Finance pay rises slow as resource pressure builds

Base salaries for US financial professionals rose by 3.7% in 2025, slightly below the 3.9% increase recorded a year earlier, as slower economic growth softened wage gains while organisations continued to use bonuses to support retention. The 2026 AFP Compensation and Benefits Survey, published by the Association for Financial Professionals, provides benchmarks for salary, incentives, benefits and workplace trends across treasury and finance roles. The survey was conducted in February 2026 among 929 financial professionals, covering salary information for 3,601 incumbents. It collected total compensation data for calendar year 2025, as well as base salaries in effect on 1 January 2026, from US organisations of varying sizes and industries.

The headline finding is that salary growth remained positive, but moderated. Average base pay rose 3.7% in 2025, compared with 3.9% in 2024. AFP said wage gains softened amid slowing economic growth in the second half of last year.

Incentive pay remained widespread. Two-thirds of organisations, at 66%, awarded bonus incentives to employees in 2025. Cash bonuses were by far the most common form, used by 88% of organisations awarding incentives, followed by stock-based incentives at 36%. That mix suggests employers are still trying to retain treasury and finance talent, but are doing so in ways that do not necessarily lock in higher fixed payroll costs. One-off awards can help reward performance or preserve retention while giving organisations more flexibility if growth slows or budgets tighten.

Compensation, however, is only part of the talent picture. The most frequently cited challenge for financial professionals was limited resources, named by 41% of respondents. AFP said this includes financial, personnel and managerial constraints. That finding is likely to resonate across treasury and finance functions, where teams are often being asked to manage more complex risk, controls, forecasting and technology projects without a matching increase in headcount or budget. If left unresolved, resource pressure can undermine the same functions businesses rely on for stability during periods of economic uncertainty.

AI is adding another layer of ambiguity. Nearly half of respondents, at 48%, were significantly uncertain or ambivalent about whether AI will create career opportunities in treasury and finance. Their concerns included the potential reduction of new and entry-level roles as AI automates foundational tasks, scepticism over AI’s long-term value, and worries that automation could remove opportunities for employees to learn the fundamentals needed for career progression.

“To retain treasury and finance talent, organisations must address resource constraints and concerns about AI’s impact on career progression,” said Mariam Lamech, director of survey research at AFP. “By clarifying how AI can augment - rather than replace - human expertise, organisations can alleviate pressure caused by limited resources and help their teams feel empowered by their tools.”

The survey points to a more complicated retention environment. Pay is still rising and bonuses remain common, but finance professionals are also weighing workload, career development and the role AI may play in reshaping the path into senior roles.

 

US recession risk eases despite oil shock

Goldman Sachs Research has lowered its estimate of the probability of a US recession over the next 12 months to 25%, from 30%, after economic activity held up better than expected despite disruption from the war in Iran. Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Research, said the bank’s financial conditions index has also eased back below levels seen before the conflict, reducing one source of pressure on the economy.

The revision matters for corporate finance teams because the US outlook remains a key input for demand planning, funding assumptions, FX strategy and commodity risk management. A lower recession probability does not remove the shock from higher energy prices, but it suggests the hit to growth has so far been more contained than feared.

Goldman Sachs Research pointed to three reasons why the 10-week closure of the Strait of Hormuz has had only a moderate effect on growth. First, oil prices have not risen as much as expected, partly because pre-war inventories were unusually high and partly because markets believed large consumer price increases would eventually prompt a shift in US policy.

Second, physical shortages in areas such as jet fuel have so far been managed through relatively limited demand destruction, including a large shift towards renewables in China and reduced flight schedules on lower-value routes globally.

Third, fiscal policy, the AI investment boom and broadly supportive financial conditions have helped offset the drag, apart from a brief interruption in March.

Under Goldman Sachs Research’s base case, the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen gradually, starting soon and finishing in late June. On that assumption, Brent oil prices are forecast to remain stable in the near term before edging down to US$90/barrel by the end of the year. “However, the risks remain tilted towards more adverse outcomes, higher oil prices, and greater economic damage,” Hatzius said.

For treasurers, that leaves a familiar planning problem: the central case has improved, but energy, transport and financing assumptions still need room for a worse outcome.

