Asia gains ground in global capital shift

Businesses and institutional investors are tilting more decisively towards Asia as they rethink where future growth will come from, with mainland China emerging as the market expected to gain the most importance in global economic relationships over the next five years, according to a survey from HSBC.

Based on responses from 3,000 international businesses and institutional investors across 10 markets, HSBC’s New Networks of Capital: The World Rewired report suggests recent shocks have not dampened appetite for expansion. Instead, they appear to be changing how companies pursue it. Some 94% of respondents said they still see strong opportunities for international growth, while 87% said they are now more willing to take calculated risks than they were five years ago.

Mainland China was identified by 41% of decision-makers as the market set to grow most in importance to their economic relationships over the next five years, more than any other region covered in the survey. Continental Europe and the UK still featured prominently, each cited by 38% of respondents, indicating that established markets continue to hold a central place even as Asia gains weight.

Volatility appears to be reshaping capital deployment rather than suppressing it. HSBC found that 95% of respondents now see volatility as a permanent feature of the global economy, and 88% said they had recalibrated their capital allocation approach in response. At the same time, 53% said their investment horizons had lengthened compared with three years ago, pointing to a greater willingness to position for long-term returns despite a more unsettled backdrop.

Regionalisation is another strong theme in the data. Some 93% of organisations said they plan to increase cross-border trade or investment over the next five years, while 91% expect those flows to become more concentrated within regional networks. That suggests globalisation is not retreating so much as being reorganised around closer economic corridors and more localised supply, trade and capital links.

Technology is also becoming a more important factor in strategic planning. Half of respondents said access to AI, critical technologies and infrastructure is shaping their international strategy, while 72% expect moderate to significant repositioning of their business over the next three years as they reassess where they operate and invest.

Meanwhile, 89% said they are actively increasing capital deployment in high-growth markets, reinforcing the view that companies are still prepared to commit funds even in a more volatile environment.

“Trade and investment flows are becoming more regional, Asia is growing in strategic importance, and technology is reshaping how and where capital is deployed,” said Michael Roberts, chief executive of HSBC Bank plc and chief executive of corporate and institutional banking. “Business leaders and institutional investors are recalibrating where they operate, invest and allocate capital as complexity rises.”

 

Middle East conflict drives sharp March fund outflows

Investors pulled more money from equity funds in March as the war in the Middle East unsettled markets and raised concerns over inflation, energy prices and global risk appetite, according to Calastone’s latest Fund Flow Index. Equity fund outflows rose to £1.44bn in March from £927m in February, making it the worst month for the sector since November and the seventh worst on its record. The March figure also extended the current run of equity fund outflows to 10 consecutive months, an unprecedented stretch in Calastone’s 12-year dataset.

Almost every equity sector recorded net selling. The sharpest deterioration in sentiment was seen in European, Asia-Pacific, emerging market and Japanese funds, where outflows either rose sharply from the previous month or inflows turned negative. UK-focused equity funds still saw the largest outflows in cash terms, at £592m, up from £555m in February, though Calastone said the month-on-month change was relatively modest and part of a broader trend of gradual relative improvement.

Global equity funds also suffered net selling, with £205m withdrawn. That was less than half the February total, but still notable for a sector that has historically proved more resilient. Calastone said March was only the eleventh month in its 12-year record in which global equity funds had seen net outflows, with eight of those months occurring in the last year. North American equity funds were the only sector to attract inflows, though these slowed sharply to £99m from £371m in February.

Fixed income funds also came under pressure as bond markets sold off. Investors withdrew £535m from bond funds in March, more than reversing February’s inflows and marking the worst month for the asset class since April last year. Rising yields, driven by fears that higher oil prices could feed inflation, reduced the appeal of bonds as a defensive allocation. By contrast, money market funds attracted £228m, their strongest month since the UK Budget, while mixed-asset funds continued to see inflows.

Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone, said some investors were “voting with their feet and pulling capital out of risk assets in favour of cash”, but added that overall sentiment was “not one of panic”.

