Finance leaders struggle to prove cash management AI value

Almost a third of senior UK finance leaders cannot clearly measure the business value delivered by their AI initiatives, even though nine in ten say they have a clear case for applying the technology to cash and liquidity management, according to research from FIS.

Opinium surveyed 100 UK-based senior directors in accounts and finance roles at companies with annual revenue of at least £250m between 25 June and 4 July 2026. Some 89% said they understood where AI could deliver the greatest value, while 91% believed their teams had the skills to use it effectively. Yet 29% were unable to quantify the value produced.

The gap extends beyond AI. Two-thirds of respondents said investment decisions were sometimes made without a complete picture of available liquidity, even though 97% reported that finance was increasingly accountable for cash and liquidity outcomes. That responsibility often covers information and processes owned elsewhere in the organisation.

Respondents said their teams spent an average of 16.2 hours each week gathering, reconciling and checking cash-position data before giving it to senior stakeholders. At roughly two working days a week, the task leaves less time to interpret cash movements or improve forecasts. The lost capacity comes as those same teams are being asked to provide faster, more forward-looking analysis.

Fragmentation helps explain the workload. The businesses represented in the survey managed an average of 14 legal entities, 11 banking relationships and 10 core finance, treasury, ERP or payments systems. Only 78% said their systems were sufficiently connected to support AI use cases, while 79% could obtain the necessary data without substantial manual work.

James Mitchell, global head of office of the CFO at FIS, said the ability to measure value was “not keeping pace with deployment”. He added: “If you cannot clearly demonstrate what value AI is delivering, it becomes very difficult to build the internal confidence needed to support a move beyond pilots and truly scale.”

Concerns about the quality and control of AI remain widespread. Accuracy, explainability or governance issues were limiting adoption for 72% of respondents, while 76% cited data security risks. Those findings suggest that enthusiasm for AI has advanced faster than some companies’ ability to supply models with connected, dependable information and assess their output.

Greater automation of reporting and reconciliation was the most common improvement sought, named by 46%. A single real-time view of cash across entities and accounts and better integration between systems were each selected by 43%, followed by improved interoperability at 42%. The priorities point to routine finance plumbing as a constraint on more advanced uses of AI.

Mitchell linked the measurement problem directly to the information supplied to finance teams and their models. “AI is only as reliable as the information it works with,” he said, adding that in many finance functions the data “is still being assembled manually from disconnected systems”. Until that work is reduced, companies may struggle to show whether AI is improving liquidity decisions or simply adding another layer of technology.

 

UK reporting reforms target £290m in business savings

UK businesses could save almost £800m a year through corporate reporting changes and extended import tariff suspensions announced by the government, although companies will still need to determine which entities qualify and what obligations remain.

Company reporting reforms account for up to £290m of the government’s estimated annual savings, with businesses operating as part of a wider national group potentially saving as much as £20,000 each year. Separate action to reduce duplicate reporting by asset managers is expected to remove another £105m in annual costs.

Tariff suspensions covering more than 250 products favoured by businesses will also be extended, generating projected savings of up to £155m a year. The wider package contains more than £600m of regulatory administration savings, according to the government, alongside the tariff relief.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “If you run a business, you want to spend your time serving your customers, creating jobs and growing your firm, not filling in unnecessary forms.”

Another measure will pause the Companies House profit and loss filing requirement planned for April 2028. Companies House is the UK’s corporate register. The government also plans to standardise public procurement requirements in areas such as construction, reduce requests made through Office for National Statistics business surveys and simplify guidance for smaller firms.

Richard Hilton, executive vice-president of growth for UK and Ireland at Vistra, said lighter reporting requirements would not remove the need for sound records. “Simpler reporting does not equate to fewer responsibilities,” he said. “Multinationals will also need to understand how the changes apply across their corporate structures, which entities qualify for exemptions and what reporting and tax obligations remain.”

