Amidst exacerbating headwinds that global financial markets face - high inflation, increasing volatility and global supply chain upheavals, among others - leveraging technology to gain visibility, optimise liquidity and mitigate risks has become even more critical for the treasury function.

Enter the opportunity presented by contemporary innovation such as open banking, APIs and the application of blockchain technology, which can be seamlessly integrated into existing treasury management systems to provide real-time data and enable faster and more informed decision-making on liquidity, investment and enhanced fraud detection.

These are ultimately geared towards maximising efficiencies, reducing risks, re-shaping the perception of the corporate treasury from that of a traditional cost-centre to an efficient profit centre, and ultimately elevating the treasury function into a more strategic sphere within the business value chain.

Akeem Lawal, Interswitch's Managing Director for Payment Processing (Interswitch Purepay), spoke on these themes and more during the 2023 Standard Chartered Bank Treasury Leadership Forum in Lagos, joining an insightful panel conversation focused on 'Harnessing Technology For More Efficient Treasury Management'.

We appreciate our partners at Standard Chartered Bank for the invitation to contribute to meaningful discourse around the latest trends, insights, challenges and opportunities within Nigeria's financial markets.