The index is based on millions of buy and sell orders placed by UK-based investors each month. Calastone said more than 85% of UK fund flows by value pass through its network, with net flows calculated as the difference between investor purchases and sales.

 

B2B stablecoin use climbs as corporate payments broaden

Stablecoins are being used less as a trading tool and more as a payments instrument, with business-to-business transactions emerging as one of the fastest-growing parts of the market, according to a new report from Morph. The report, 'The State of Stablecoins', said the market reached a capitalisation of US$312bn by the end of 2025, up 60-fold from 2020, while annual transaction volume climbed to US$33 trillion. It also said monthly transaction volume passed US$1.25 trillion in August 2025 and that the number of active wallets rose 53% to more than 30 million.

Much of that shift is being driven by use cases outside crypto trading, according to the report. Morph cited data from analytics platform Artemis showing that monthly B2B stablecoin payments rose from less than US$100m in early 2023 to more than US$6bn by mid-2025. Across identifiable real-economy stablecoin activity, the report said B2B flows now account for about US$226bn, or 60% of annual volume estimated at roughly US$390bn.

Corporate adoption appears to be linked to cost and operational efficiency. Morph’s report said 41% of corporate users reported cost savings of at least 10%, while 77% of corporate adopters cited supplier payments as their main use case. It also argued that stablecoin transfers are materially more efficient than traditional money transfer providers, particularly for smaller, more frequent payments that have historically been less economical to process.

That shift matters because it points to a broader change in how companies may be starting to approach cross-border payments, supplier settlements and internal cash movements. Rather than treating stablecoins purely as a digital asset product, Morph’s findings suggest more businesses are assessing them as a payment rail that could sit alongside conventional banking infrastructure.

“The data is clear: we are no longer in a pilot phase,” commented Colin Goltra, CEO of Morph. “Stablecoins are now a structural necessity for modern treasury and procurement. Organisations building stablecoin capabilities in 2026 will hold a structural cost and speed advantage over those tethered to legacy rails.”

Morph said 54% of organisations plan to deploy stablecoin solutions within the next 12 months, while its report projected annual settlement volume could exceed US$50 trillion by the end of 2026 if current growth rates continue. Longer term, it forecast that stablecoin market capitalisation could exceed US$1.9 trillion by 2030 and account for 5% to 10% of global cross-border payments.

 

AI’s move into commerce emerges

Businesses are beginning to plan for a commercial environment in which AI does more than recommend products or automate workflows, instead acting directly in pricing, purchasing and negotiation decisions, according to new research from Visa. The Business-to-AI Report, produced with Morning Consult, found that 53% of US business leaders surveyed would allow AI agents to negotiate prices or terms directly with other AI agents on their behalf. The findings suggest that AI-to-AI commerce is moving closer to practical use, particularly as companies look for ways to automate more of the buying and selling process.

Adoption appears to be building on several fronts. Some 77% of business decision-makers said they are already using or piloting AI in their operations, while 71% said they would optimise products, offers and experiences specifically for AI agents. Another 88% said they would be willing to provide pricing or inventory data to enterprise AI systems, indicating that many businesses are preparing not just to use AI internally, but to make their commercial infrastructure more machine-readable.

Familiarity is also advancing, though less quickly. Visa said 55% of business respondents were already familiar with the concept of business-to-AI commerce, suggesting the model is no longer confined to early-stage technology discussions.

Consumer findings in the report point to both opportunity and constraint for companies weighing investment in this area. Visa found that 58% of US adults were comfortable with AI comparing prices, 55% were comfortable with AI applying discounts, and 38% were comfortable with AI completing a purchase. That implies some support for AI-led shopping journeys, but a much lower level of comfort once spending decisions become fully transactional.

Control remains a key issue. Only 27% of consumers said they were comfortable allowing AI to spend money autonomously without limits, while 60% said they would not allow AI to spend any amount without approval. For merchants, platforms and payment providers, that suggests adoption may depend less on the sophistication of the AI itself than on the controls built around it.

