Technological advancement and innovation is vital in achieving treasury/cash management goals, said 55 per cent of clients who took part in a major survey conducted by Barclays, a global provider of financial services.

Global organisations with a turnover of $1 billion and more are increasingly focusing on cash and treasury management to support business growth and manage costs and investments, according to the report released by Barclays.

The industry has voiced a clear need to drive innovation in the cash management space with 25 per cent of the surveyed willing to invest $500,000 to upwards of $1 million towards advancement in the next 12 to 24 months.

Of the interviewed, 90 per cent of the clients’ consider cost and quality of innovation as a roadblock to the growth of the space. A little over 25 per cent are wary of implementing innovation due to their reluctance of adopting new technology coupled with lack of understanding of the current products and services available in the market.

Oliver Baillie, head of Cash Management, Middle East at Barclays, said: “Corporations of all sizes are increasingly turning to their financial institutions to provide them with cash and treasury management services that genuinely transform the way that they operate. Demand from corporate clients, in addition to the competitiveness of the cash management marketplace, is driving an abundance of innovation in this space.”

Banks that invest in enhancements to core products and functionality are able to move up the value chain, have more strategic dialogue and help clients deliver improved efficiency. As per the survey, corporates said that innovation will lead to improving process efficiency, reduce cost, facilitate business activity and build improved customer experience.

“Nearly 70 per cent of the surveyed consider banks as their most important partner for innovation and 80 per cent of our clients have placed us in their innovation agenda going forward,” Baillie added.

With entrepreneurism on the rise in the Middle East and businesses enjoying rapid growth, scalable and efficient cash management practices are essential to maintaining control of corporates’ finances, he noted. – TradeArabia News Service