US corporate cash pile edges higher to $2.17 trillion as acquisition spend cools

The cash reserves of US non-financial corporates rose slightly to $2.17 trillion at the end of 2024, according to Moody’s. The 0.5% year-on-year increase, covering 911 rated companies, reflects a decline in acquisition activity and healthy growth in free cash flow, although rising share buybacks limited the overall expansion.

Capital expenditure climbed to a record $1.2 trillion during the year, an 8% increase from 2023. Much of the rise was driven by the technology sector, where investment in data centres surged by around 34%. Despite strong operating cash flow, the high levels of capital spending kept free cash flow growth modest.

Acquisition spending fell nearly 12% to around $370bn, reversing the upward trend recorded in 2023 and remaining well below the 2021 peak of $568bn. Meanwhile, share repurchases continued to grow, with companies buying back around $667bn of equity, a 4% increase year-on-year.

The top cash holders remained largely unchanged, with Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta collectively holding $541bn, which is about 25% of the total corporate cash pile. This is slightly down from the $561bn these firms held at the end of 2023.

Corporate debt also rose modestly, reaching $7.66 trillion at the end of 2024. However, leverage improved, with Moody’s-adjusted aggregate debt-to-EBITDA declining to 2.3x, compared with 2.5x a year earlier. Margin expansion and revenue growth contributed to the improvement.

Telecom companies dominated the list of the most indebted firms. AT&T, Verizon, Amazon, Apple, and T-Mobile USA together accounted for $733bn, or roughly 10% of total corporate debt.

 

APAC cross-border payments to reach $23.8 trillion by 2032

Asia-Pacific’s cross-border payments market is projected to grow from $12.8 trillion in 2024 to $23.8 trillion by 2032, according to a new report launched at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok. The report, produced in collaboration with FXC Intelligence, suggests the region’s share of global cross-border flows will rise from 32.2% to 36.8% over the same period, outpacing the global average.

The study, titled ‘How Will Asia’s Money Move in the Future? 2025’s View of 2035’, draws on market sizing data and insights from over 100 industry stakeholders, offering a long-term perspective on the forces reshaping the payments landscape across Asia.

Stakeholders surveyed identified several key drivers behind this shift, including regulatory policy (86%), technological innovation (79%), and evolving consumer behaviour (79%). The report notes that while business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments currently account for the largest volumes, B2C is expected to see the fastest growth, driven largely by e-commerce and subscription services.

Interoperability is emerging as a top priority. Almost nine in ten respondents said it would be “very or extremely important” to Asia’s payment future, while 66% identified real-time payment systems as the most likely technology to lead progress. Digital wallets were also widely cited (59%), followed by other innovations such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, QR codes and APIs.

The report highlights the complexity of the region’s payments infrastructure, noting that while initiatives like Project Nexus and regional policy alignment are helping to streamline systems, a single dominant solution across Asia remains unlikely. Instead, the future of cross-border payments will likely be defined by collaborative frameworks, scalable technologies and continued public-private partnerships.

The findings point to a region on the cusp of transformation, with rising demand and ongoing digital development setting the stage for a more interoperable and efficient cross-border payments environment.

“We’re seeing a significant acceleration in how cross-border money moves, and the next decade will be crucial in shaping the infrastructure that powers it,” said Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20. “Asia’s future lies not in a one-size-fits-all model, but in interconnected systems that balance innovation with regional adoption.

 

Why the euro is strengthening

A global repricing of assets in the light of tariffs and lower US growth expectations is helping to strengthen the euro versus the US dollar, according to Goldman Sachs Research. With policy shifts and uncertainty potentially weighing on American firms' profits and households' real incomes, investors, particularly those in Europe, appear to be revising their expectation of superior returns from US assets, which is in turn eroding the strong valuation the dollar has enjoyed over the last decade. 

“In many ways, the euro is on the other side of this story,” Kamakshya Trivedi, head of Global Foreign Exchange, Interest Rates, and Emerging Markets Strategy Research, wrote in a recent note.

