Organizations across the globe saw their resilience tested in 2020. Despite calls from CEOs and CTOs to digitalize operational processes over the years, it was Covid-19 that pushed them to act with urgency, adopt new workflows, and experiment with emerging technologies.

Over the course of 2020, the board of editors at The Asset were presented a number of treasury solutions aimed at making financial processes efficient and automated. A number of these digital solutions, for example, leveraged blockchain technology to verify electronic letters of credit, while other organizations used blockchain’s verifying capability to provide fast and accurate payments to suppliers across multiple tiers.

Robotic process automation (RPA) was also deployed in a few treasury solutions presented to the board of editors with RPA being cited as a key tool in helping treasury teams forgo repetitive tasks and avoid manual errors in transaction processing.

Traditional companies weren’t the only ones looking to upgrade their treasury management systems amid the disruptions resulting from the pandemic. New economy companies such as e-commerce platforms saw a sharp increase in demand for their services in 2020 when social distancing controls were first implemented. From food delivery to basic necessities, these platforms were needed more than ever under the new normal.

Banks played a major role in supporting the growth of these new economy companies, acting as a tool to facilitate a better customer experience for users of e-commerce platforms, providing instant settlement of payments, and enhancing the transparency of transactions.  Application programming interface (API) formed the bedrock that banks used to win mandates from these companies. Other banks paired seamless API connectivity capabilities with FX services, particularly useful for platform-based companies involved in cross-border transactions looking to avoid the burden of dealing with currencies with capital restrictions.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst: that’s the key lesson the pandemic has bestowed on treasury management professionals initially shocked by the unprecedented crisis. While digitalization is not a one-size-fits-all solution, it proved invaluable to ease the burden faced by treasury functions today.

Over the last few weeks, The Asset has been revealing winners of The Triple A Treasury, Trade, Sustainable Supply Chain and Risk Management Awards 2021.

To see the Best New Economy solutions please click here.

To see the Best Digital solutions please click here.

To learn more about these awards, please click here.

For more information about receiving the awards, please contact [email protected].

The virtual awards ceremony for The Asset Triple A Treasury, Trade, SSC and Risk Management Awards 2021 is scheduled to take place on June, 17 2021.