS keeps tabs on the risks you care about, like currency volatility, rate changes, and counterparties, and brings them to your attention before they blow up your plan. Scenario modeling lets you ask “what if?” and get real answers: What if interest rates spike? What if a vendor delay hits next month’s inflows? Think of it as your early-warning system, built right into your workflows, not buried in spreadsheets. 5. Audit Season Without the Stress Scrambling to pull reports the night before an audit? We’ve all been there. A TMS makes that scramble a thing of the past. With built-in controls, permission-based access, and audit trails that log every action, your compliance playbook runs quietly in the background. Whether it’s SOX, GDPR, or an internal policy review, the documentation is already there, no email digging or spreadsheet cross-checking required. You get peace of mind and more time to focus on higher-stakes decisions, not post-facto paper trails. 6. Stop the Tab Hopping: One Dashboard to Rule Them All If pulling together your company’s cash position means toggling between five bank portals, two ERP exports, and a trail of Slack DMs, you’re not alone. A modern TMS ends the madness by giving you one login, one dashboard, and one reliable source of truth. It connects to your banks, ERPs, and payment systems, consolidating balances and transactions into a single view. No more reconciling conflicting numbers or asking three people the same question. Just answers, fast, and in context. 7. Play Out the What-Ifs, Without Breaking Your Brain What if customer payments slip by 15% next quarter? What if your biggest vendor delays a shipment? What if rates spike by 50 bps? With a TMS, you can stop guessing and start simulating. Built-in scenario modeling tools let you test multiple outcomes instantly, without duplicating spreadsheets or building ten tabs for each scenario. It’s like stress testing your strategy in real time, so you’re not just hoping for the best, but planning for whatever happens next. 8. Keep Everyone on the Same (Up-to-Date) Page Treasury doesn’t operate in a vacuum, but it can feel like it when everyone’s using different numbers. A TMS brings consistency to your conversations. Whether it’s the CFO, FP&A, or procurement, each team gets tailored dashboards built from the same real-time data. No more version control issues or back-and-forth about “which spreadsheet is right.” It turns reporting into alignment, and turns alignment into faster, smarter decisions. 9. More Time for Strategy, Less Time Cleaning Up Spreadsheets Treasury teams aren’t short on work; they’re short on hours. A TMS gives you those hours back. Instead of spending your week chasing down missing bank data or fixing formula errors, you’re modeling funding strategies, optimizing working capital, or supporting the next big move. In short: less grunt work, more strategic horsepower. That’s what a modern treasury team needs to stay ahead. How…
Stablecoins vs. Tokenized Deposits: The right debate?
Written by Sharyn Tan (Views are my own) As of late 2025, the total stablecoin market capitalization has surged to around $300 billion, with projections suggesting it could exceed $2 trillion by 2028. This growth is fueled by diverse use cases, from cross-border remittances to institutional settlements and DeFi applications. Yet, a persistent debate dominates industry discussions: Will bank-issued stablecoins or tokenized deposits dominate, leveraging regulated trust and scale? Or will non-bank issued, let’s call these ‘open market’, stablecoins, like USDT and USDC, prevail through their programmability, global reach, and network effects? The real question isn’t which model “wins.” It’s what happens if these two universes remain isolated. Without robust interoperability, we risk fragmented liquidity pools that are fast inside their silos but slow and costly across them—undoing the very efficiencies stablecoins promise. Two parallel worlds emerging today Bank-issued stablecoins and tokenized deposits represent a regulated, compliance-first approach. Institutions like JPMorgan, Societe Generale, Fiserv, and European bank consortia are issuing tokens backed by high-quality reserves, often on permissioned or hybrid blockchains. These offer treasurers the familiarity of institutional trust, robust risk management, and integration