Treasury Tech Finds A Home In Bank-FinTech Collaboration

Banks’ embrace of FinTech is often driven by consumers’ growing demand for a more seamless and unified experience. But corporates can benefit from industry collaboration, too.

Increasingly, treasurers are seeking intelligent solutions augmented by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) — and banks are turning outward to meet those needs.

This week’s look at the latest in bank-FinTech collaboration and open banking initiatives finds treasury management in the spotlight. Plus, a new challenger bank in Italy has plans for the nation’s largest open banking platform.

HighRadius & Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank has broadened its partnership with treasury management and order-to-cash solution provider HighRadius to augment its own offerings to corporate clients. The companies said they have expanded an existing partnership that will see Commerce Bank integrate HighRadius’s full suite of integrated receivables and treasury management tools, one year after another expansion in which the bank added HighRadius’s Virtual Card Processing and Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment technologies.

HighRadius Chief Product Officer Sayid Shabeer said AI-driven technologies are in demand among corporate treasurers.

“In this digital-first economy, AI is a critical component of [corporates’] digital transformation,” he said.

BNY Mellon & GTreasury

Also focused on the corporate treasury arena is BNY Mellon, which announced a partnership with GTreasury. Business clients of BNY Mellon will now have access to GTreasury’s treasury management and payment technologies, which the bank said will provide enhanced visibility into financial positions and greater opportunity to use assets.

GTreasury will be directly integrated into BNY Mellon’s LiquidityDirect money market funds investment platform, allowing corporate treasurer clients to wield cash management tools from GTreasury while also gaining the opportunity for incremental income.

In a statement, BNY Mellon Head of Liquidity Services George Maganas said the connectivity between the two solutions is a “natural fit, as it will enable clients to operate within one ecosystem to manage both their cash and payments while interacting with their global digital liquidity network for short-term investments via BNY Mellon.”

Tink & Enel X

Enel X, the business unit of Enel Group, Europe’s largest utility, recently revealed in a press release a new partnership with open banking technology provider Tink. Enel X is looking to expand its offerings under its Enel X Financial Services subsidiary and will collaborate with Tink to develop a range of new products for its clients across Italy and Europe. Specifically, Enel X Financial Services will wield Tink’s personal finance management and digital banking tools available via its open banking platform, and it plans to roll out new solutions in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Enel X Financial Services CEO Giulio Carone said the offerings are “powered by the new possibilities created by open banking,” pointing to Tink’s ML technology that can strengthen the product offering to the end-user.

Illimity & HYPE

In Italy, digital bank Illimity is investing in open banking through the acquisition of HYPE. According to a press release, the acquisition of 50 percent of HYPE positions Illimity to create Italy’s largest open banking platform.

The acquisition agreement was made in conjunction with Sella Group subsidiary Fabrick, which will support the creation of the open banking platform.

In a statement, Illimity Founder and CEO Corrado Passera said speed is now imperative in the financial services world for providers to develop and launch sophisticated products and services.

Separately, Fabrick Chairman and Sella Group CEO Pietro Sella said, “Open innovation and open banking are the path to innovate financial services.”