Managing those distinctions could be especially important for finance functions overseeing several UK entities. Reduced statutory reporting may lower preparation costs, but legal, tax and governance teams will still need accurate ownership data, entity records and evidence supporting any exemptions claimed.

Details of exactly which company reporting requirements will be removed or simplified, their implementation dates and the methodology behind the projected savings were not included in the announcement. The figures therefore remain government estimates rather than savings already realised by businesses.

Government has set a target to cut the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by the end of Parliament. It estimates that reaching the target would save UK employers 280m hours each year. The calculation covers UK businesses with employees.

 

UK CFOs favour cost cuts amid policy uncertainty

UK finance chiefs have moved further towards cost control as domestic uncertainty, tighter monetary policy and rising inflation expectations weigh on investment appetite, Deloitte’s third-quarter survey shows. Some 68% named cost reduction as a strong priority for the next 12 months, up from 53% in the previous quarter.

Domestic economic and political uncertainty received a constraint score of 78 out of 100, the highest of nine factors affecting UK competitiveness. Regulation followed at 75 and the level and complexity of taxation scored 67, ahead of energy costs at 61 and labour costs at 56.

Geopolitical risk remained the largest external threat for more than three years, scoring 67, one point lower than in Q2. The prospect of further interest-rate increases and tighter UK and US monetary conditions rose from 59 to 65, while energy disruption scored 62 and inflation or asset bubbles 60.

Expectations for both inflation and borrowing costs rose. CFOs expected inflation to stand at 3.4% in a year, compared with 3.0% in the previous survey, and projected a 4.0% Bank of England rate, above the 3.75% prevailing when Deloitte conducted the research.

Appetite for expansion weakened as finance leaders protected margins. The proportion treating new products and services as a strong priority fell ten percentage points to 27%, while acquisition-led expansion declined from 22% to 16%.

Policy instability has clouded the business environment, according to Debapratim De, chief economist at Deloitte UK. He pointed to “a decade of leadership turnovers, growing political fragmentation and near-constant speculation on tax policy”, adding that companies wanted “policy stability, deregulation, and lower, simpler taxes” ahead of the Budget.

Technology presented a more expansionary picture, although most companies remained early in their AI programmes. Some 67% of CFOs believed their organisations were around a quarter of the way towards the transformation they expected from AI. Within the next year, 48% expected it to lower operating costs, 37% anticipated higher margins and 52% foresaw a reduction in their own workforce.

Darren Graves, Deloitte UK CEO, said capturing those gains meant “combining its power and speed with human judgement, experience and trust”.

Survey results came from 66 CFOs and group finance directors at major UK companies, including 12 FTSE 100 and 25 FTSE 250 businesses. Deloitte collected responses between 17 September and 1 October. The relatively small, senior sample captures sentiment among large corporate users of capital rather than representing every UK business.

 

Ripple targets always-on treasury with AI and stablecoins

New orchestration and 24/7 returns capabilities have been introduced for Ripple Treasury, connecting cash management workflows with AI-assisted decision-making, payment execution and digital-asset infrastructure. At the centre of the update is software that coordinates activity across cash positioning, forecasting, reconciliation, liquidity management and payments. It works with GSmart, Ripple Treasury’s existing treasury-focused AI technology, so that information generated within those processes can trigger or prepare subsequent actions.

Ripple said the orchestration layer could reduce movement between separate systems by carrying data and recommendations into payment and liquidity workflows across conventional payment methods and digital rails. Its release did not specify which processes could be completed automatically, when human approval would be required or how existing treasury controls would be applied.

Kevin Permenter, research director at IDC, said: “Treasury is moving from visibility to action, and the emerging challenge is orchestration: connecting trusted data, intelligence and the ability to move money so that better decisions turn into timely execution. Platforms that bring those layers together, rather than assembling them across providers, are addressing the constraint that matters most.”