Investors based in Europe, with substantial savings and high ownership of overseas assets, have been the biggest source of increased allocations to US assets in recent years. 

With the superior return profile of US assets now looking less certain given increased recession risks, “European investors may decide that the additional foreign exchange risk is no longer appealing when taking into consideration lower expected returns in US equity markets,” Trivedi added. 

This is in line with early indicators from fund flow data suggesting investors are allocating less money to the US, although Trivedi cautions that any continued weakness in the dollar is more likely to show up through a gradual shift in demand, not a disruptive sale of US assets.

 

Increased RTP and FedNow limits drive instant payments surge in the US

Rising transaction limits on the RTP and FedNow networks are fuelling a sharp increase in corporate demand for instant payments, according to new research from RedCompass Labs. The study, Pushing the Limits: 2025 US Instant Payments, surveyed 300 senior payments professionals at US banks. It found that 84% of respondents believe the $10 million transaction cap on RTP, and an equivalent share believe the $500,000 limit on FedNow, has made instant payments more attractive. Nearly half (47%) of banks are now seeing overwhelming corporate demand. This is more than triple the level recorded in 2024.

This rising demand is feeding into expectations for future growth. Banks surveyed expect a 23% increase in instant payments volumes over the next three years, with 12% forecasting a surge of over 50%. Most also see a commercial upside: 88% believe instant payments will benefit their bottom line, and nearly half (45%) anticipate a major impact.

Fraud, however, remains a pressing concern. Some 85% of respondents expect fraud to rise alongside adoption, and over a third (36%) forecast a sharp increase. In response, nearly all banks (96%) support the introduction of a ‘confirmation of payee’ scheme to reduce risk. Other fraud-fighting technologies are also gaining traction, including AI (40%), real-time detection (39%) and multi-factor authentication (35%).

The study also highlights growing confidence in the US position in global instant payments innovation. More than four in five (81%) banks believe the US is leading the charge, with 42% describing the lead as significant. Only 4% feel they are behind.

Banks are increasingly turning to AI to modernise their payment systems. Over 60% see it as a central part of their strategy, with key use cases including fraud prevention, automation and customer service. Competitive pressure from fintechs is another important driver. Almost all respondents (93%) said fintech innovation was influencing their instant payments decisions, and 60% said the effect was significant.

Despite strong interest in interoperability between payment systems, with 92% of banks considering it and 52% doing so seriously, just 2% have begun implementation. The top five value-added services that banks expect to adopt are bill payments, digital ID solutions, confirmation of payee, QR code-based payments and request to pay.

 

Project Meridian FX demonstrates cross-border linkage for wholesale FX transactions

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and its central bank partners have successfully demonstrated how wholesale payment infrastructures, such as real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems, can interoperate for foreign exchange (FX) transactions through new technologies.

Project Meridian FX explored the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) to synchronise the settlement of FX trades. Under this model, the transfer of one leg of a transaction, such as buying a currency, would only complete if the corresponding sale of another currency occurred. This synchronised approach is designed to reduce settlement risk and support the goals of the Group of 20 cross-border payments roadmap.

The project connected a synthetic version of the UK’s RTGS system with three experimental Eurosystem interoperability solutions: DL3S (developed by the Bank of France), TIPS Hash-Link (developed by the Bank of Italy), and the Trigger Solution (developed by the Deutsche Bundesbank). The findings suggest that synchronisation could also help to mitigate liquidity and credit risks in the FX market.

Building on previous work by the BIS and the Bank of England, Meridian FX demonstrated that synchronisation is asset- and technology-agnostic, opening the door for its application in other markets. The insights from the project are expected to inform future work programmes among the participating central banks.

 

Automation is coming to European corporate bond trading

European corporate bond investors have found greater efficiency and improved execution via electronic trading and are now taking the next step towards automation. Dealers are reacting to support this change in client behaviour, offering not only market colour but also advice on how to navigate the e-trading landscape.