with existing banking infrastructure. In the U.S., the GENIUS Act of 2025 has accelerated this trend by providing a clear federal framework, encouraging banks to issue stablecoins while maintaining strict reserve and redemption rules. On the other side, ‘open-market’ stablecoins—dominated by issuers like Tether, Circle and Paxos —thrive on public blockchains. They excel in programmability, enabling smart contracts, DeFi yield, and borderless access. These coins power much of the $650–700 billion in monthly on-chain transactions, particularly in emerging markets and crypto-native ecosystems. Their strength lies in network effects: deep liquidity pools, widespread wallet integration, and innovation driven by open ecosystems. Each model addresses distinct needs. Banks provide a regulated scale for corporate treasurers wary of volatility or regulatory scrutiny. Open stablecoins deliver speed and accessibility for global, programmable payments. But for corporate treasurers, duplicated liquidity, trapped capital, and prefunding requirements persist when the two ecosystems don’t seamlessly connect. The Hidden Costs of Non-Interoperability Fragmentation creates real-world pain points. Consider a multinational treasurer managing working capital: Funds held in a bank-issued tokenized deposit might settle instantly within the bank’s network but face delays or high fees when moving to a public chain for DeFi optimization or supplier payments. Conversely, open stablecoins offer global reach but may lack the full regulatory assurances needed for large-scale institutional holding. This silos liquidity, forcing treasurers to maintain excess buffers—reviving the very inefficiencies stablecoins were meant to eliminate. The IMF has warned that proliferation without interoperability could undermine faster, cheaper payments, as networks become restricted by regulations or technical hurdles. Regulatory divergence exacerbates this: The U.S. GENIUS Act emphasizes U.S.-based reserves and federal oversight, while Europe’s MiCA requires EU bank-held reserves, potentially splitting global liquidity into regional pools. Without bridges, we see duplicated efforts: Higher operational costs, increased run risks in isolated ecosystems, and missed opportunities for capital efficiency. In a 24/7digital economy, slow cross-ecosystem transfers mean trapped cash and renewed reliance on legacy rails like SWIFT. So, who is best placed to build the bridges? Industry debate rages on who should lead the construction of essential bridges: traditional banks, agile fintechs and payment giants, or neutral blockchain protocols and infrastructure providers? The ideal future isn’t one party dominating; it’s a connected ecosystem where institutional trust meets open-network innovation. Interoperability allows treasurers to move value securely between regulated and public networks, with full visibility, compliance, and control. No single group can—or should—build these bridges alone. Success demands collaboration: banks for trust anchor, fintechs for orchestration and speed, protocols for technical neutrality. A Treasurer’s Take: Liquidity follows efficiency, and efficiency follows connection The treasurer’s ideal isn’t about picking sides—it’s about making them work together. Regulated tokens bring safety and trust. Open stablecoins bring speed and global reach. The real potential emerges when value moves freely between the two—secure when held, instant when needed. That’s when digital money truly delivers on real-time, programmable finance. Interoperability isn’t optional anymore—it’s the key to unlocking scale, liquidity, and efficiency. Liquidity follows efficiency, and efficiency follows connection. Markets are quick to reward connectivity and just as quick to punish fragmentation. When networks connect, capital moves faster, costs drop, and liquidity multiplies. Fragmented ecosystems, on the other hand, trap cash and recreate the old frictions that digital money was meant to solve. So, maybe it’s time we stop asking who wins and start asking who’s building the bridges. Because the future of money won’t belong to the loudest or the biggest silo—it’ll belong to the best connectors, linking the two together. Also Read Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
Manual vs Automated Treasury Forecasting: What’s the Real Cost?
