For many corporate treasurers, cash management platforms have been rigid, difficult to navigate, and slow to adapt. Free from legacy system constraints, the newly launched SMBC Connect platform is designed to address those challenges head on. Tested and refined by over 50 corporate treasury clients, the platform emphasizes SMBC’s commitment to partnering with clients to improve global transaction banking systems.

In conversation with Treasury Today Group, Craig Vaream, Americas Head of Cash Management for SMBC, explains the platform’s unique elements that have been optimized by client feedback.

Personalization

When SMBC set out to design a modern cash management system, client feedback clearly identified that personalization was key. SMBC’s answer: Content dashboards, alerts, and reporting that can be customized based on an individual’s priorities.

“Our clients want the systems in their professional lives to be as approachable as the apps on their smart phones,” explains Vaream, who joined the SMBC cash management team in 2024 with a background in liquidity management, payments and transaction banking. “It’s about meeting the customer where they want to be met, as opposed to what’s easiest for the bank – we really are being led by our clients. Everything we launched has been tested by customers and fitted to their needs.”

According to Vaream, this level of customization is unique in the market. Like the apps on a cell phone, corporate treasurers can move the widgets on the SMBC Connect landing page to highlight the most important information, tailored by their role and region – from outstanding loan information to important action items.

Transparency and Efficiency

SMBC Connect also increases transparency with the ability to track payments.

“A client made the point that it’s easier to track a pizza delivery than a multi-million-dollar cross-border payment,” Vaream says. “Treasury teams often don’t know when a payment has cleared and will debit their account. Yet we all know when our pizza is on its way. We’re aiming to fix that.”

According to Vaream, billing has become so complicated that many organizations have resorted to hiring outside parties to analyze it for them. SMBC’s solution combines transparency with efficiency, offering custom alerts that spare corporate treasurers from having to fish for information.

“We’re making it easy for treasurers to access the information they need – for example, notifying them if they have too many bank accounts or if they can cut fees by switching from one payment method to a lower cost payment rail,” he says.

The platform will provide insights into users’ activities and behavior, resulting in simplified statements and offering time-saving recommendations to improve tracking and reduce follow-up. It will also be able to suggest ways that clients can optimize their cash, while forecasting around the potential impact of market disruptions.

Finally, the platform tags transactions, making it easier for treasury teams to organize and find information based on preset categories – with custom tags coming soon.

“Every client we speak to says this provides a game changing efficiency,” says Vaream.

Security

“In the era of spoofing and phishing, systems must constantly evolve to spot fraudulent transactions,” explains Vaream. “Our platform will integrate AI-enabled technology designed to further mitigate fraud.”

Aligned with the platform’s focus on personalization, clients will be able to identify anomalous transactions prior to a payment file’s release, stopping any unusual transactions that don’t align with past behavior.

SMBC Americas hired a 200-plus team specifically for the buildout – many former treasurers themselves – renowned for a nimble culture that is more characteristic of a startup than a large corporate.

Vaream believes this agility will ensure SMBC Connect remains at the forefront of ongoing evolutions in cash management.

“Our technology is there, and we will adapt to whatever occurs, ensuring all solutions are framed from our clients’ perspectives,” he says.

The initial launch, available to US clients today, will evolve into a broader global rollout with more features expected over the summer.