 

Global factoring turnover tops €4 trillion

Global factoring turnover surpassed €4 trillion for the first time in 2025, as companies continued to use receivables finance to unlock working capital and manage payment risk against a backdrop of tighter liquidity and geopolitical uncertainty. The latest FCI World Factoring Statistics show global turnover reached €4,039bn, up from €3,895bn in 2024, representing growth of 3.7%. The increase follows a year of consolidation and points to the continued role of factoring in open account trade, particularly for smaller companies seeking alternatives to traditional bank finance.

Europe remained the largest regional market, with turnover of around €2,658bn, accounting for 65.8% of global activity. The region grew by 2.2%, supported by major markets including France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. Germany recorded growth of 6.3%, while Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal also contributed positively.

Asia-Pacific was the second-largest region, with turnover of about €995bn, or 24.6% of the global market, after growth of 3.2%. China remained the largest individual factoring market globally, with turnover of €713bn, up 5%. Singapore grew by 15.9%, India by 13.9% and Taiwan by 10.5%, though performance across the region remained mixed.

The Americas delivered one of the strongest regional performances, with turnover rising 20% to about €326bn. North America grew by 35.1% to €160bn, driven mainly by the US, where turnover increased by 35.5%. Canada posted growth of 20%. South and Central America reached around €165bn, up 8.2%, with Brazil rising 22.2%, Peru 13.1% and Mexico 6.1%.

Africa’s market reached about €51.4bn, up 2.2%, with South Africa remaining dominant and Egypt increasing to €2.4bn. The Middle East grew 8.7% to around €8.8bn, supported by growth in Israel, while the UAE remained the region’s largest market.

Betül Kurtuluş, deputy secretary general of FCI, noted that factoring offers “a practical way to unlock working capital from receivables, mitigate payment risk and support open account trade”.

The figures underline how receivables finance is becoming more important as supply chains regionalise, trade corridors shift and companies place greater emphasis on cash conversion. For treasury and finance teams, factoring remains a tool for turning unpaid invoices into liquidity at a time when working capital discipline is moving higher up the corporate agenda.

 

South African banks face rising fraud losses

Fraud attempts and losses are rising across South African banks, with a new BioCatch survey showing institutions under pressure from both the financial and reputational impact of scams. The survey of fraud management, anti-money laundering and compliance leaders found that 75% reported increasing fraud attempts at their institution, while 79% said fraud losses were rising. A further 81% estimated annual fraud losses at more than US$5m, or R82.3m.

Concern was even higher among C-suite respondents. In that group, 81% reported rising fraud attempts, 84% said fraud losses were increasing and 86% put annual losses above US$5m.

The South African figures also sit above BioCatch’s global averages across the 17 countries surveyed. Globally, 61% of respondents reported an increase in annual fraud attempts, 60% said fraud losses were rising and 73% said their bank’s losses exceeded US$5m.

Reputational exposure is becoming as pressing as the direct financial hit. Some 78% of South African banking leaders said their concern about the reputational risk posed by fraud and scams was greater than or equal to their concern about the financial impact.

Reimbursement practices remain mixed. Only 40% of respondents said their institution reimbursed more than half of scam victims. Some 45% said they reimbursed victims to maintain customer trust, while 38% said they balanced reimbursement with liability considerations.

The findings also show how banks are adapting their defences. Behavioural biometrics is being used by 40% of surveyed South African institutions, above the global average across the 17-country sample. That suggests banks are looking beyond traditional authentication and monitoring tools as fraudsters rely more heavily on manipulation and social engineering.

Real-time payments remain a major concern. A vast majority of respondents (89%) identified instant payment platforms such as RTC as presenting a moderate to very high fraud risk, underlining the pressure to strengthen controls as payment speeds increase.

 

IFC securitises trade finance risk

IFC has launched its first trade finance synthetic securitisation, using a US$500m portfolio of trade assets to transfer credit risk to private investors and create more capacity for guarantees in emerging markets. The transaction is based on assets originated under IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, which has supported nearly US$137bn in trade finance transactions across more than 100 emerging markets over the past two decades. More than half of the portfolio is in low-income and fragile and conflict-affected states.