This article is written by Palm Introduction If you’ve ever lost a full afternoon chasing down missing bank files, fixing broken spreadsheet links, or double-checking cash flow formulas — you’re not alone.For many treasury teams, manual forecasting has been the norm for years. It’s what we know, what we inherited, and what still kind of works.But as your business grows more complex — more accounts, more currencies, more uncertainty — that once-reliable spreadsheet becomes harder to trust and even harder to maintain. And the real cost? It isn’t just time. It’s the opportunity you lose when your team is stuck in a loop of updates, rather than shaping strategy. This post explores what treasury teams are really giving up by staying manual — and what’s possible when you replace the routine with a tool built to do the heavy lifting. 1. Time: The Most Expensive Resource in Treasury What It Looks Like Today Most treasury teams spend an inordinate amount of time building and maintaining forecasting spreadsheets. Across dozens of companies we’ve interviewed, we found: Even small errors in these forecasts can result in significant misallocations of liquidity or missed opportunities for yield optimization. What Changes with Tools Purpose-built tools automate data collection and harmonization. Whether from ERPs, bank portals, TMS platforms, or spreadsheets, modern systems ingest real-time cash flow data and surface insights instantly. Key outcomes: 2. Accuracy, Consistency, and Confidence The Risks of Manual Forecasting Manual forecasting isn’t just slow — it’s risky. Common issues include: The result? Treasury teams report internal forecast variances of 10–20% regularly — particularly when business units operate in silos or when revenue is highly seasonal. Worse still, these inaccuracies erode trust from senior stakeholders like the CFO or board. Forecasting with Tools Modern forecasting platforms bring consistency to the chaos: 3. Strategic Enablement vs. Survival Mode Manual processes keep treasury teams in a loop of survival: chasing data, correcting errors, and defending assumptions. There’s little room left for what treasury should actually do: advise, allocate, and anticipate. The Manual Trap The Strategic Shift with Tools Modern platforms flip the script. Real-time visibility enables: 4. Team Morale, Talent Retention, and Growth Manual forecasting doesn’t just drain hours — it drains energy. Top treasury talent doesn’t want to reconcile CSVs all day. They want to use their expertise to drive strategy, optimize cash, and support the broader business. The more teams stay stuck in manual loops, the higher the risk of turnover and disengagement. What Manual Processes Do to Teams: What Tools Enable: 5. Let’s Be Clear: Tools Don’t Replace Treasurers — They Free Them At Palm, we don’t believe technology replaces the human factor. Treasury is — and always will be — a function that relies on expertise, judgment, and business context. Yes, pulse checks and manual inputs still matter. Yes, a human lens is needed to read between the lines. But today, that expertise is too often spent cleaning spreadsheets instead of influencing outcomes. Modern tools aren’t about automating people away. They’re about giving treasury professionals back the time and headspace to work on the things that actually drive business growth: We don’t want to replace your treasury team. We want to amplify it. 6. Manual vs Tools Forecasting at a Glance Area Manual Setup With Automation Tools Time spent High — forecasting tasks represent a high percentage of weekly tasks Low — most inputs and updates are automated Data Quality Manually cleaned and restructured Auto-standardised and categorised Update Cadence Weekly, sometimes delayed Daily or live Scenarios Manual duplication + error-prone formulas One-click simulation Collaboration Email chains, duplicate versions Shared access, in-app reports Variances 10–20% forecast error common Reduced through standard inputs + variance flags Strategic Output Compliance-focused Decision-ready forecasts Morale Repetitive tasks, low engagement Strategic focus, ownership and clarity Conclusion: What’s It Costing You to Stay Manual? Manual forecasting might feel manageable — even necessary. But it’s not scalable, not accurate, and not aligned with the expectations facing today’s treasury teams. The organisations we work with aren’t replacing treasurers with tech. They’re elevating them by removing what gets in the way. If you’re still relying on spreadsheets, here are three questions to ask yourself: Also Read Join our Treasury Community Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
Treasury Trends for 2026: Building Smarter, Faster and More Resilient Treasury Functions
Written by Patrick KunzFounder/Board member, Treasury Masterminds When considering the treasury trends of 2026, the Treasury has never been more visible than it is heading into 2026. Markets remain unpredictable, supply chains twitch at the slightest disturbance, regulation swells like a badly managed ERP project, and CFOs want clarity in places where clarity is… optimistic. Treasury isn’t simply managing cash anymore. It’s shaping how organisations stay resilient, react quickly and plan confidently. The coming year will bring a set of trends that will define how modern treasuries operate and what constitutes “good” practice. 1. Liquidity Becomes a Strategic Infrastructure Layer The old idea that liquidity structures exist purely to “sweep surplus cash” is gone. In 2026, liquidity architecture becomes core financial infrastructure. Companies are redesigning their setup to deliver: Treasurers who treat liquidity as a design discipline rather than an administrative task will outpace competitors, especially in multi-market environments. 