This article is written by our partner, SAP Taulia
Stablecoins have evolved from an experimental technology to a tool with the potential to transform corporate treasury – removing many of the barriers to fast and cost-efficient cross-border payments. So what do Treasurers need to do to take advantage? PayPal’s Sharyn Tan and SAP Taulia’s Charles Brough share their takeaways from a recent Treasurers’ Club event.
Stablecoins and digital payments have a vital role to play in reshaping corporate treasury operations. The energy around this topic is palpable – but questions remain around how companies can use stablecoins to enhance liquidity management, improve cash visibility, and streamline cross-border transactions.
To shed light on this topic, Sharyn Tan, Head of Product Liquidity and New Products for Treasury at PayPal, joined a recent Treasurers’ Club event hosted by SAP Taulia’s Charles Brough. During the session, Sharyn shared her views on the role stablecoins can play in transforming treasury and how treasurers can future-proof their working capital strategies.
In this blog, Sharyn and Charles reflect on their key takeaways from the discussion. If you missed the session, or if you’d like a reminder of the main topics covered during the event, read on.
A fundamental shift is underway in the world of payments. The way in which companies manage money is evolving fast – and while traditional payments aren’t going away, stablecoins are emerging as a significant force with the potential to reshape corporate payments.
As we heard during the Treasurers’ Club discussion, what’s driving this evolution is a desire for speed, transparency, and efficiency, particularly in the area of cross-border payments.
But in order to adopt new technologies, companies will first need to adapt their operational models and risk management strategies.
As we heard during the session, not all stablecoins are created equal – so it’s important for treasurers to have a clear understanding of this developing landscape.
Various stablecoins are now available, each with its own backing mechanism and regulatory status. PayPal USD (PYUSD), which is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a New York Department of Financial Services chartered limited purpose trust company, is a regulated stablecoin with one-to-one backing in US dollars and highly liquid short-term US government securities. Other examples of US dollar backed stablecoins include USDT and USDC.
We also discussed the maturing regulatory environment. Governments and regulatory bodies are moving away from outright rejection of stablecoins and are increasingly developing frameworks that enhance consumer protection, adding legitimacy for corporate adoption.
With use cases expanding beyond crypto trading, we are now seeing leading enterprises exploring how they can harness stablecoins to transform their corporate treasury operations – for example, in transactions such as large cross-border dividend payments and intercompany funding as well as paying vendor invoices.
For banks, meanwhile, stablecoins present both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, stablecoins may play a role in reducing reliance on traditional correspondent banking – but at the same time, banks are looking at ways to integrate stablecoin capabilities and develop interoperability with digital assets.
During the discussion, we talked about some of the ways that corporate treasurers can benefit from stablecoins:
So how can corporate treasury teams best leverage stablecoins? And how can they get started? We believe the following steps are key to making the most of these emerging opportunities:
The future of payments is being shaped by the developments we’re seeing today. To learn more about how your corporate treasury function can prepare for next-generation payments, check out the latest report in our CFO Perspectives series, which you can download here.
Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click the button below.
From Treasury Masterminds
Many treasury teams believe ISO 20022 is largely behind them.
After all, payment files have been migrated, banks have updated their channels, ERP providers have released new formats, and most organisations have survived the initial transition without major disruption.
Unfortunately, November 2026 suggests otherwise.
The next major milestone in the ISO 20022 journey is approaching, and it could have a far bigger operational impact than many treasury teams realise.
Several payments organisations and market infrastructures have identified November 2026 as the next critical milestone in the global ISO 20022 migration.
While much of the attention over the past few years focused on payment initiation and reporting messages, the next phase extends deeper into payment investigations, enquiries and exception handling.
Financial institutions will increasingly be expected to process investigation and enquiry messages using ISO 20022 MX standards rather than legacy formats.
At the same time, structured data requirements continue to expand across the payments ecosystem.
In simple terms, the industry is moving beyond simply sending payments in ISO 20022 format. The focus is now shifting towards how payments are investigated, repaired, tracked and reported when something goes wrong.
And as every treasurer knows, that is often where the real operational challenges begin.
Recent industry surveys paint a mixed picture.
While significant progress has been made, a considerable number of financial institutions remain behind schedule in several key areas:
The challenge is not necessarily sending payments.
The challenge is handling the increasingly rich data that accompanies those payments throughout their lifecycle.
Historically, many payment investigations relied on manual processes, free-text fields and significant human intervention.
ISO 20022 aims to replace much of that ambiguity with structured information.
That is good news for efficiency.
It is less good news for organisations whose systems, processes or data models are not yet prepared.
It is tempting to view ISO 20022 as primarily a banking project.
That would be a mistake.
Corporate treasury sits at the centre of payment operations, liquidity management and bank connectivity. As banks continue their migration efforts, treasury teams will inevitably feel the impact.
Three areas deserve particular attention.
Many treasury projects officially closed their ISO 20022 workstreams months or even years ago.
That does not mean testing can stop.