The structure is designed to mobilise private capital into short-term trade finance, where funding gaps remain acute for smaller businesses and suppliers in emerging markets. IFC said the private capital mobilisation ratio could reach up to 1:19, meaning every dollar of risk retained by IFC could bring in up to US$19 from private investors.

By transferring part of the credit risk, IFC can free up capacity to originate additional trade finance guarantees in markets where commercial finance is harder to access.

The portfolio consists of short-term trade assets with an average tenor of six months. The transaction has been structured over a three-year horizon, with a two-year replenishment mechanism that allows private risk participation to support new trade flows for up to three years.

The securitisation has three tranches: a US$340m senior tranche, a US$110m mezzanine tranche and a US$50m junior tranche. The senior and mezzanine tranches were privately placed on an unfunded basis with five investors: Deutsche Bank, Santander CIB, AXA XL, AXIS Capital and Liberty Specialty Markets. Deutsche Bank acted as arranger and placement agent for both tranches. The junior tranche was placed separately with Newmarket.

 

Glencore taps FIS for US$2.55bn receivables securitisation

Glencore has selected FIS’ Supply Chain Finance Platform to support a US$2.55bn trade receivables securitisation programme for its oil and gas commodity business. The facility is Glencore’s first trade receivables securitisation for its oil and gas division and is backed by a consortium of six financial institutions. FIS said the transaction marks a significant structured trade finance development for the commodities sector, where large receivables pools can be used to unlock liquidity.

Trade receivables securitisation allows companies to monetise receivables by packaging them into a financing structure, giving corporates access to cash tied up in customer payments. For commodity groups, where transaction values can be large and cross-border flows complex, these programmes can support working capital management across multiple jurisdictions.

FIS’ platform, formerly Demica, will provide the technology infrastructure, reporting and operational support for the facility. Its role includes deal set-up, portfolio monitoring and reporting, with the platform hosted on Microsoft Azure.

The platform is designed to support onboarding across multiple counterparties and jurisdictions, real-time monitoring of receivables performance, regulatory reporting and the processing of diversified global trade receivables portfolios.

The transaction highlights the continued use of structured receivables finance by large corporates seeking to manage liquidity without relying solely on conventional borrowing. For treasury teams, the relevance lies in how these structures can turn receivables into a funding source while still requiring robust reporting, data quality and monitoring to satisfy banks and investors.

In Glencore’s case, the size of the facility also underlines the scale at which receivables-backed financing can operate in commodity trading, where working capital demands are closely tied to price movements, shipment timing and customer payment cycles. 

 

ADB pledges US$30bn for ASEAN resilience

The Asian Development Bank plans to mobilise US$30bn by 2030 to support ASEAN countries as the region seeks to strengthen resilience against geopolitical, economic and supply-chain shocks. The funding commitment will target five regional flagship initiatives linked to long-term development and crisis preparedness. The package includes US$6bn to deepen capital markets and US$5bn to accelerate the ASEAN Power Grid, which forms part of ADB’s previously announced support of up to US$10bn for the grid through 2035.

Further investment will be directed towards AI readiness, the blue economy and river resilience, reflecting the bank’s focus on infrastructure, climate adaptation and economic transformation across Southeast Asia.

The commitment comes as ASEAN economies face a more volatile external environment, including trade disruption, energy pressure and supply-chain spillovers linked to the conflict in the Middle East. ADB said it is ready to help the region respond to those shocks, including through fast-disbursing budget support for economies under fiscal pressure.

The bank has also temporarily reactivated private sector support for oil imports through its Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program. That measure is designed to help economies manage fuel-related pressures at a time when energy supply concerns are feeding into wider inflation and trade risks.

 

Nomentia and Convista link on treasury transformation

Nomentia has partnered with Convista to support companies modernising treasury and finance operations, combining Nomentia’s treasury technology with Convista’s consulting and process design expertise. The collaboration will centre on Nomentia’s Smart Treasury Suite and Convista’s transformation consulting capabilities. The companies said the aim is to help organisations connect treasury technology projects more closely with business requirements, process design and implementation support.

The partnership reflects a common challenge in treasury transformation. Many companies are trying to improve cash visibility, operational control and process efficiency, but technology projects can stall if they are not matched with clear requirements, internal alignment and practical delivery support.