Trust patterns reinforce that point. Bank-backed AI systems were trusted by 36% of respondents, compared with 35% for payment network-enabled AI and 28% for independent AI agents. Younger consumers were markedly more open: 48% of Gen Z said they trusted payment network-enabled AI systems, versus 20% of Boomers. Among Gen Z and Millennial users of AI shopping assistants, nearly half said they had made purchases they would not otherwise have considered because of AI recommendations.

Taken as a whole, the findings suggest businesses may be technically ready to let AI take on a bigger commercial role, but mainstream adoption is still likely to depend on whether customers feel they remain in control of spending decisions.

 

Swiss banks test joint CHF stablecoin sandbox

A group of Swiss banks has launched a joint sandbox to test potential uses for a Swiss franc stablecoin, in a move that could help define how tokenised money develops in Switzerland’s domestic financial system. UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, BCV and Swiss Stablecoin AG are participating in the initiative, which is designed to explore how blockchain-based applications could connect with the Swiss franc in a regulated local framework.

Despite growing international interest in stablecoins, there is currently still no broadly applicable regulated Swiss franc stablecoin in the Swiss market. The sandbox is intended to give participating institutions a controlled setting in which to test how such an instrument might work in practice before any wider rollout.

A stablecoin is a digital asset typically pegged one-to-one to a currency. In this case, the aim is to create a Swiss franc-linked token that combines price stability with faster, more transparent and programmable payments on blockchain networks. For banks and corporate users, that could eventually open up new options for treasury transfers, settlement processes and other digital cash movements.

Rather than launching directly into the market, the group is using a sandbox structure, effectively a live but ring-fenced test environment. That means use cases can be trialled under realistic conditions while safeguards remain in place, including transaction limits and a restricted participant pool. The idea is to reduce risk while giving banks and other participants practical experience with digital money infrastructure.

According to the group, the sandbox will focus on an initial list of jointly developed use cases and run through 2026. Swiss Stablecoin AG is providing the issuance infrastructure, while the initiative is also open to other banks, companies and institutions that want to take part.

The significance for treasurers lies less in the pilot itself than in what it may signal about future payment architecture. A Swiss franc stablecoin, if eventually launched more broadly, could support faster and more programmable payment processes, while giving firms with Swiss operations another route for moving liquidity across digital platforms.

 

Mobile treasury approvals climb as BofA app activity jumps 20%

Corporate treasury teams are using mobile tools for a growing share of high-value decision-making, with Bank of America (BofA) saying sign-ins to its CashPro App rose 20% year on year as clients approved US$1.2 trillion of payments through the platform in 2025. That total equates to roughly US$38,000 every second, a figure that points to how far mobile approval workflows have moved beyond low-value convenience tasks and into core treasury activity. BofA said the broader CashPro platform is used by more than 35,000 companies globally to manage payments, deposits, loans and trade transactions.

Usage patterns suggest treasury behaviour is shifting alongside the technology. Rather than relying on desktop access and email-based processes, clients are increasingly using mobile channels to release wires, manage entitlements and respond to payment requests in real time. 

“The CashPro App has been our saving grace," said Daylon Bailey, treasury operations manager at Highgate Hotels and member of the CashPro North America Board. “It helps me make decisions every day, including whether to approve someone’s access, or to release a wire. For payment approvals, I may not be near my laptop, but if I am expecting a payment that needs to go out, I can pull out my phone and quickly validate information without delay.”

Several features appear to be driving adoption. BofA pointed to demand for real-time visibility over cash positions and balances, as well as access to investment-grade bond market data and AI-led trade evaluation tools added in late 2025. The bank also highlighted rising use of biometric authentication through QR sign-in and a broader move towards push alerts and app-based approvals instead of email notifications.

“Mobile has moved from convenience to necessity, serving as a powerful companion to established treasury operations as clients navigate market volatility, evolving workforce expectations, and rapid advancements in mobile-native security and AI,” said Jennifer Sanctis, CashPro product executive at BofA. “These forces are reshaping how treasurers work, and mobile has set itself apart by providing immediate access to information for critical decision-making in moments that matter.”

