Supply Chain Finance Now CFO Priority Thanks to AI, Says FIS

In a world beset by geopolitical uncertainty, tightening credit markets and rising capital costs, supply chain finance (SCF) is becoming a lifeline  — and automation is at the heart of its evolution.

As supply chains continue to stretch toward their breaking point, businesses are looking beyond traditional financing to secure resilience, agility and cash flow.

“Working capital and cash flow optimization is the driving force behind the surging demand for supply chain finance,” Seamus Smith, executive group president at FIS, told PYMNTS during a panel discussion with Maurice Benisty, chief commercial officer, supply chain finance (formerly with Demica) at FIS.

“In 2024, the accounts receivable financing market was estimated to be around $1.2 trillion. And more critically, this is forecast to double by 2033,” Smith added, noting that FIS’ strategic acquisition of the platform formerly known as Demica is now integrated into its broader receivables solutions.

This convergence of FinTech platforms, alternative capital sources, and even artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming supply chain finance from a corporate treasury tool into a mainstream financial strategy.

Regional Divergence, Global Convergence and Automation

Supply chain finance has evolved differently across global markets. In Europe, receivables finance is well established, accounting for about 10% of GDP in factoring volume. In contrast, the U.S. lags at approximately 1%, largely because of its reliance on asset-based lending (ABL). But that’s changing.

“As platforms are deployed to enable product delivery and make it more user-friendly, you’re starting to see growth pickup in receivables finance in the U.S.,” Benisty said, attributing this shift to technological ease of use and growing interest from nonbank funders, especially in the underserved mid-market.

Of course, demand for supply chain finance is further amplified by macroeconomic volatility.

“Concerns around tariffs are driving companies to stock up significantly,” Benisty said. “That causes an immediate financing requirement to fund those inventories, and you see utilization of lines increase.”

Modern SCF programs rely on more than balance sheets and spreadsheets — they’re built on data-driven platforms that automate everything from onboarding suppliers to executing funding decisions in real time. The benefits of automation are perhaps most apparent in large, complex, multi-jurisdictional finance programs.

Benisty pointed to one FIS client running a receivables program spanning 40 operating companies in different countries.

“We’re able to establish connectivity to those corporate ERPs [enterprise resource planning], push the data into our platform and configure transactions that are syndicated to different funders,” he said.

While this kind of syndication used to be reserved for the largest, most resource-rich companies, thanks to automation, it’s becoming accessible to a broader swath of the market, enabling companies of all sizes to benefit from liquidity, risk management and supplier stability.

A Strategic Mandate for CFOs

The holy grail for corporate finance leaders is integrated finance — where SCF tools are seamlessly embedded into accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) systems. This reduces friction, increases adoption and creates a superior user experience.

FIS’ cloud native GETPAID application exemplifies this shift. It provides real-time insights into receivables, allowing companies to make instant, data-driven decisions. More importantly, it is becoming a launchpad for integrating generative AI and agent-based intelligence.

“AI today is not just about automation — it’s about proactive decision-making,” Smith said. “Intelligently informed agents within AI environments will drive a level of proactivity the like of which we have not seen before.”

“Setting up supply chain finance programs is operationally intensive,” Benisty added. “We’re working closely with Seamus’ business to make it an integrated experience. If a corporate can look at its AR and AP software and have an indication of SCF availability through the portal, that creates a completely different buying experience.”

This AI-driven future is closer than most think. FIS has been collaborating with partners like Microsoft in laboratory settings to accelerate AI adoption across its platforms.

According to Smith, “the effectiveness of artificial intelligence is fueled by the depth of the data pool, and we believe the rich payment and invoice history we manage gives us a real edge.”

Both Smith and Benisty agreed that SCF is not a tactical tool — it’s a strategic mandate. Chief financial officers (CFOs) who embrace automated, data-rich and AI-enhanced platforms can achieve more than operational efficiency; they can fundamentally improve liquidity, risk posture and enterprise valuation.

Smith summed it up: “I’d tell a room of 500 CFOs to focus on the opportunity to broaden and diversify their working capital solutions. The reality is, the data sets we’re now combining mean we can make access to SCF super attractive as part of a company’s overall financing efforts. If you’ve got good foundations in this area, it increases your ability to compete. And that’s everything.”