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Retail financial services firms still manage much of the customer relationship through a succession of separate events: a balance check, an insurance renewal, a mortgage application, a savings transfer or a fraud alert. By 2030, that episodic model could give way to continuous financial management, with AI agents monitoring customers’ needs and, within agreed limits, beginning to act on them.

CFOs to narrow talent investment as AI reshapes finance CFOs will funnel their finance talent investment towards advanced digital capabilities as AI reshapes roles, automates basic tasks and exposes gaps in data science skills, according to Gartner. The research firm predicts that by 2028, 20% of finance organisations will stop hiring and developing non-digitally literate talent, directing all talent-related investment towards advanced digital capabilities instead.

Growth rarely produces a tidy bank account structure. Acquisitions add subsidiaries, lenders insist on separate accounts and property or fund structures create special-purpose vehicles. Over time, cash becomes dispersed across legal entities and banks while the finance function still relies on portals, spreadsheets and manual exports to understand the group position.

European treasurers prioritise cash flow as risks mount European treasurers are placing cash flow, technology investment and resilience at the centre of their plans for the next 12 months as geopolitical tensions, market volatility and cybersecurity threats complicate the outlook for the second half of 2026.

June’s flash purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) point to a world economy moving at sharply different speeds, with manufacturing often outperforming services and the Middle East conflict distorting both demand and costs. Across the economies of Australia, Japan, India, the eurozone, the UK and the US, composite readings divided evenly between expansion and contraction. India, Japan and the US remained above the 50 no-change mark, while Australia, the eurozone and UK stayed marginally below it.

Dollar gains ground as euro outlook darkens J.P. Morgan Global Research has upgraded its US dollar outlook as resilient labour data, firmer inflation and a more hawkish Federal Reserve support the currency, while turning bearish on the euro. “Late 2025 and early 2026 saw the dollar on the back foot, with a second round of Fed easing to support the labour market and flows turning decisively away from the US,” observed Meera Chandan, co-head of global FX strategy at J.P. Morgan.

Across the globe, compliance requirements for payments are creating significant work for companies, at least for those that are working to be in compliance. In the US, changes for the low-value payment network (Nacha) have two key dates, including one that has already passed, that impact every company that originates ACH transactions. The changes being brought about by ISO 20022 standardization have impacted banks and fintech providers who serve banks, Swift, and central bank payment rails.

Corporate treasurers are holding more cash, keeping short-term portfolios anchored in traditional liquid assets and leaving stablecoins largely outside day-to-day liquidity strategy, according to the 2026 AFP Liquidity Survey Report. Based on 309 responses collected in March 2026, the 21st annual survey from the Association for Financial Professionals, underwritten by Invesco, shows a liquidity environment shaped by political uncertainty, inflation, tariff risk and geopolitical shocks.

FCA softens MMF liquidity plan The UK Financial Conduct Authority has stepped back from a proposed rigid 50% weekly liquidity requirement for money market funds (MMFs), opting instead for a more flexible supervisory approach after further analysis with the Bank of England. MMFs are widely used by corporate treasurers and other investors as a cash management tool, either as an alternative to bank deposits or as a complement to them.

CFOs need to move beyond isolated AI pilots and build more disciplined finance road maps if they want the technology to deliver measurable business impact, according to Gartner analysts. Research shared by the firm suggests that finance functions are embracing AI in principle, but struggling to convert activity into meaningful results. A 2025 Gartner survey of 183 CFOs found that 84% of finance organisations have either implemented AI or are planning to do so.