Convista will bring consulting and implementation expertise to projects involving Nomentia’s platform, including support for process design and end-to-end transformation planning. Nomentia’s platform covers treasury and cash management functions intended to help companies build more scalable treasury operations.

For treasury teams, the relevance lies in the execution gap the partnership is trying to address. Modernisation projects often depend on how well finance, IT and operational stakeholders can translate treasury requirements into workable processes, especially where companies are moving away from fragmented systems or manual controls.

The partnership also points to growing demand for treasury technology programmes that are treated as operating model projects rather than software implementations alone. As treasury functions face pressure to improve visibility, standardise controls and support faster decision-making, the quality of implementation can determine whether the intended benefits are realised.

Nomentia and Convista said the collaboration is aimed at companies seeking to modernise financial operations while maintaining business continuity, process quality and long-term scalability.

 

Mastercard and JD.com deepen payments tie-up

Mastercard and JD.com have formed a strategic partnership focused on cross-border payments, supply chain finance, AI-enabled commerce and fraud prevention. The initial focus is on expanding payment infrastructure to support JD.com’s international business, while improving payment options for overseas visitors in China. The companies said they will work on broader acceptance of international cards across JD.com’s e-commerce platforms and retail channels, alongside enhanced checkout, shopping and tax-refund experiences.

For businesses, one of the more relevant elements is the planned work on a cross-border supply chain finance ecosystem for small and medium-sized companies. The aim is to support access to financing and help smaller firms participate more efficiently in international trade.

The partnership also covers payment connectivity for JD.com’s global commerce activity. That matters as large digital platforms increasingly combine retail, logistics, marketplace and financial infrastructure, creating payment flows that span consumers, merchants, suppliers and cross-border settlement.

AI provides another strand of the collaboration. JD.com and Mastercard plan to explore agentic AI-powered purchasing solutions for consumers and businesses through Mastercard Agent Pay, while also expanding co-branded card initiatives.

Fraud prevention and identity controls will form a further part of the work. The companies said they will cooperate on risk management, identity authentication, real-time monitoring and intelligent anti-fraud tools.

 

SAP and Adyen embed payments into commerce platform

SAP and Adyen have expanded their collaboration with the launch of SAP Unified Payment, a native payment solution embedded into SAP Commerce Cloud. The integration connects SAP Commerce Cloud with Adyen’s payments platform, allowing retailers to manage digital storefront payments, point-of-sale transactions and enterprise resource planning data through a single setup. The aim is to reduce the need for separate payment gateways, local processors and disconnected fraud tools.

For enterprise retailers, the most relevant element is reconciliation. SAP Unified Payment includes a direct link with SAP S/4HANA and other enterprise resource planning systems, designed to provide settlement visibility and automate reconciliation between payment activity and back-office finance records. That matters because fragmented payment infrastructure can create operational drag for finance teams, particularly where merchants sell across multiple countries, channels and payment methods. Cross-border payments, local acquiring arrangements, fraud screening and settlement data often sit across different providers, making cash visibility and reconciliation harder to manage.

The solution will support e-commerce, point of sale and ERP integration, as well as access to local payment methods through Adyen’s platform. Adyen said its AI capabilities are used for authorisation routing, customer recognition across channels and fraud management.

The launch reflects a broader shift in enterprise commerce, where payment processing is being pulled more tightly into the systems companies use to manage sales, finance and customer activity. For retailers, the finance benefit depends on whether payment data can move cleanly from checkout to settlement and reconciliation without adding manual controls or separate reporting layers.

SAP and Adyen are positioning the solution for businesses looking to simplify global payment operations while maintaining more consistent oversight across customer transactions, fraud controls and financial reporting.

 

Finix adds terminal for unattended payments

Finix has launched an unattended payment terminal for businesses taking payments in self-service, semi-attended and unattended environments, extending its hardware range into areas such as vending, parking, automated retail and hospitality.

The Android-based device is designed for high-traffic locations where customers complete transactions without staff assistance. It supports EMV chip, magnetic stripe and contactless payments, including mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The terminal also has a touchscreen interface intended to mirror the kind of checkout experience consumers are already used to in staffed retail environments.