Eligibility for 24/7 Returns is limited to qualifying corporate customers and digital assets held in a Ripple wallet, including Ripple USD, the company’s dollar-backed stablecoin. The feature is intended to generate a return on balances that might otherwise remain unused overnight, at weekends or on public holidays.

Customers would not have to manage the digital-asset transactions supporting the feature themselves, Ripple said. Eligible balances take the form of digital assets held in a Ripple wallet, and participation remains subject to programme requirements.

Several terms needed for a corporate treasury assessment remain undisclosed, including the return available, how it is generated, minimum balances, geographical availability and the relevant risk controls. The announcement also does not explain which qualifying digital assets will be supported beyond RLUSD.

Beyond the new functions, Ripple Treasury combines cash, liquidity, payments and custody capabilities. The update extends it into workflow orchestration and returns on stablecoin balances. Finance teams would still need to establish whether the arrangement fits their investment, accounting and digital-asset policies before treating it as part of operating liquidity.

 

Goldman backs commodities as geopolitical hedge after 36% rally

Commodities have outpaced equities and bonds during 2026, with the BCOM basket delivering a 36% total return by 20 October, according to Goldman Sachs Research. The bank argues that the asset class can still provide tactical protection and longer-term diversification despite the scale of this year’s rally.

Goldman’s Daan Struyven and Sam Dart, co-heads of Global Commodities Research, said: “We continue to recommend a positive commodities allocation, both tactically and structurally, despite our base case that crude oil and European natural gas prices moderate as Mideast supply adapts to high supply- and shipping-disruption risks.”

Energy provides the immediate risk case. Goldman said a geopolitical escalation or a cold European winter could send oil and gas prices sharply higher. Equity prices, and bonds to an even greater degree, have also become unusually sensitive to energy costs, increasing the potential value of a commodity allocation when supply shocks hit.

Price risks extend to agriculture. The Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars, a high probability of a weather-disrupting Super El Niño and possible restrictions on food exports could lift crop prices, according to the research.

Supply concentration supports the longer-term diversification argument. Competition between the US and China, wider geopolitical fragmentation and the concentration of production in a limited number of markets leave portfolios exposed to disruptions that may affect commodities differently from conventional financial assets.

Metal markets illustrate separate structural pressures. Goldman said copper mine supply remained constrained as electrification, AI infrastructure, data centres, energy security and strategic stockpiling supported demand. Gold, meanwhile, continued to benefit from central bank diversification while annual mine production remained small relative to the metal already held above ground.

This leaves diversification as well as price appreciation at the centre of the case, particularly during geopolitical, weather or supply shocks that can weaken equities and bonds.

 

Green bond surge drives 50% Euroclear issuance rebound

Green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bond issuance through Euroclear Bank reached €233.03bn in the first half of 2026, 50% higher than a year earlier, as green bond volumes nearly doubled and the wider labelled-debt market regained pace after slower growth during 2025. 

New green issuance rose 85% from €83.37bn to €154.09bn, meaning the category supplied roughly two-thirds of the six-month total. Sustainability bond issuance increased 24% to €54.51bn and social bond volumes grew 28% to €15.80bn. 

Higher activity did not reach every segment. Sustainability-linked issuance, whose financial terms depend on issuers meeting specified performance targets, fell 20% to €8.63bn. It accounted for less than 4% of GSSS issuance, down from almost 10% in the first half of 2025. 

The value of GSSS bonds held in custody rose 10% to €1.84tn by the end of June. Green bonds represented 59.21% of that stock, equivalent to €1.09tn, while sustainability bonds made up 25.48%. Social bonds accounted for 10.21% and sustainability-linked securities for 5.09%. 

Euroclear’s figures also show that growth in assets held was led outside the corporate sector. Debt-agency bonds increased by around 25% to €313.94bn, while sovereign and other financial institution holdings each rose by roughly 17%. Corporate GSSS bonds remained almost flat at €173.51bn, leaving them outside the five largest issuer groups. 