2. Treasury Trends of 2026: Forecasting Finally Grows Up Treasury forecasting has often been a mix of spreadsheets, instinct, and quiet despair. Not anymore.Volatility makes precision non-negotiable, and 2026 pushes organisations toward: The treasurer’s role evolves from “reporting variance” to “guiding business decisions.” 3. Technology Goes Modular Treasury systems are moving from monolithic giants to ecosystem architectures.Instead of ripping out and replacing entire landscapes, companies are layering: This modular approach reduces implementation pain, speeds up deployment and finally gives treasurers what they’ve been asking for: flexibility. 4. Treasury Trends of 2026: AI Moves Out of the Experiment Phase If 2024–25 were about pilots, 2026 is about production.AI becomes part of day-to-day treasury operations with use cases like: It’s less about replacing treasurers and more about reducing the work nobody wants to do, so teams can focus on strategy instead of digital housekeeping. 5. Banking Relationships Shrink and Intensify Treasuries are trimming their banking panels to improve pricing, streamline KYC, and reduce operational drag. At the same time, relationships with core partners are becoming deeper and more data-driven. However, regulatory realities mean that even with fewer banks, complexity doesn’t magically disappear. Treasurers will need sharper governance frameworks and better documentation to avoid falling behind. 6. The Talent Gap Becomes Impossible to Ignore Demand for treasury expertise keeps rising faster than supply.Technology accelerates. Regulation expands. Teams stay small. 2026 forces companies to rethink how they resource treasury: Treasury is becoming a hybrid model: lean internal teams supported by specialised external capability. 7. Treasury Steps Fully Into Its Strategic Role This is the big shift. Treasury’s voice is now required early, not as an afterthought.Whether it’s FX strategy, pricing, supplier terms, investment decisions or scenario planning, treasury is being asked to influence—not just execute. Companies that elevate treasury as a strategic advisor will navigate volatility far better than those who treat it as a reporting function. Treasury Trends of 2026: The Year Treasury Builds What’s Next The strongest treasuries next year won’t be the ones with the biggest tech stack or the most complex policies. They’ll be the ones that master simplicity, integration and clarity. A Note from Treasury Masterminds Treasury is changing quickly, but the best insights rarely come from vendor brochures or generic trend reports. They come from real treasurers sharing what works, what breaks, and what they’d do differently next time. That’s exactly what we’re building at Treasury Masterminds: a place to share practical knowledge, lessons learned, and real-world treasury stories. If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover in 2026, or if you have an article idea you want to contribute (solo or co-written), send it our way. The best content is the content that treasury people actually recognise as true. Also Read Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
How to build a business case for a payment hub?
This article is written by Nomentia Every morning, global treasury teams brace for impact. Payments are scattered across dozens of banks, each with its own portal, passwords, and approval process. One region still faxes payment instructions. Another logs in manually to multiple platforms just to confirm cash positions. No central visibility and no control. Just chaos. The ERP systems. Disconnected. Verifying balances? A manual marathon. The team logs into bank portals one by one, piecing together cash positions across hundreds of accounts. One number is always out of sync. Is it an error? A missing transaction? A delayed payment? Who knows. Meanwhile, costs keep climbing. Bank fees for every account. IT support for every new bank connection. A payment approval takes hours instead of minutes. A simple reconciliation? Days. Then, the near disaster. A single fraudulent payment—disguised among thousands—almost slipped through. Millions nearly lost. A last-minute catch saved the company. This time. The CFO asks: How did this happen? The real question is: Why did it not happened sooner? So, how could you manage this better as a treasury or finance team? Advice from an expert: Daniel Neubauer With over 3 years as a Senior Solution Manager at Nomentia, Daniel Neubauer is a highly experienced professional in the field of financial process automation. His expertise spans multiple areas, including accounts payable (AP), cash management, payments, collections, and document management processes. Daniel’s extensive background in automating and optimizing financial operations makes him an authority on the integration of automated systems in reconciliation. The overwhelmed Treasurer Lena used to love her job. She became a treasurer because she liked solving problems and making things run smoothly. But now, she spends her days fighting fires, as payments keep growing: more countries, more currencies, more urgency. But her team? Same size. Same tools. The bank fees pile up. Every new account means another charge. Another set of approvals. Another login to be sorted out. Regulations tighten and KYC rules demand endless paperwork. A rejected payment because of sanctions in one country