The product comes pre-configured with the Finix Payment App, which the company said should allow businesses to deploy the terminal more quickly. The package includes a 4G antenna, power supply and mounting hardware, while device settings are passcode-protected to help operators manage terminals in the field.

For consumer-facing businesses, the launch adds another route for accepting payments beyond traditional point-of-sale counters, e-commerce checkouts and mobile payment flows. That is particularly relevant in sectors where firms are expanding self-service models or looking to reduce friction in lower-value, high-frequency transactions.

The finance relevance sits less in the terminal itself than in what these channels create downstream. Unattended payments still need to be reconciled, monitored and reported alongside other payment flows, with settlement timing, transaction visibility and exception handling all feeding into cash management.

As more sales shift into self-service environments, finance and treasury teams at B2C companies will need to ensure those payment channels connect cleanly into existing reporting, controls and cash visibility processes.

 

Corpay adds stablecoin wallets through BVNK tie-up

Corpay has partnered with BVNK to add stablecoin wallets and settlement capabilities to its corporate payments platform. The integration will allow Corpay customers to view stablecoin balances alongside fiat balances, as well as send, receive, store and convert stablecoins within the platform. The company said the capability will give customers access to payment rails that operate outside traditional banking hours.

In addition to better servicing its own clients, Corpay plans to use stablecoin rails in its own treasury operations. The aim is to reduce reliance on pre-funded accounts, improve capital efficiency and support fund movement across its global footprint beyond its proprietary network. The company serves more than 800,000 clients worldwide, processing more than US$12bn in corporate payments and US$26bn in foreign exchange each month. At that scale, the appeal is operational as much as customer-facing. A payments provider handling large monthly corporate and foreign exchange volumes across more than 145 currencies has to manage liquidity across corridors, time zones and banking cut-offs. Stablecoin wallets and settlement could give it another way to move value outside traditional bank operating hours, reduce idle balances and support faster conversion between digital and fiat rails.

For corporate treasury teams, the practical relevance lies in liquidity timing and payment optionality. Stablecoin settlement could give companies another route for moving funds across borders, particularly where banking cut-off times, pre-funded accounts or settlement delays create friction.

BVNK will provide the stablecoin infrastructure and compliance framework behind the integration. The deal adds to the growing number of corporate payments providers testing stablecoins as part of mainstream money movement rather than as a standalone digital asset product.

 

Krytheon integrates treasury and FX tools

Krytheon is integrating treasury, foreign exchange and operational intelligence tools into its enterprise infrastructure platform, as it develops systems for liquidity visibility, treasury routing and cross-border workflow coordination.

The company said the capabilities were developed in collaboration with BostonInformatix and Krytheon chairman Dr Umer Sayeed-Shah, and have operated across multiple market cycles for around 14 years.

Those systems are now being brought into a broader platform focused on institutional treasury coordination, cross-border execution workflows and governance-led operating environments. The platform includes real-time analytics, algorithmic treasury-routing tools, FX coordination infrastructure and workflow systems designed to support regulated treasury and cross-border processes.

Krytheon said regulated financial activities, including banking, custody, treasury management and FX execution, are expected to be performed through approved financial institutions, licensed counterparties and regulated service providers where applicable.

 

Embat raises €30m for European expansion

Treasury management fintech Embat has raised €30m in a Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation, with support from existing investors. The company, founded in 2021, has now raised more than €50m since launch. Embat was created by Antonio Berga and Carlos Serrano, both former J.P. Morgan executives, alongside Tomás Gil, former chief technology officer of Fintonic.

The platform integrates with more than 15,000 banks and major enterprise resource planning systems, with a focus on reducing data fragmentation across treasury operations. Its TellMe tool is an agentic AI treasury analyst designed to detect cash flow patterns, automate complex reconciliations and suggest liquidity optimisation decisions.

Embat said its 150-person team and AI technology support 400 corporate clients across Europe, enabling them to automate up to 80% of manual treasury tasks.

The company will use the financing to expand across Europe, with particular focus on the UK and Ireland. Twelve months after launching in the region, Embat plans to increase investment in local operations and expand its team to meet demand from mid-market businesses.