The figures suggest mobile treasury tools are becoming embedded in daily control, liquidity and payment workflows, particularly where speed, oversight and secure remote access matter most.

 

Adyen links payments, liquidity and payouts on one platform

Adyen has launched a product aimed at bringing payments, liquidity management and payouts together in a single system, as large enterprises look to reduce the operational strain caused by fragmented money movement.

Called Intelligent Money Movement, the offering is designed for businesses handling complex payment and payout flows across multiple markets, currencies and counterparties. The pitch centres on a longstanding treasury problem: customer funds may arrive through cards, bank transfers and local payment methods, while outgoing payments to customers, suppliers or partners often run through separate providers and accounts.

That fragmentation can become harder to manage as companies expand. Adyen said the average enterprise works with five to six core banks, maintains more than 40 bank accounts and uses 12 pay-in and payout providers. It also cited joint research with Boston Consulting Group showing that 48% of CFOs identify transparency and accurate liquidity projection as a top challenge, while treasury teams spend more than 20% of their time managing pay-ins and payouts.

From a treasury perspective, the significance lies less in the product launch itself than in the underlying shift it reflects. Large corporates are placing more value on cash visibility, faster access to funds and fewer manual handoffs between payment collection, liquidity positioning and disbursement.

Structurally, Adyen said the product sits on its existing single-platform model rather than combining multiple acquired systems. The company also pointed to its banking licences in the US, UK and Europe, which it said allow more direct access to payment rails and card schemes and could help reduce intermediaries and settlement times.

Industries with more complicated funds flows, including insurance, retail marketplaces, mobility, delivery and online travel, are likely to be among the clearest targets. The broader message is that enterprise treasury technology is moving towards tighter integration between incoming payments, internal cash management and outbound payouts, particularly where firms are trying to simplify global operations and improve control over liquidity.

 

Australia urged to unblock climate resilience funding

Australia’s sustainable finance sector is calling for stronger policy and market frameworks to unlock more investment in climate adaptation and resilience, arguing that capital is available but not reaching projects at the scale required. The push comes in a report from the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute, based on discussions with senior figures from banking, insurance, investment and government during Climate Action Week Sydney. The report, Priority Actions for Financing Adaptation & Resilience, says the main barrier is not a lack of money but the absence of the structures needed to channel it effectively.

That matters because the financial cost of physical climate risk is already mounting. ASFI said natural disasters are costing the Australian economy about AU$38bn each year and projected that this could rise to at least AU$73bn annually by 2060. It also cited analysis showing that the home insurance protection gap could widen from around one in seven homes today to one in four by 2050, increasing risk for households, lenders and governments.

The report argues that adaptation investment remains constrained by four connected issues: how resilience outcomes are valued, the strength of market infrastructure, the availability of investible projects and the mechanisms used to mobilise capital across the system. ASFI said these weaknesses are limiting the ability of private capital to move into the sector, despite the scale of long-term demand.

A stronger economic case for action is also emerging. ASFI pointed to evidence from Australia’s National Adaptation Plan indicating that every AU$1 invested in resilience initiatives can avoid about AU$9.60 in losses.

The findings reinforce that climate risk is shifting from a longer-term environmental issue to a more immediate balance sheet, asset value and affordability problem. The report says addressing that will require clearer valuation methods, stronger project pipelines, firmer policy signals and more coordination between public and private capital.

One practical step identified by ASFI is expanding the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy so that adaptation and resilience activities can be defined more consistently, making them easier to assess and finance across the system.

 

Supply chain finance platform launches in Nigeria

A supply chain finance platform backed by CycleFlow, C2FO and the International Finance Corporation has launched in Nigeria, aiming to widen access to short-term working capital for smaller suppliers by linking them more directly with large buyers and financing institutions.