triggers a compliance review in another. She’s expected to keep up, but without the systems to do it. Worst of all? She has no real control. The company’s payment landscape is a patchwork of different banks, portals, and regional processes. By the time she sees a problem, it’s already too late. She’s raised the alarm more than once. The risks are clear. The costs are rising. But leadership isn’t listening. Because as long as payments go through, who cares how the job gets done? How to improve your payments set-up? No one questions a system that seems to work. As long as vendors get paid and cash is in the bank, leadership moves on to bigger things. But behind the scenes, Treasury and Accounts Payables are juggling a number of systems built over years and long ago. Acquisitions brought new banks, new accounts, new systems—never fully integrated. Regional teams found their own ways to handle payments. Now, no two processes look the same. It’s inefficient. It’s expensive. It’s a risk. One missed sanction check, and a critical payment is lost for good. A forgotten account in an acquired bank becomes an open door for fraud. A failed payment delays a critical shipment. When something finally breaks, it won’t be small. Treasurers see the cracks before anyone else. But until disaster strikes, no one listens. The misstep: Treasurers selling themselves short Some treasurers see the problem but hesitate to push for change. As this will add to the workload. So, they stay in the weeds. Approving payments. Chasing down errors. Logging into bank portals like it’s still 2009. A great year, but some time ago already. But treasury isn’t about pushing buttons. It’s about managing risk. It’s about optimizing cash. It’s about driving efficiency. A treasurer who fights for a smarter, more controlled payment process is ensuring they can spend their time on more value-adding tasks. They’re proving just how valuable they really are. How to win over the CFO with a rock-solid business case? Step 1: Speak numbers & ROI Decisions at the top come down to costs, risks, and returns, so translating impact into numbers. Want buy-in? Show the math. Estimate savings, calculate ROI, and prove that a payment hub pays for itself. Step 2: Put a spotlight on compliance and risk reduction Regulators don’t care if the treasury is overwhelmed. A missed sanction check that causes payment to be frozen or a fraudulent transaction can cost millions. A payment hub: CFOs don’t like surprises. A payment hub makes sure treasury or accounts payable isn’t the next one. Gaining control: The treasurer’s new reality Lena used to spend her days fighting fires. Too many payments, too many banks, too little control. She saw the risks, the waste, the inefficiencies—but no one listened. Because as long as payments went through, who cared how messy the process was? Now? They listen. But Lena’s job isn’t done. It’s different. Instead of chasing payments, she’s using real-time data to make better funding and liquidity decisions. She’s managing risk proactively and protecting the company from fraud and operational blind spots. She’s driving strategy and helping leadership decide which banks to work with, where to centralize payments, and how to reduce costs without increasing risk. She didn’t automate herself out of a job. She automated the noise so she could finally do the work that matters. The real question is: Are you ready for the work that comes after the approval? Winning the CFO’s buy-in was the first step. Implementing the payment hub was the second. But real transformation doesn’t stop at go-live. Lena’s team isn’t just processing payments faster. They’ve redefined how treasury operates. The biggest shift? Treasury is no longer stuck in execution mode. They’re leading. So, ask yourself: Are you ready to stop fighting fires and start building something better? More Posts from Nomentia Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics…
Innovative approaches to working capital optimization
This article is a contribution from our content partner, Kyriba Working capital is the lifeblood of any successful business, but optimizing it in today’s volatile environment requires more than just best practices. It demands innovation, collaboration, and real-time intelligence. If you caught our first post, you know that amid economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, and shifting consumer demands, working capital has become a lifeline for resilient businesses. We explored why optimizing working capital is crucial in today’s unpredictable landscape and shared foundational strategies for getting started. In this follow-up, we move from the “why” to the “how,” highlighting innovative approaches and smart moves companies are using right now to optimize working capital, overcome bottlenecks, and drive business growth. Identifying and eliminating inefficiencies Before you can fully optimize working capital, you need to uncover hidden bottlenecks that are slowing you down. Supply chain volatility, fluctuating shipping rates, and outdated processes can disrupt cash flow and limit flexibility. Common bottlenecks include: The Solution? High-performing businesses are leveraging automation and real-time tools to minimize these challenges. By automating payment workflows, digitizing invoice approvals, and using cash visibility platforms, these companies are freeing up trapped cash, reducing friction, and streamlining their cash conversion cycles. Leveraging data analytics for timely insights In an era of rapid change, intuition is not enough, but neither are