Banks continue to introduce enhancements, new requirements and additional message types. Treasury teams should maintain regular dialogue with their banking partners and continue validating connectivity between:
The organisations that experience the fewest issues tend to be the ones that treat connectivity as an ongoing process rather than a one-time project.
One of the major promises of ISO 20022 is better transparency throughout the payment lifecycle.
Investigations, recalls, returns and exception handling processes are increasingly dependent on structured information.
When payment data is incomplete, inconsistent or poorly mapped, resolution times can increase significantly.
Treasury teams should therefore pay close attention to:
The quality of payment data is rapidly becoming just as important as the payment itself.
Many organisations completed their ISO 20022 projects based on minimum compliance requirements.
That was often the correct decision at the time.
However, as banks and market infrastructures continue expanding their use of ISO 20022 capabilities, treasury teams should revisit previous assumptions.
Questions worth asking include:
A quick health check today is significantly cheaper than a remediation project next year.
ISO 20022 is often described as a messaging standard.
In reality, it is becoming a data standard.
The long-term value lies not in XML files but in richer, more structured information flowing across the financial ecosystem.
That data will support:
The organisations that treat ISO 20022 purely as a compliance exercise may meet the deadline.
The organisations that treat it as a data transformation opportunity are likely to gain the greatest benefits.
November 2026 may not generate the same headlines as the original migration deadlines, but it represents another important step in the industry’s ISO 20022 journey.
For treasurers, the message is simple.
Don’t assume ISO 20022 is finished.
Keep testing. Keep validating data quality. Keep challenging vendors and banking partners.
Because in payments, the difficult part is rarely sending the payment.
It is dealing with everything that happens after it leaves your account.
Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click the button below.
This article is written by SisID
The European Instant Payment Regulation (IPR) requires payment service providers (PSPs) to set up a beneficiary verification mechanism. This mechanism has to follow the Verification of Payee (VOP) scheme, in order to comply with the regulation. VOP provides a seamless way for banks and PSPs to ensure that the account details provided by the requesting party match those of the intended payee. By verifying the payee’s account details before processing a payment, VOP helps prevent misdirected payments and reduces the risk of fraud.
Verification of Payee (VOP) is a European initiative aimed at protecting users of payment systems from fraud. As part of the Instant Payment Regulation (IPR), VOP ensures that the bank account number matches the name of the payee before processing a payment. The IPR is a legislative proposal from the European Commission designed to standardize and promote instant transfers within the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) zone. These instant transfers allow funds to be transferred in less than 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing a fast and modern alternative to traditional payments, which are often slower. By implementing VOP, banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) can enhance the security and accuracy of payments, responding to requests for verification in real-time and reducing the risk of fraud.
Join us on the 29th of June, 2026 for Masterclass with SisID where Verification of Payee works and where it fails. In this 45-minute session, we take a practical look at how VoP is being used today, and what happens when it meets real-world processes.
We’ll cover:
Click below to register for free and submit any questions you have to the panel ahead of time!
Verification of Payee (VOP) involves several key components that ensure the accuracy and security of payments. These components work together to verify the payee’s account details before processing a payment, thereby preventing fraud and ensuring payment accuracy.
Implementing Verification of Payee (VOP) can present several challenges for banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
However, understanding these challenges and adopting effective solutions can ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
VOP not only builds customer trust by demonstrating a commitment to safeguarding their funds but also ensures compliance with stringent regulatory requirements.
As banks and PSPs have to adopt VOP, they must focus on maintaining high data quality, integrating VOP with existing systems, and educating customers about its benefits. By leveraging advanced technology and staying proactive in addressing challenges, financial institutions can offer a seamless and efficient Verification of Payee service that meets the needs of their customers and enhances the integrity of their payment systems.
Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click the button below.
Written by Renea Mahadeo, Treasury Masterminds Board Member
Digital assets are showing up in how payments settle, how liquidity is managed, and how banks are thinking about the infrastructure behind your accounts. The pace of change is accelerating. A regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the US is now on a statutory timeline, central banks across Asia and the Middle East are moving from pilot to production on digital currencies, and major banks and asset managers are issuing tokenised instruments on distributed ledgers. Corporate treasury teams that have been watching from the sidelines are finding that the sidelines are getting smaller. This article cuts through the broader market noise and focuses on what digital assets actually mean for the treasury function, which instruments are relevant, and where to direct your attention first.
Digital assets is a broad term that covers a wide range of instruments, not all of which are equally relevant to corporate treasury. Understanding the distinctions matters, because the conversation often conflates very different categories with very different risk profiles and use cases.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most visible digital assets and have attracted the most public attention. Some companies have incorporated them into treasury reserves as an alternative store of value, and institutional custody and accounting frameworks have developed to support that approach. For most corporate treasury functions, however, the more operationally relevant instruments sit in three other categories.
Stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to a fiat currency, typically the US dollar, and backed by reserves held by the issuer. They carry the settlement speed and programmability of blockchain infrastructure without the price volatility that makes cryptocurrencies difficult to incorporate into treasury operations. Several dollar-pegged stablecoins are already moving significant institutional payment volume, and the regulatory framework governing their issuance and use in the United States is now being finalised under the GENIUS Act.
Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, are digital versions of sovereign currencies issued directly by central banks. Unlike stablecoins, which are issued by private entities, CBDCs carry the full backing of the issuing central bank. The UAE Digital Dirham is in active development, several Asian markets are already live or in advanced pilot phases, and the European Central Bank is progressing its digital euro work. For multinational treasury teams operating across these jurisdictions, CBDCs will increasingly become part of the payment landscape your treasury infrastructure needs to connect to.
Tokenised deposits and tokenised money market funds represent the integration of conventional financial instruments with distributed ledger technology. Banks are issuing digital representations of deposits on blockchain infrastructure, and asset managers are creating tokenised versions of money market funds that offer the same underlying risk profile with greater liquidity and programmability. These instruments sit at the more familiar end of the risk spectrum and are likely to be the first category that many corporate treasury teams encounter in practice.
The relevance to treasury is not abstract. Three operational areas are directly affected by the shift toward digital asset infrastructure, and they sit at the core of what the treasury function manages every day.
Cross-border payments represent the most immediate and economically significant use case. The correspondent banking model that underpins most international payments routes transactions through multiple intermediary banks, each adding processing time, fees, and a degree of opacity to where funds are at any given moment. For a corporate treasury managing cash across multiple operating jurisdictions, this means slower settlement, fragmented cash visibility, and a cost structure that compounds with every hop in the payment chain. Stablecoin and CBDC settlement on distributed ledger infrastructure replaces that chain with a peer-to-peer transfer that settles in seconds and posts a permanent transaction record your treasury team can access in real time. The improvement in cash visibility is often as commercially meaningful as the reduction in fees.
Most cash positioning models are built around the rhythms of traditional banking: end-of-day statements, same-day settlement cut-offs, and overnight investment windows. Blockchain settlement operates continuously, without the batch processing cycles that traditional rails rely on. That changes the frequency and accuracy of the data inputs your cash position depends on, and over time it changes how you structure intraday liquidity buffers and short-term investment decisions.
Moving cash between group entities across borders carries the same correspondent banking friction as any external payment, even when the transaction is purely internal. Tokenised instruments settled on a shared internal ledger can eliminate that friction while maintaining the transaction-level audit trail that your financial controllers and auditors require.
Moving from awareness to action requires more than understanding the instruments and their use cases. Three areas of preparation need to be addressed before any treasury team can move toward evaluation or implementation.
Regulatory clarity varies significantly by jurisdiction and by instrument type. The United States now has a clear regulatory pathway for payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act, with implementing rules on a statutory timeline and a full framework expected to be operational by early 2027. The UAE has VARA providing active oversight of virtual assets. Other markets are at varying stages of development, and some jurisdictions have not yet defined their approach. Treasury teams need to understand the regulatory status of any instrument they are considering in each jurisdiction where they operate, not just their home market, before they can make informed decisions about which instruments are viable.
Accounting treatment has not been harmonised across major reporting frameworks, and this is a practical constraint that affects how digital assets appear on your balance sheet and financial statements. IFRS and US GAAP both treat digital assets differently from conventional financial instruments, and neither framework was designed with stablecoins or CBDCs in mind. The specifics of how you hold, transact, and report digital asset activity need to be worked through with your financial controller and external auditors before any live programme begins.
Some ERPs and finance platforms are not natively connected to digital asset payment rails, and building that connectivity requires integration work across your existing financial technology stack. The gap between your current infrastructure and a live stablecoin or CBDC payment network is a real project with real resourcing and timeline requirements, and factoring that into your planning early will prevent delays later.
Map your cross-border payment corridors and identify where friction is highest. You are looking for the corridors where correspondent banking fees are most significant, where settlement times create the greatest cash visibility problem, or where opacity in the payment chain causes the most operational difficulty. Those are the corridors where the alternative settlement architecture makes the strongest economic case, and they represent the natural starting point for any digital asset programme in treasury.
Start the internal education and alignment process now, before you reach the evaluation stage. Your financial controller needs to be across the accounting implications. Your legal team needs to understand the regulatory landscape in your operating jurisdictions. Your banking partners need to be part of the conversation about connectivity and how digital asset rails interact with your existing bank relationships. Beginning those conversations now puts your treasury team ahead of the procurement cycle that the GENIUS Act timeline is about to trigger.
Follow the CBDC development timeline in the jurisdictions where you operate. Central bank digital currencies will not arrive everywhere simultaneously, but the timelines are becoming more predictable as central banks move from research and pilot into implementation. Understanding which markets are progressing fastest, and what the integration requirements for those currencies will look like, gives your treasury team the lead time to prepare the systems, processes, and internal sign-off that any new payment infrastructure will require.
Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click the button below.
