On Monday, TD Bank released its 2017 Treasury Management Survey, which revealed that technological innovation and disruption is set to greatly influence the investment priorities and business plans of financial executives. The report noted that for 2018 and beyond, financial professionals cite process automatic at 31%, distributed ledger/blockchain at 23%, and artificial intelligence (A.I.)/robotics at 15% as the top disruptive technologies that will have the largest impact on treasure functions and payments over the next two to three years.
According to TD Bank, the survey collected insight from 340 corporate treasurers and other finance professionals at the 2017 Association for Financial Professionals Annual Conference in San Diego, California. The survey noted that disruptive technologies are top of mind for the participants, who also cited that they are preparing for changes in the treasury management industry by:
- Leveraging solutions from fintech providers (31%)
- Developing in-house technology for competition (23%)
- Hiring more tech-savvy employers (15%)
TD Bank then explained:
“Although most companies are taking proactive steps to embrace technology in their finance capabilities, another 29 percent of respondents said that they are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. While more than a quarter of executives reported taking a more cautious road, 10 percent of their peers indicated they will invest in one of the more experimental technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics.”
Chris Giamo, Head of Commercial Bank at TD Bank added:
“It is no surprise that technology and automation factor high in near-term investment plans, as financial professionals and treasurers- like most functions – are continually challenged with doing more with less. The capability of these tools to increase speed, accuracy, and efficiency could dramatically streamline workflows.”