“Electronic trading platforms have become critical catalysts, fundamentally transforming how European corporate bonds change hands,” said Kevin McPartland, Head of Research at Crisil Coalition Greenwich Market Structure & Technology and author of 'Electronic trading and automation in the European corporate bond market'. “Digital innovation is reducing search costs, compressing execution times, and providing market participants with unprecedented access to liquidity.”

While investors still prefer picking up the phone and talking to a human dealer for large block trades, approximately 85% of investors trading investment grade corporate bonds and roughly 80% of high yield investors traded at least some of their volume electronically last year. Thanks to those high levels of adoption, 63% of investment grade bonds and 44% of high yield bonds traded electronically in 2024 by notional volume.

Traders are also embracing portfolio trading, which can serve as an effective and cost-efficient execution tool. Approximately 42% of investment grade bond traders executed a portfolio trade in 2024, up from 40% in 2023, with asset managers being the most common users.

In another important trend with the potential to alter the economics of trading for both investors and dealers, 8% of European buy-side corporate bond trading volume is now conducted via automatic execution, with no human intervention.

“Although auto-execution remains in the high single digits in terms of volume, automation tools are becoming more widely available and we expect adoption rates to rise quickly in coming years,” added McPartland.

 

Standard Chartered and Temenos link up to streamline FX flows

Standard Chartered has partnered with Temenos to integrate its foreign exchange (FX) API service, known as the Standard Chartered Aggregated Liquidity Engine (SCALE), into the Temenos Exchange ecosystem. The move marks the first time a bank has listed its FX solution on Temenos’ platform of fintech partners. The collaboration is designed to simplify access to Standard Chartered’s FX execution and settlement capabilities for financial institutions using Temenos’ core banking and payments technology.

By embedding SCALE into the Temenos platform, financial institutions will be able to deploy Standard Chartered’s FX services more easily, helping reduce the strain on internal technology resources. This is expected to particularly benefit retail banks, wealth managers and payment providers that manage low-value or high-volume transactions outside of their central treasury operations.

The integration allows financial institutions to access Standard Chartered’s global FX coverage across more than 130 currencies and 5,000 currency pairs, with tools to manage exposure to FX volatility. Institutions also retain control of the FX margins applied to client transactions, providing greater flexibility in pricing. For banks using Temenos Payment Hub, the FX integration can be further consolidated with other domestic and cross-border payment rails, enabling multiple payment channels and clearing networks to operate from a single system.

The collaboration comes amid accelerating growth in cross-border payments, fuelled by globalisation and digital commerce. According to the announcement, the market is projected to rise from $194 trillion in 2024 to $320 trillion by 2032. As competition intensifies, banks offering fast, seamless and cost-effective international payments may be better positioned to capture a larger share of this expanding market.

 

Circle unveils payments network to streamline cross-border transfers

Circle has announced the Circle Payments Network (CPN), an initiative designed to overhaul the current global payments infrastructure by enabling real-time cross-border settlement using regulated stablecoins such as USDC and EURC. The company, known for its role in the stablecoin market, is targeting delays and high costs that still characterise international payments. According to the World Bank, cross-border transfers can take more than a day to settle and cost over 6% in fees, a burden that disproportionately affects emerging markets.

The new network aims to address these challenges by linking banks, fintechs, wallets, and payment providers through programmable smart contracts and modular APIs. Circle says CPN will deliver the speed, transparency, and efficiency of internet-based systems while maintaining the compliance standards required by financial institutions.

Participants in the network will need to meet a set of eligibility requirements covering licensing, AML/CFT compliance, cybersecurity, and financial risk management. The network is expected to support use cases such as supplier payments, remittances, treasury operations, and capital markets settlement.

Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered are supporting Circle as design partners, advising on how to align the network with the operational needs and compliance frameworks of global banks. Additionally, infrastructure providers such as Fireblocks are working to connect their institutional clients to the platform, which Circle hopes will lay the foundation for a more interoperable, 24/7 global payments ecosystem. CPN is expected to launch in limited capacity from May.

