The future of corporate cash management

The survey found that 90% of respondents use a multi-bank approach. Geographical coverage was the most selected reason, followed by foreign exchange management and access to credit.

Managing multiple banking relationships also adds complexity, making visibility, integration and consistent information important considerations for corporate treasury teams.

The survey found that 63% of respondents had real-time visibility of their multi-bank cash positions, including through banks, enterprise resource planning systems and other means.

At the same time, the research found that achieving real-time visibility becomes more challenging as organisations grow and operate across multiple countries.

Corporate treasury teams use a range of pooling mechanisms to manage liquidity. Zero or target balancing was the most commonly reported approach in the survey, followed by account-to-account sweeping and notional pooling.

The findings demonstrate that cash visibility and effective liquidity structures remain closely connected priorities for treasury teams.

The survey found that 15% of respondents were using Virtual Account Management services provided by banks, while a further group was examining the possibilities.

Respondents using VAM reported applications including reducing the number of real bank accounts, payments-on-behalf-of, automated reconciliation and cash concentration.

The report identifies growing interest in technology for cash-flow forecasting, reconciliation and fraud detection.

It highlights predictive analytics, machine learning and other digital tools as areas that could support greater efficiency and decision-making, while recognizing the challenge of integrating new technologies into existing processes.

Lower cost ranked first among the factors that could motivate respondents to change their cash management banking relationships, followed by operational efficiency and bank stability and reputation.

Integration with corporate systems, real-time capabilities, digital experience and innovative services also feature in the survey, showing that corporate customers evaluate banking partners on more than price alone.