The platform is designed to allow banks and participating corporate buyers to finance invoices that have already been approved for payment, giving suppliers earlier access to cash without relying on collateral or lengthy credit approval processes. Instead, funding is based on the stronger credit profile of the buyer, a structure commonly used in supply chain finance to reduce financing costs for smaller businesses.

In Nigeria, where access to affordable working capital remains a major constraint for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, that is vital. The launch partners said the platform has already secured commitments from multinational and local customers, with support from several banking partners.

When fully scaled, the initiative is expected to facilitate between US$25bn and US$30bn in annual financing for local businesses in Nigeria. The backers said that would make it one of the largest dedicated supply chain finance facilities for smaller businesses in Africa.

The wider economic case is also central to the launch. MSMEs account for up to 90% of businesses across Africa and up to 80% of employment, but often struggle to access traditional lending because of collateral requirements, limited credit histories and slow approval processes.

IFC research cited by the group suggests that every US$1m in financing provided to MSMEs in developing countries creates an average of 16.3 direct jobs over two years. On that basis, the platform’s backers said full rollout in Nigeria could support more than 480,000 direct jobs, with indirect employment effects potentially several times higher.

For corporate buyers, the model also points to a broader shift in working capital strategy, where supply chain finance is being used not only to support suppliers but to strengthen resilience across procurement networks.

 

MillTech secures investment to expand in North America

MillTech has raised US$60m from the Apax Digital Funds in a minority investment that values the foreign exchange risk management and cash investment platform at US$325m, as demand grows for treasury technology that can tighten control over hedging and liquidity. The company said the funding will be used to support expansion in North America and further develop its product offering. MillTech’s ultimate group holding company will retain a majority stake.

The deal comes against a backdrop of stronger interest in technology-led approaches to currency risk. MillTech said it handled about US$500bn in annual trading volume and supports client hedging programmes totalling more than US$35bn. It also reported revenue growth of 79% in 2024 and 73% in 2025.

The broader market opportunity is significant. MillTech noted that foreign exchange is the world’s largest financial market, with average daily global turnover reaching US$9.6 trillion in 2025. Yet many companies still manage FX exposure through fragmented systems and manual processes, leaving them vulnerable when volatility rises.

A recent MillTech survey underlined that pressure, finding that eight in 10 companies suffered losses from unhedged currency exposure in 2025. US firms reported average losses of US$9.8m, pointing to a sizeable cumulative drag when scaled across corporate America.

The investment reflects continued backing for platforms that combine hedge calculation, execution, settlement, reporting and transaction cost analysis in one place. MillTech has also broadened its proposition beyond FX, adding cash management tools developed with BlackRock’s CacheMatrix and an AI-enabled advisory product designed to help clients model hedging strategies, assess rate differentials and optimise cash deployment.

The transaction suggests investors still see room for growth in treasury infrastructure that promises better governance, execution discipline and visibility across market risk and surplus cash.

 

Bottomline gains Nacha partner status for ACH and fraud tools

Bottomline has been named a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH experience, open banking, and risk and fraud prevention, in a move that reflects continued focus on tighter controls and stronger monitoring across US payment flows. The designation highlights the growing importance of technology that can identify suspicious ACH activity before funds are released. Bottomline said its payment tools monitor ACH transactions in real time to detect behaviour that falls outside normal patterns, helping customers intervene earlier in the payment process.

Nacha continues to push for wider use of secure electronic payments while strengthening safeguards across the ACH network. Its Preferred Partner programme is intended to recognise providers whose products and services support those aims across areas such as compliance, fraud prevention and payment efficiency.

Real-time screening is becoming a more central part of ACH processing as fraud patterns grow harder to detect through manual review alone. That places greater emphasis on systems that can flag unusual behaviour before settlement, strengthening both payment security and operational resilience in high-volume flows.

Bottomline’s designation covers three areas at once: ACH experience, open banking, and risk and fraud prevention. That suggests the market is placing more value on payment tools that combine transaction processing with stronger control layers, rather than treating fraud management as a separate function.