Nearly half of growth corporates across Asia Pacific, companies with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion, say they don’t use working capital tools. Not because they don’t need them, but because what’s available doesn’t match how they actually operate.
That finding, from Visa’s latest Working Capital Index done in collaboration with PYMNTS Intelligence, points to one of the biggest disconnects in corporate finance across the region: Companies that need flexible access to cash aren’t getting it from their banks.
“What we are hearing from CFOs across Asia Pacific is very clear. The region’s working capital realities have shifted. However, a lot of the financial solutions haven’t necessarily kept up,” Chavi Jafa, senior vice president and head of commercial and money movement solutions for Asia Pacific at Visa, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.
If those chief financial officers could start from scratch, Jafa said, the answer would be unanimous: “If Asia Pacific CFOs had a blank slate having very flexible, tailored sector specific solutions that can meet the operational needs of a particular industry sector would come out as absolutely number one on their list of must-haves.”
What the Best CFOs Are Doing Differently
This year’s Working Capital Index surveyed roughly 1,500 CFOs across 10 industries and five regions. Among them, a clear gap is emerging between those who treat working capital as a defensive tool and those who use it to create opportunity.
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“High performing CFOs are using working capital solutions to seize on unplanned opportunities,” Jafa said. Rather than holding cash in reserve for planned investments alone, the top performers are paying suppliers early to lock in inventory, capture discounts and act on time-sensitive openings.
Commercial and virtual cards have become central to that playbook, functioning less as payment tools and more as flexible funding mechanisms. Cards are helping bridge short-term funding gaps while speeding up the time it takes to get paid, smoothing cash cycles and reducing reliance on more expensive borrowing.
The data backs that up. According to Visa and PYMNTS Intelligence, companies that accept cards to shorten the time it takes to collect payments reduce revenue lost to late payments by about 10%. A shift that also correlates with stronger Working Capital Index scores.
Why One-Size-Fits-All Doesn’t Work in Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific CFOs operate in what Jafa described as a high-growth, high-velocity environment, one that demands fast access to cash and financial partners who understand the specific rhythms of their industries.
Take manufacturing and construction. These firms often run on project-based revenue with irregular payment schedules. Products built for companies with steady, predictable cash flow don’t fit. CFOs in these sectors want solutions shaped around how their businesses actually work, not generic offerings they have to work around.
“Truly one size does not fit all,” Jafa said, noting that products misaligned with a company’s operational or sector-specific needs increasingly go unused.
At the same time, the Working Capital Index shows that Asia Pacific stands out as a region where top-performing companies have unlocked real value by using working capital strategically — reinforcing the case that better, more flexible tools would find willing users.
What CFOs Want: Self-Service, Speed and Smarter Tools
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Webster noted that CFO expectations are shifting toward self-service. Finance leaders want to access capital on their own terms, through digital interfaces, when they need it. Jafa agreed, emphasizing that working capital is evolving into a continuously available resource rather than something negotiated in periodic conversations with a banker.
That means quick access to short-term cash through digital channels, including virtual cards that let CFOs control exactly when payments go out and get rapid approvals for early supplier payments or urgent purchases. Built-in compliance checks and simplified credit management are cutting down on administrative burden, while digital tools are lowering the cost of audits and ongoing facility management.
Artificial intelligence is also starting to reshape the picture. Jafa said CFOs are asking for tools that can forecast cash positions, flag supplier risks and recommend when to pay, what rates to choose and how to manage currency exposure — all within the platforms they already use to manage cash.
Building Capital Into the Payment Itself
For many CFOs, the most tangible change is how working capital is being woven directly into payment systems. Jafa said that integrating financing into the tools companies already use to pay bills and get paid allows CFOs to speed up supplier payments, strengthen supply chains and act on AI-driven recommendations in real time.
Virtual cards are playing a central role. Jafa pointed to three reasons behind their growing adoption: instant access to credit, the data they generate for cash flow forecasting, and the flexibility of being fully digital.
The final piece is supplier buy-in. When suppliers accept cards, they get paid faster, losses from late payments drop and financial performance improves on both sides.
“The moment suppliers start to accept cards, they shorten their day sales outstanding cycle,” Jafa said. “That becomes quite significant” in the Asia Pacific region.
What Comes Next
Visa is working with banks across the region to build industry- and country-specific approaches that reflect local conditions, while expanding commercial and virtual card capabilities. AI and digital tools are layered into these solutions to give CFOs better visibility into their cash positions and automate routine payment and liquidity decisions.
Banks, Jafa added, are now redesigning products to account for the diversity of Asia Pacific markets, from mature economies to rapidly developing ones.
The next phase, she said, will be defined by solutions that are deeply tailored and delivered digitally, embedded in the systems CFOs already use. “Embedding those solutions and providing digitization, flexibility and layering AI is really the next generation of solutions that is needed.”
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