Payments and treasury are products now
A commercial bank can keep running payments and treasury as plumbing, priced into the loan margin and given away to win the operating account. Or it can decide to sell them, packaging cash flow forecasting, liquidity tools and payment orchestration as commercial services that clients pay for. We think the second decision is the one that pays, and corporate clients agree. In Celent's survey of banks and corporates on AI in payments, 77% of corporates interested in data-led services rank analytics-driven tools among the top three services they would pay to access.
The usual objection is that charging for treasury puts the relationship at risk. The bigger risk is giving it away while someone else builds it better. According to Datos Insights' 2026 Fintech 50 report, nearly 90% of large and midsize U.S. commercial banking clients work with a fintech vendor for payments or cash management. Half work with two or more. The gap sits on the bank's side of the table: in CGI's 2025 Transaction Banking Survey, 83% of corporates see real-time forecasting as high value, against only 31% of banks.
What a treasurer will pay for is changing, too. Real-time rails carry the data, and AI turns that data into forecasts, routing decisions and advice a finance team can act on.
How payments and treasury have evolved
For decades, payments and treasury management systems relied on outdated methods, such as dial-up connections and physical data transfer. Then, the internet brought a significant shift, followed by the mobile banking wave, which offered instant information on the go. Now, we stand at the cusp of a third and even more transformative wave: Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI is opening up transformative opportunities across payments and treasury by:
Real-time payments and the emergence of liquidity-as-a-service
The traditional model of relying heavily on relationship managers for client servicing is becoming increasingly unsustainable due to rising costs; the cost to serve through the RM model exceeds income by 55%. But modernized payments can play a new, highly strategic role.
Real-time payments are reshaping these models, especially for mid-sized banks. In the US, it's a new payment rail after a long time, but globally, many countries have already embraced real-time payments. Businesses now receive funds instantly, transforming previously illiquid assets into immediate sources of capital and paving the way for “on-demand liquidity”.
The ability to get money when you need it really quick in a business context changes the dynamics. Along with that comes the information. Right? Most of these real time payment systems have solved one of the key issues that have been plaguing business banking for a very, very long time, which is information flow.
Arun Ramamoorthy
Head of Commercial Banking at Backbase
Unlike traditional payments that often lack context, real-time payment systems provide rich data, enabling businesses to understand and apply funds more effectively. This information flow creates new opportunities for banks to monetize payment rails and offer various value-added capabilities.
One of those capabilities starts in the back office. AI that automates payment processing and predicts money movement ingests, maps and reconciles payment files across formats and rails. The same transaction data then becomes forecasts a client values.
AI’s transformational impact on treasury
The focus used to be primarily on basic automation: moving files or payment messages quickly. With AI, this shifts dramatically. AI transforms treasury into a strategic driver, acting as a predictive and advisory partner.
AI can drive growth by:
For three of these use cases with the ROI behind them, from commercial onboarding to client-facing liquidity tools, see three AI use cases delivering measurable ROI in commercial banking.
Real-world AI applications
Let’s break this down into practical, actionable areas where AI is making a real difference:
1. Revenue growth
AI enables smarter client segmentation, allowing banks to provide tailored dashboards and tools that resonate with specific client roles, like administrators or controllers. By surfacing targeted offers based on client platform usage, AI helps increase product adoption, reduce churn, and directly boost non-interest income and overall revenue.
2. Enhanced customer experience
AI significantly improves the customer experience through conversational interfaces, creating a concierge-like feel for digital banking. This allows for personalized, interactive, and informative digital experiences, complete with tailored financial coaching, ensuring a "white-glove" service even in a digital environment.
3. Operational efficiency
Operational efficiency is dramatically improved as AI facilitates frictionless onboarding and origination, streamlining processes for clients. It also enables smarter customer due diligence by giving relationship managers instant access to crucial data, cutting research time and fostering more insightful conversations. It helps resolve disputes faster by equipping back-office teams with real-time insights, reducing a major cost center.
Looking ahead: tokenizing assets and liabilities
Tokenization could be the most profound shift of all. It turns static, often illiquid assets on a balance sheet into dynamic digital tokens. These tokens can be traded, leveraged, or repurposed, creating new liquidity where none existed before.
The question for banks is how to prepare for it and monetize it effectively. The answer lies in flexibility and an agile platform.
Preparing for a tokenized future
To stay competitive, banks need to lay the groundwork today for an increasingly tokenized financial ecosystem.
In summary
How Backbase helps
Backbase helps financial institutions move beyond legacy limitations and reinvent their commercial banking journeys, from payments and treasury to onboarding, servicing, and engagement. Our AI-Native Banking OS enables banks to unify fragmented experiences, adopt AI-powered capabilities, and deliver seamless digital journeys across the entire client lifecycle. For how it sits above cores, CRMs and payment systems and coordinates the work between them, see what the AI-Native Banking OS is and why banks need it.
With pre-integrated modules, open APIs, and a flexible “buy plus build” architecture, Backbase is the ideal partner for banks preparing to thrive in an AI-driven, tokenized future.
Discover how we can help you turn payments and treasury into strategic growth engines.