Currency concentration remained high. Euro-denominated securities comprised €1.04tn of bonds under custody, followed by US dollar-denominated debt at €404.26bn and sterling at €95.51bn. Together the three represented around 84% of total holdings. Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar entered the ten largest currencies. 

Regional and legal structures were similarly concentrated. European issuers supplied 71.48% of holdings, with North and Central America at 10.25% and Asia-Pacific at 9.87%. International Eurobond structures accounted for 52.30% of the securities, ahead of French jurisdiction at 11.22% and the US at 8.80%. 

Smaller currency markets recorded much faster percentage growth from lower bases. Holdings denominated in Kenyan shillings increased 131% and Ugandan shilling debt rose 90%. Among currencies with more than €1bn under custody, the Colombian peso and Hong Kong dollar grew 51% and 40%, respectively. 

 

B2B and Same Day ACH payments lift US volumes

B2B payments over the US ACH Network rose 9.7% year on year to almost 2.3bn in the third quarter of 2026 as businesses continued shifting supplier and other commercial payments away from cheques, according to Nacha.

Across the network, 9.3bn payments worth $25.6tn were processed during the quarter. Volume increased 5.9% from the same period of 2025, while value grew 10.2%, meaning B2B activity expanded faster than overall transaction numbers.

Same Day ACH recorded the sharpest growth. Its volume climbed 36.7% to 470.4m payments, while their value increased nearly 32% to $1.3tn from $970.4bn a year earlier.

Jane Larimer, president and chief executive of Nacha, said: “Both the number of Same Day ACH payments, and the value of those payments, show the significant role that Same Day ACH plays in helping to meet the nation’s faster payment needs.”

Year to date, the network had handled 1.3bn Same Day ACH payments worth more than $3.6tn by the end of September. Those figures were 30% and 28.7% higher, respectively, than during the first nine months of 2025.

Healthcare payments also continued migrating from cheques, although at a slower rate. ACH claim payments to providers increased 2.6% to more than 144m during the quarter.

Commercial payments represented close to a quarter of all ACH volume during the period. Their above-market growth indicates that companies’ move from cheques to electronic bank payments remains an important source of expansion for the network, alongside demand for faster settlement.

 

Stablecoin users expand into treasury and customer wallets

Stablecoin use is spreading beyond payments into treasury and customer products among large US businesses already engaged with the technology, according to Payoneer research. The September survey covered 265 senior payments, treasury and finance leaders at US businesses with annual revenue of at least $100m. Every respondent was using, piloting or evaluating stablecoin, or had previous experience with it, so its adoption figures do not represent the wider corporate market.

Within that selected group, 69% used stablecoin operationally and 41% had reached what Payoneer described as meaningful scale. Some 82% expected it to form part of their financial infrastructure within three years.

Among organisations using or piloting it, 50% reported faster settlement, 41% cited better access to markets and currencies, and 40% identified an improved recipient experience. Of businesses in 11 or more countries, 82% reported measurable benefits in at least three areas, against 60% among those in fewer countries.

Product plans show a move beyond payments. One-third already offered stablecoin capabilities to customers and another 50% planned to do so within three years. Treasury and multicurrency balances were a current or three-year priority for 92%, while 86% said the same of embedded customer wallets.

Complex cross-border businesses showed the greatest appetite. Among respondents describing their operations as very complex, 82% planned to expand stablecoin use for paying suppliers and contractors, against 54% across the full sample.

Integration, reconciliation, regulatory readiness and provider accountability remained the main obstacles, although 90% of businesses at meaningful scale said the benefits justified the work involved.

 

Visa, BILL and Billtrust pilot AI agent payments

Visa, BILL and Billtrust have begun a live pilot in which authorised AI agents complete approved invoice payments between buyer and supplier platforms, addressing a manual step that has persisted even where accounts payable workflows are otherwise automated.