manual systems or siloed processes that often lead to disconnected, delayed decision-making. Many organizations still operate with limited visibility into their supply chains, leaving them vulnerable to costly disruptions and concentration risk. A recent CFO Brew article on supply chain visibility highlights just how little awareness some companies have of their third-tier and indirect suppliers, and how this lack of insight can expose them to risks that may not surface until months after an event. Without robust, real-time data, businesses are forced to make “feel-good decisions” that simply don’t work in today’s fast moving, interconnected world. Leading organizations are moving beyond intuition and manual processes by turning to advanced data analytics and technologies that provide deep, actionable visibility across their supply chains. By harnessing big data and predictive analytics, companies can: But visibility alone isn’t enough. The real differentiator for leading organizations is the ability to rapidly and decisively move from insight to action. Forward-thinking finance teams aren’t just identifying cash positions or spotting inefficiencies; they’re empowered to act on those insights in real time. That means having the tools to seamlessly leverage idle cash through payables strategies, accelerate receivables when needed, or dynamically adjust working capital allocations as market conditions shift. Platforms that combine full cash visibility with integrated action, such as enabling payables financing, receivables financing, and dynamic discounting unlock a new level of working capital agility.This holistic approach ensures that finance leaders aren’t just observers of data, but active participants in shaping outcomes. It’s this marriage of intelligence and execution that’s setting new benchmarks for resilience and growth in today’s market. Collaboration across teams boosts efficiency Optimizing working capital is no longer just a treasury responsibility. The most successful companies treat it as a cross-functional challenge, requiring close collaboration between treasury, supply chain, and procurement teams. For example, when tariffs and trade policies shift, procurement must work hand-in-hand with treasury to anticipate the impact on payables and inventory levels. Here’s how collaboration can make a difference: This integrated approach ensures that every dollar invested in inventory, payables, or receivables is working as hard as possible for the business. Rethinking innovation in working capital strategies True innovation in working capital optimization isn’t just about adopting the latest tools—it’s about fundamentally reimagining how people, processes, and platforms connect to unlock value. Today’s most successful organizations no longer treat treasury, procurement, and supply chain as separate, siloed functions. Instead, they are building integrated ecosystems where data flows freely, decisions are collaborative, and action can happen in real time. From my experience, organizations leading the way are: The real breakthrough comes when companies move beyond visibility alone and empower teams to act on insights, turning working capital from a static metric into a dynamic lever for resilience and growth. Innovative CFOs and treasurers are partnering with platforms that offer unified visibility across cash, payments, and working capital, creating real-time command centers for liquidity performance. In summary, working capital optimization is about more than incremental improvements. It means rethinking how teams connect, how data is harnessed, and how technology is deployed to enable rapid, confident decision-making. By identifying bottlenecks, fostering collaboration, and embracing real-time analytics, organizations can unlock new cash flow and build lasting resilience. Read more from Kyriba Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
European Fintech Vendors Risk Losing to Global Giants
Written by Enrico CamerinelliSupply Chain & Finance- Strategic Advisor Helping European Fintech Vendors Break Into Commercial Banking The Uncomfortable Truth[1] European fintech firms have since now faced challenging market conditions, including funding constraints and increased competition that lead to consolidation among smaller players. This is mostly driven more by macroeconomic factors (e.g., post-2021 funding environment, interest rate changes) than by incumbents systematically taking their accounts. However, with banks wanting unified platforms, the provision of best-of-breed fintech solutions for trade finance, supply chain finance, payments, and core banking risk of no longer satisfying procurement teams. European fintech vendors face stark choices: dominate a niche, seek acquisition, or invest heavily in platform expansion to compete with established giants. Technology No Longer Differentiates Documentary credit processing, invoice financing automation, and supply chain visibility tools have become commoditized. Banks can access similar functionality from multiple providers, compressing margins and trapping vendors in a feature-parity race. Procurement criteria transformed completely. Banks evaluate integration depth over feature breadth. Questions focus on seamless treasury system connections, data orchestration across tech stacks, network effects through banking partnerships, and integration with ERP systems. Technical excellence has become merely the entry fee. Winning vendors embed themselves into broader commercial ecosystems, linking trade finance with receivables platforms, connecting