The Future of Corporate Treasury

22 Treasury and Trade Solutions • Robotics process automation (RPA) is in essence nothing more than a newer version of the traditional concept of automation. However, RPA is more integrated across various systems and helps bring treasury processes toward new levels of automation and efficiency. • Application programming interfaces (APIs) are standardized interfaces to easier connect different applications and systems. APIs create opportunities for corporate treasury to facilitate processes and decision-making via real-time access to information such as bank balances for optimized cash management. • Machine learning (ML) uses statistical techniques to have systems “learn” from data which creates opportunities in predicting patterns for example in the areas of cash flow forecasting and payment screening. • Distributed ledger technology (DLT) , where ledgers are distributed across participants to ensure a single source of truth, received a lot of attention and gained popularity with claims of it being the “holy grail” for improving almost all business processes ranging from supply chain finance to smart treasury contracts. • Artificial intelligence (AI) where systems take the treasury environment into account and use cognitive functions to learn and solve problems. According to Ray Kurzweil, a well-known futurist, by 2029 computers will have human level intelligence by passing the Turing test. • Turing test is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior. The test is successful when an independent evaluator can no longer distinguish whether it is speaking to a human or a computer. Computers are predicted to pass this test by 2029. • Technological singularity refers to a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed. Glossary