The payment begins with BILL’s Payment Agent, which is registered through Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory. It uses tokenised card credentials and controls based on the buyer’s approved instructions, avoiding the need to share credentials for the supplier’s portal.

At the receiving side, Billtrust uses the same Visa protocol to identify and authenticate the agent before allowing it to enter the portal and complete the payment. The authentication is designed to satisfy protections normally enforced through CAPTCHA or other measures intended to block automated access.

Buyer controls remain attached to the transaction, including the approved payment instruction and an invoice-specific payment route. Both buyer and supplier can retain visibility over authorisation and completion, while the supplier continues to apply its existing card acceptance policy.

Supplier portals have often required human authentication or manual data entry, preventing an approved payment from proceeding automatically from the buyer’s system. The pilot tests whether verified agent identities can remove that interruption without relaxing access controls.

Current transactions involve participating buyers using BILL and suppliers on Billtrust, with card payments completed end to end. The companies did not disclose transaction volumes, participating businesses, geographic coverage or a timetable for moving beyond the pilot.

Neither the agent nor its AI determines whether an invoice should be paid: the payment instruction has already been approved by the buyer. The new element is the agent’s ability to carry that instruction through a separately controlled supplier environment and complete the card transaction without requiring a human to log in manually.

 

J.P. Morgan and ADB widen Indian working-capital access

J.P. Morgan Payments and the Asian Development Bank have expanded their trade-finance collaboration to provide additional working capital capacity for companies and supply chains in India through a new risk-sharing framework.

Under the arrangement, eligible transactions can receive risk mitigation through ADB’s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program. J.P. Morgan will supply the financing, while ADB’s guarantee will cover agreed exposures across trade and supply chain products. Both organisations link the expansion to supporting domestic supply chain resilience.

The structure is intended to broaden financing capacity by sharing risk on eligible transactions. It will cover a wider range of trade-related exposures, although the organisations did not specify the total capacity, guarantee percentage or individual transaction limits.

Businesses across different points in the supply chain are expected to be eligible, including manufacturers, buyers and suppliers seeking funding for day-to-day operations, expansion or trade activity. The initiative is aimed at individual companies and the wider networks of counterparties on which their production and distribution depend.

Financing will be directed towards industries identified by the two organisations as important to India’s growth, including food, pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles and renewable energy. Sustainability-focused sectors are also named, but the announcement does not define the activities included within that category.

No timetable for deployment, participating borrowers or expected volume of funding was disclosed. The parties also did not set out the pricing, tenor or security requirements that businesses would face when applying for finance under the arrangement.

ADB and J.P. Morgan have previously worked together to support trade across Asia. This expansion brings Indian corporate and supply-chain transactions within that collaboration, with the development bank’s risk support intended to increase the amount and range of working-capital finance available.

 

Tipalti folds treasury into accounts payable platform

Tipalti has launched an integrated treasury product that combines cash visibility and forecasting with its existing accounts payable workflows, extending the finance platform following its acquisition of cash management software provider Statement in 2025.

Built into the same platform, Tipalti Treasury is aimed at mid-market businesses that manage money across several entities, banks and currencies but may not operate a separate treasury management system. Users can see bank balances, transactions and upcoming payment obligations within one environment.

Cash positions are consolidated through a dashboard covering multiple banking relationships, legal entities and currencies. The system provides intraday and prior-day balances alongside transaction-level information, reducing the need to collect data separately from individual bank portals.

Forecasting combines live bank transactions with information drawn from enterprise resource planning systems. Open invoices and scheduled payments feed into configurable 13-week cash flow forecasts, linking expected accounts payable outflows with current balances.

Global bank connectivity is intended to automate the transfer of financial data into Tipalti, while the accounts payable integration allows payment commitments already held in the platform to inform liquidity planning. The product therefore brings together data that would otherwise sit across banking, ERP and payment systems.