supply chain data with working capital facilities, and orchestrating multi-bank arrangements. Standalone point solutions face commoditization and price pressure. Survival depends on building genuine network effects through critical mass adoption and becoming the integration layer banks cannot easily replace. Mistakes Regional Vendors Make Competing on Features European vendors deplete engineering budgets chasing feature parity with incumbents. When procurement teams create comparison matrices with hundreds of feature checkboxes, the fintech player has already lost. Global vendors have decades of client requests baked into bloated platforms. You cannot out-feature them. What actually closes deals is implementation speed (e.g., 12 weeks versus 18 months); genuine API-first architecture without middleware complexity; and support teams responding in hours instead of weeks. A European fintech vendor spent €2M building a rarely-used reconciliation module because “the RFP required it,” while burying their 48-hour integration capability that saves banks six months and €500K on page nine of their pitch deck. Geographic Dilution Vendors waste millions pursuing “pan-European” strategies while home market advantages evaporate. A Dutch vendor dominated trade finance in the Netherlands, then pivoted to become pan-European. They translated platforms into four languages, hired country managers in Milan and Madrid, and redesigned workflows for every European regulatory framework. Revenue grew 12%. Burn rate tripled. Meanwhile, a focused German competitor captured their Rotterdam pipeline through superior execution in digitizing letters of credit and accessing liquidity from funding partners. Deep integration with domestic customs systems, connections with local bank relationship managers, and understanding of regional supply chain seasonality have now become footnotes in generic marketing. Successful vendors do the opposite: they double down on core strengths and find similar micro-markets elsewhere. A Norwegian trade finance platform targeted seafood exporters specifically. First in Norway, then Scotland, then Galicia. Same buyer, same letter of credit complexity, same regulatory knowledge. They stayed narrow and won. Undervaluing Physical Presence European fintech vendors risk of burning millions believing superior technology opens doors. It doesn’t. A platform with physical presence in one country outperforms brilliant cloud-native solutions sold remotely every time. European commercial banks don’t buy technology. They buy relationships, regulatory comfort, and the ability- sad but true- to blame someone local when things fail. When trade finance infrastructure fails at 3 AM and €50M in letters of credit are stuck, procurement officers want someone they can call who speaks their language and understands their market. Not a chatbot. Not a support ticket. A person in their country who comprehends local nuances. The Five-Question Framework Question 1: Can You Name Three Clients? Strategic clarity means that you, fintech vendor, can name three clients using your platform successfully, describe the exact pain points your solution solved, and articulate why they’re referenceable. If this takes longer than an hour, then you are not ready to scale. Better run smaller pilots, gather proof points, and build references that sell. European banks reward evidence over enthusiasm. Question 2: What Should You Stop? Strategic retreat may be more valuable than expansion plans. Not all geographies deserve attention. Vendors too often waste months trying to crack corporates in one country while pipelines in another go cold. Southern Europe’s decision cycles stretch beyond Series B timelines. If you’re sub-€10M in annual revenue, pick two markets maximum. Kill feature bloat. Your blockchain-based documentary credit module that three clients requested? Eliminate it. That AI-powered risk scoring you’ve built for eight months while banks request better Excel exports? Stop. Question 3: How Do You Amplify Regional Advantage? I see fintech vendors lose pipeline not because their technology is weak, but because roadmap priorities misalign with how banks actually buy. You build features existing clients requested while prospects dismiss you after strong POCs. Current clients optimize for operational efficiency. Prospects need proof that you solve their strategic pains. Be that regulatory compliance or correspondent banking costs. Audit your next two quarters. Map every roadmap item to sales objections that cost you deals. Ruthlessly deprioritize features that don’t directly address prospect concerns. Your client success team will complain. Your sales team will close deals. Question 4: Who Should You Partner With? European fintech vendors pour millions into flashy banking partnerships while ignoring unglamorous middlemen who actually close deals. System integrators (SIs) and regional consultancies (the ones banks actually listen to) sit untapped. In commercial and trade finance, procurement doesn’t start with your CMO’s LinkedIn post. It starts when a bank’s trusted system integrator flags capacity constraints during core banking upgrades. Vendors land three implementations in six months through one well-placed SI relationship. Deals that would’ve taken 18 months of direct prospecting. Question 5: What Does Victory Look Like? Your realistic first-year market share in European commercial banking isn’t 15%. It’s 2-3% if you’re exceptional. Regional banks with €20-50B in assets are desperate for digitization but ignored by major providers. They…