By 2030, it is estimated that there will be 130 billion connected devices worldwide – refrigerators that restock themselves, cars that pay for gas and tolls – that will automatically generate payments, creating an explosion of entry points into a business and generating masses of new customer and payment data.2
Treasurers not only need to ensure they are wired into this new world, but also ensure data is organized and transparent. This could be a Herculean task. Inefficiencies in payments such as poor visibility into cross-border payments and challenges of reconciliation cannot persist in a future where digital payments are the norm. Businesses will be forced to adopt true straight-through-processing and reconciliation to accommodate this explosion of payment volumes and data overload or risk falling behind competitors.
Information is power and access to new data has the potential to transform the role of treasury. Armed with the right technology, the digital economy will give treasurers greater visibility of their cash and liquidity. In turn, this will allow treasury to play a bigger role in shaping business strategy because the efficient use of capital is critical as companies seek to tap into new markets.