 

ACH Network records strong Q1 with B2B growth in focus

The US ACH Network posted a strong first quarter in 2025, with both payment volume and value rising across standard and Same Day ACH payments. Total ACH volume reached 8.5 billion payments during the quarter, a 4.2% increase year on year. The value of those payments also climbed, rising 6.6% to US$22.1 trillion.

Same Day ACH, the network’s faster payments option, continued its rapid adoption. It processed 326 million transactions in Q1, up 19.1% from a year earlier. The value of these transactions grew even faster, rising 24.8% to US$897bn.

One of the key growth drivers was business-to-business (B2B) payments. Following full-year growth of 11.6% in 2024, B2B volumes rose by 9% in Q1 to reach 1.9 billion transactions. Within this, healthcare claim payments from insurers to providers also expanded, increasing 8.1% to 125 million.

Person-to-person (P2P) payments also passed a new milestone, exceeding 100 million for the first time in a single quarter. In total, P2P transactions reached 109 million in Q1, marking a 20.4% year-on-year rise.

“As Same Day ACH nears moving one trillion dollars in a quarter, it is clear that this faster payment method is gaining acceptance across a range of use cases,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO.

 

CZ slashes trade finance processing time with WaveBL and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank

Supply chain services company CZ has cut its trade financing processing time by 95% after implementing a fully digital documentation system using WaveBL. Working with Mizrahi Tefahot Bank in the UK, CZ’s shift away from paper-based trade processes has significantly accelerated the company’s ability to access working capital.

Traditional trade finance transactions often involve complex, paper-heavy processes and lengthy delays. CZ’s adoption of electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs) and other digital trade documents has removed these bottlenecks and allowed it to complete dozens of transactions using WaveBL’s blockchain-backed platform.

In one of its first digital transactions, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) issued an eBL via WaveBL and transmitted it to CZ. Electronic versions of supporting documents, including invoices and letters of instruction to the bank, were then added by CZ and sent to Mizrahi Tefahot Bank for review. Once the bank validated the documents, financing was approved, and the full digital document set was transferred to the importer in Israel. Previously, the entire process could take 15 to 25 days before documents reached the importer. With the new system, financing and document exchange are completed in a matter of hours.

CZ also reports improved document security, thanks to encrypted, tamper-proof transfers on the WaveBL platform. Eliminating paper documents has brought additional savings through lower courier, printing and administrative costs. Moreover, all parties involved - the shipping line, bank and importer - can collaborate in a shared digital environment, reducing the risk of miscommunication or delays.

“This digitised way of working represents a turning point in how we approach trade finance,” commented Tanya Epshteyn, Associate Director, Head of Structured and Trade Finance, CZ. “By adopting WaveBL's digital platform, we've cut processing time from weeks to hours while ensuring security and transparency at every stage. This success sets a strong foundation for leveraging digital trade documentation in future operations.”

 

Stripe expands support for corporates navigating Japan’s payments landscape

Stripe has announced a series of updates designed to help corporates in Japan, and those looking to enter the market, streamline digital payments, improve cash flow and comply with local regulation. The updates include support for PayPay, Japan’s leading digital wallet with over 68 million users, giving businesses the ability to accept one of the country’s most popular online payment methods. Stripe also now offers accelerated settlement for PayPay transactions, reducing payout times from the industry standard of up to a month to just four business days. This has the potential to ease liquidity pressures for corporates.

For businesses selling higher-value goods or services, Stripe is introducing support for card installment payments. This allows customers to split purchases over time, which could open up new customer segments and support stronger conversion rates for corporates targeting local consumers.

In addition, Stripe has responded to Japan’s recent 3D Secure mandate, which became compulsory for online card payments in March 2025. Stripe’s tools minimise checkout friction by applying authentication only when necessary. Paired with its Radar fraud detection engine, this approach helps ensure that legitimate transactions are not rejected. Japanese software company Sourcenext is among the firms using the solution to increase conversion rates while remaining compliant.

Separately, Stripe has become the first payment platform in Japan to offer support for network tokens, an emerging security feature that replaces card numbers with tokens tied to specific merchants. These tokens can lower interchange costs, boost payment success rates and improve data security for businesses processing card payments at scale.

