The pace of change in all technology and market infrastructure is increasing, driven by the shift to an always-on financial system that does not close on weekends or holidays. Soon, securities will be bought and sold, leveraged, and risk managed continuously, every day. For organizations and their treasuries, this requires more than a simple upgrade. A real wealth revolution is needed to keep pace.
Since payments and payments are moving in real time, income can flow at any hour of the day. This creates new demands on treasury operations: it increases time risk, raises the cost of idle capital, and forces quick decisions.
At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and agent AI are raising both expectations and capabilities in terms of automation, responsiveness and intelligent execution, further accelerating the move away from traditional treasury operating models.
Treasury teams don't need to change overnight. But there are clear benefits to building the foundations of intraday liquidity management today. Doing so helps organizations engage with emerging trends 24/7/365 as they develop, position themselves for economic growth, manage risk and capture new opportunities.
Why End-of-Day Stewardship Models Must Change
Historically, treasury management revolved around highly structured day-to-day processes because payments were processed through checks, Automated Clearing House (ACH), and other collection-based systems. Liquidity management was therefore designed around settlement windows, time limits, and end-of-day optimization.
In a typical cycle, securities were paid in the morning, payments to lenders were made throughout the day, and surplus funds were swept between accounts to limit deficits or increase investment opportunities. At the end of the business, the treasury teams sought a defined area: zero accumulation accounts, funded payment accounts, increased investment and reduced overdraft.
This model lasted for decades, even in all large multinational companies that used multiple businesses, funds and locations. Although the complexity varied, the basic philosophy remained the same because the payment systems themselves operated within consistent business day cycles. Treasury teams therefore focus on end-of-day positions rather than ongoing day-to-day visibility.
These forms are now beginning to change—and in a world where money can move at any time, fund owners need greater visibility into liquidity positions and flows throughout the day. As a result, real-time cash forecasting is becoming a core strength of the treasury office, allowing organizations to anticipate financial needs, improve financing and investment decisions, and maintain control as cash positions change in real time.
Intraday Liquidity Management Becomes Important
There are several factors that drive the need for ongoing liquidity management. Most important is the gradual extension of working hours in both payments and capital markets, increasing the need for firms to monitor, forecast and coordinate payments throughout the day.
This change creates new time risks and operational challenges for treasury teams. Even organizations that still operate with traditional infrastructure can receive or send funds outside of normal treasury hours, because real-time payments continue to work throughout weekends and holidays.
For example, a company that receives funds over the weekend may find that liquidity remains idle until Monday morning if no default structures or rules are in place. Equally, an unexpected day's payment activity can create funding gaps, overdraft requirements or operational challenges if positions are not continuously monitored. Apart from the direct costs of overspending on a daily basis, insufficient funds can cause delays or failure of payments, which can disrupt suppliers, customers and the wider operation of the supply chain.
Similarly, regulators and central banks are placing more emphasis on intraday liquidity risk—incentivizing banks to manage balance sheet resources more efficiently and, in some cases, pass on the associated costs to customers.
Building infrastructure for the Sustainable Treasury
In practice, the transition to continuous payment management is complex and requires more than access to faster payment methods. Treasury Management Systems (TMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, and liquidity structures must evolve to provide greater real-time visibility and automation.
Compounding the challenge, organizations do not want the cashier to work regularly outside of normal business hours. This means that application programming interfaces (APIs), automated sweeps, and rules based on liquidity rules are becoming core banking capabilities.
The next logical extension is agent AI, where AI-powered agents analyze information, make smart decisions and act autonomously, helping organizations manage growing complexity without human supervision around the clock.
As treasury functions become automated, new forms of digital currency can further extend these capabilities. For example, token deposits, smart contracts and digital payment infrastructure may provide more flexible ways of real-time financial management and financial management.
These changes, however, are unlikely to occur through changes to the existing infrastructure. Traditional models, 24/7/365 environments and emerging digital asset infrastructure are expected to be around for a long time—reflecting the different speed at which organizations are evolving. Treasury operating models will therefore become more hybrid, requiring firms to manage liquidity, payments and risk seamlessly across multiple areas. Collaboration will also be key.
Therefore, for financial institutions, the challenge goes beyond enabling permanent payments to helping customers operate across multiple financial environments with an integrated view of money, risk, and funding. This requires an interoperable infrastructure that connects traditional treasury models with real-time payment channels and emerging digital capabilities.
BNY's approach acknowledges this need: to support treasury operating models while building real-time payments and settlement technology, intraday liquidity management, and token payment capabilities, while still being connected to existing infrastructure. The goal is not to force a switch to a single model, but to help customers experience the change with greater flexibility, visibility and continuity.
From Reporting to Strategic Planning
Real-time cash forecasting is fast moving from a “nice to have” reporting tool to a core treasury power. While many treasury office operating models are still built on end-of-day processes today, driving change is just beginning to emerge. The continued expansion of the ever-present financial infrastructure, the advancement of agent AI, and the development of token currencies are all expected to increase the speed at which money moves through the financial system in the coming years.
What is meant is not a rapid evolution, but a gradual evolution. The priority for treasury teams is to start building the foundations that will enable them to adapt as these changes occur.
The benefits are obvious: organizations that can forecast cash positions more accurately, make cash flow movements and improve funding decisions may reduce non-performing balances, reduce financing costs and operate with smaller liquidity buffers. Those who start developing these skills today will not only unlock these benefits sooner, but will also be better positioned to capture the opportunities created by a highly connected, always-on financial ecosystem. Learn more about the rapid change that supports the move to intraday forecasting and cash management in BNY's new e-book Payments Without Stopping: A Journey to Treasury 24/7/365 and the Working Capital Ecosystem
