Corporate treasury stands at a turning point, reflecting a decisive shift in how organisations manage money, risk, and speed. Global businesses now operate in real time, across time zones. Continuous volatility has replaced predictable cycles. Instant payments and always-on supply chains are forcing treasuries to rethink control, visibility, and resilience at scale. At the same time, rising risk expectations are shaping the treasury management trends that will define 2026.
understanding treasury management
Treasury management sits at the heart of financial control and strategic decision-making across industries. It ensures organisations can meet obligations, fund growth, and respond to risk without friction or delay.
At its core, treasury management covers:
- Cash and liquidity management to maintain availability across entities and geographies.
- Risk management across FX, interest rates, counterparties, and funding exposures.
- Working capital optimisation through collections, disbursements, and payment terms.
- Financing and investment activities spanning debt, equity, and surplus cash deployment.
- Technology selection and integration to enable visibility, automation, and control.
- Cross-functional collaboration with finance, procurement, tax, and business units.
- Relationship management with banks, investors, and external stakeholders.
Effective treasury management is essential for delivering real-time liquidity and cash visibility, reducing financial risk, improving profitability, and ensuring compliance. More importantly, it enables the treasury to fund strategy, support revenue generation, and operate with confidence in volatile conditions.
top treasury management trends defining future of treasury in 2026
Treasury teams face mounting pressure from fragmented systems, manual processes, and rising uncertainty. A survey at the Association for Financial Professionals’ 2025 conference found 80% of treasuries still rely on manual or disconnected tools. PwC’s 2025 Global Treasury Survey shows that only one in four organisations believe their digital and AI capabilities are mature.
To navigate these challenges, treasury leaders are reassessing operating models, risk frameworks, and technology priorities. Here are the treasury management trends that will shape operations in 2026 by determining how effectively treasuries maintain liquidity, manage exposure, and support growth in an always-on environment.
expanding private credit and digital trade instruments
Private credit is moving decisively into trade finance, filling gaps that traditional banking infrastructure cannot. E-bills of lading will also become one of the default digital trade instruments, reducing friction, disputes, and settlement delays. Together, these shifts demand tighter treasury oversight of funding sources, documentation, and counterparty exposure.
rising counterparty and supplier risk pressures
Counterparty risk has emerged as the treasury's top concern. Lengthening corporate payment terms are stretching supplier balance sheets, making supplier fragility a primary working-capital stress point. Treasuries must monitor exposure continuously and adjust liquidity strategies in near real time.
accelerating shift to AI-first treasury operations
As digitisation advances, some treasuries may bypass incremental automation and move directly to agentic and AI-driven treasury management. AI now supports cash forecasting, payment execution, accounting, and decision support. The focus is shifting from dashboards to predictive, self-adjusting operations.
strengthening fraud resilience in high-velocity environments
Fraud continues to evolve as transaction volumes rise. Social engineering, spoofing, business email compromise, and payment diversion require stronger authentication, frequent control reviews, and a reinforced human firewall. Treasury teams will increasingly need to blend behavioural controls with intelligent monitoring to tackle this risk.
sustaining relationship banking in a digital-first world
Despite automation, relationship banking will remain central. Collaboration between treasuries and banking partners will shape how organisations deliver real-time services. Trust, shared data, and coordinated innovation will define successful treasury ecosystems in 2026.
Infosys BPM supports organisations in designing and executing AI-driven treasury management strategies aligned to real-time operations. Its end-to-end finance and accounting outsourcing services help businesses integrate data, modernise platforms, and enable scalable treasury transformation with stronger visibility and control.
treasury management best practices: what treasury professionals must do in 2026
Closing the operational and data gaps that today's treasury professionals face requires decisive action and a mindset shift. Treasuries must move from periodic review to continuous orchestration. They can achieve this with key best practices such as:
- Take ownership by defining priority treasury questions and real-time data requirements.
- Architect an integrated ecosystem that eliminates data silos and manual handoffs.
- Implement an API-first approach to enable instant visibility and automated responses.
- Engage banking and technology partners to align with real-time operating models.
- Start with focused pilots that deliver value without waiting to build fully mature capabilities.
- Leverage embedded AI capabilities already available within existing platforms.
- Nominate an AI champion to drive governance, coordination, and learning.
- Establish governance early to build trust, control, and regulatory readiness.
- Map friction points where tokenised deposits or digital funds add measurable value.
- Run controlled pilots with banks and fintechs in defined corridors.
- Update policies covering security, accounting treatment, tax, and compliance.
- Engage audit, legal, and compliance teams early to accelerate adoption.
These best practices will be critical drivers for treasury teams aiming to sustain growth and remain competitive in 2026. Each action strengthens the foundation for real-time liquidity and cash visibility, enhanced decision-making, sharper risk management, and scalable operations. As the treasury's role shifts from reactive to predictive, technology will need to move from a support function to a strategic driver.
conclusion
Treasury enters an always-on era where speed, volatility, and intelligence define daily operations. The treasury management trends defining 2026 demand stronger integration, sharper risk awareness, and continuous decision-making. Teams that embed AI-driven treasury management and achieve real-time liquidity and cash visibility will be able to future-proof their operations and remain competitive. Those who hesitate will struggle to keep pace with a world that no longer waits.
Frequently Asked Question:
How can treasury teams use AI to enhance cash flow forecasting?
AI can improve cash flow forecasting by analyzing historical data, market trends, and real-time transactional data to predict liquidity needs. This ensures treasury teams can plan more effectively, reducing the likelihood of cash shortfalls or excessive cash holding. AI-powered forecasting supports proactive decision-making, enhancing financial stability and operational agility.
What risks do treasury teams face in the shift to AI-driven treasury operations?
Key risks include data integration challenges, reliance on incomplete data sets, and potential over-reliance on automated decision-making. Mitigating these risks requires ensuring high-quality data, maintaining human oversight, and continuously monitoring AI models. By balancing automation with human judgment, treasury teams can maximize the value of AI while minimizing risk.
What ROI can organizations expect from AI-driven treasury management?
AI-driven treasury management can significantly reduce manual processing time, improve cash flow visibility, and optimize working capital. The automation of routine tasks frees up treasury teams for higher-value activities, driving both cost savings and strategic insights. This enhances decision-making, supports faster response times, and strengthens financial resilience.
How can treasury teams ensure fraud resilience in high-velocity payment environments?
Treasury teams can ensure fraud resilience by implementing stronger authentication protocols, continuous monitoring, and AI-driven anomaly detection. These technologies detect fraud in real-time, preventing payment diversion and reducing exposure to fraud-related losses. Strengthening fraud resilience enhances operational security and protects organizational assets.