The enhancements are particularly relevant for multinationals expanding into Japan, one of the world’s largest ecommerce markets. Stripe’s existing clients in the region include Toyota, ANA Group, Nikkei and Tokyu, alongside global firms such as Shopify, Uber and Atlassian. 

 

Wafeq and Comfi partner to boost invoice financing for UAE businesses

Accounting software provider Wafeq and fintech platform Comfi have joined forces to streamline invoice financing for businesses in the UAE. The partnership allows users of Wafeq’s invoicing platform to access working capital in as little as 24 hours through Comfi’s instant financing solution. The integration enables businesses to convert unpaid invoices into funding of up to AED1m, recover 100% of the invoice value, and set flexible repayment terms. Wafeq and Comfi say the collaboration aims to eliminate the cash flow gaps that often result from long payment cycles, providing a fast alternative to traditional lending or equity-based financing.

Companies using the joint service can generate FTA-compliant invoices through Wafeq, connect their account to Comfi, and request financing using selected invoices. Approved requests are funded within hours, with repayments tailored to match each business’s cash flow profile.

The firms say there are no hidden fees or revenue loss, and businesses retain full visibility and control over their financial records. In the next phase of the partnership, Wafeq customers will also be able to offer “Pay Later” options directly on their invoices, allowing buyers to defer payments while the seller receives funds upfront.

The solution is targeted at businesses looking to accelerate growth without relying on high-interest loans or diluting equity. Both firms serve a growing number of SMEs across the Middle East, where demand for flexible, compliant finance tools is rising.

 

SkySparc partners with Instimatch to boost treasury capabilities in Nordics

SkySparc has announced a partnership with Instimatch Global to expand its treasury offering for corporate and financial institution clients in the Nordic region. The collaboration will give SkySparc’s clients access to a digital cash deposit management solution, connecting them with over 300 counterparties in more than 30 countries.

The partnership brings together SkySparc’s regional presence and consulting expertise with Instimatch’s electronic money market trading platform, which allows users to compare rates, negotiate deals and process trades digitally. It aims to help treasurers in a volatile rate environment optimise deposit decisions and reduce operational complexity.

Instimatch’s platform offers real-time price discovery, proof of best execution, and post-trade automation. It also features compliance-friendly tools such as role-based access controls and integration with treasury management systems. SkySparc will act as a Nordic reseller for the solution.

The collaboration is intended to enhance SkySparc’s broader treasury technology proposition by offering a secure, digital channel for liquidity management. With growing demand for visibility and efficiency in volatile markets, the addition of Instimatch is designed to help clients access competitive deposit rates while improving control over their treasury operations.

 

Thunes launches cross-border B2B payments solution

Payments infrastructure provider Thunes has launched a new cross-border solution aimed at improving international business transactions for banks, mobile wallets, and enterprises. The platform, Thunes Business Payments, gives members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network a streamlined way to process B2B payments in multiple currencies and jurisdictions, with a single API integration.

The solution supports payments in over 30 currencies, including USD, EUR, and CNY, and covers more than 50 countries such as Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore, and the UK. It also enables USD payouts to more than 170 countries.

Designed to address the inefficiencies of legacy systems, the offering includes features such as real-time FX transparency, payment reference tracking, and the ability to pay suppliers in local currencies. According to Thunes, this could help reduce exchange-related and reconciliation costs for global businesses.

The platform is underpinned by Thunes’ SmartX Treasury System, which gives users visibility into fund locations and liquidity in real time. USDC stablecoin funding is also supported on a 24/7 basis.

Other features of Thunes Business Payments include enriched payment details, guaranteed pricing, and local currency or USD payouts that can be tracked throughout the transaction lifecycle. By removing the need for businesses to build a correspondent banking network, Thunes aims to make cross-border transactions faster and more accessible for a wider range of financial institutions and corporate users. Compliance is managed via Thunes’ Fortress Compliance Platform, which supports real-time monitoring and ensures adherence to local regulations across the payment chain.