“Treasury-as-a-Service” is transforming how businesses manage their finances and transactions
The role of the corporate treasurer is constantly evolving. Traditional corporate structures have been transformed over the last few decades, meaning the role of the treasurer is more varied, strategic, and crucial to the day-to-day running of businesses than at any other time.
As with Software as a Service (SaaS), TaaS goes beyond mere technical support. It aims to meet the very objective of modern treasury even more pointedly: eliminating inefficient and repetitive tasks that can easily be performed by someone else who is familiar with the system and understands treasury processes.
Abdul Naushad, president and CEO, at Buckzy Payments Inc, says TaaS plays a vital role in processing international cross-border payments.
“Rather than merely automating the treasury function, TaaS streamlines and improves it by eliminating inefficient and repetitive tasks that an employee familiar with the system and knowledgeable of treasury processes can effectively perform,” Naushad explains.
Treasurers need accurate data and results, especially when it comes to cross-border payments.
“Depending on a company’s size and strategy, treasury services may be required. Treasury processes include several non-mission-critical and non-core competencies. In theory, TaaS can cover any corporate treasury operation and can be made to fit any functionality required. It is a question of capacity, focus and, ultimately, preference,” continued Naushad.
And according to Bob Merali, director of treasury and FX trading at Buckzy Payments Inc, when it comes to FX management, currency conversion and hedging can also start shifting to real-time via TaaS.
“In the traditional process of cross-currency transactions, batch processing obscures conversion rates and exposes investors to rate fluctuations,” explained Merali. “As long as FX conversion and hedging are not also treated in real-time, multinational corporations working in multiple currencies will not fully benefit from real-time payments.”
Merali also notes the frequent disconnect between cross-currency conversion and the booking process in terms of when the payment is executed and what rate is used. “Real-time technology can provide unprecedented visibility over a traditionally opaque part of Treasury by time-, date-, and rate-stamping each conversion,” he said. “Real-time technology and artificial intelligence can also combine to execute hedges based on user-defined rules.
Merali concluded, “For corporates there are two main routes to supporting their treasury function – using powerful and expensive treasury software solutions: or choosing to outsource with TaaS instead. Both options meet the needs and priorities of today’s business which are also vital components to cross border payments – whether it’s compliance, risk, corporate development, forecasting, analytics, or capital strategy.”