Gathering data is not productive – analysing it is though. A new solution aims to do the hard work while treasurers reap the benefits.

Treasurers and treasury analysts have often relied on end-of-day batched statements and multiple bank portals to gather information on cash positions across a multi-banked portfolio. This can lead to roughly 80% of their day gathering data but only 20% analysing that data to determine accurate positions for investment, says James Higgins, AccessPay Product Director. “The result is positioning of funds late in the day when liquidity has dried up in some markets and returns are depressed.”

Single access point

With this in mind, the vendor has created a cash management analytics tool and dashboard aimed at treasurers of global corporations. The solution, BankSense, is intended to give treasurers a single access point to all their banking relationships and thus the ability to actively and accurately deploy cash moves across accounts, optimising the value of company capital.

The information is displayed in real-time using intra-day statement and transactional information, explains Higgins. All the data is aggregated automatically, giving the treasurer a single view which can be configured to view balances by currency, bank provider, country, or organisational business unit or legal entity. The product also allows the treasurer to automatically pool funds across providers onto a header or concentration account, “making it easier to invest in the markets much earlier in the day”.

Modern drivers

The product has a natural ally in PSD2, the EU regulation opening the door to the development of many solutions such as this. “But BankSense does not rely on PSD2 and has a unique design to ensure customers can take control of their data in a single easy to use user interface,” suggests Higgins.

In bringing BankSense to market as a multi-bank offering, the firm is taking advantage of a number of connectivity and technology options. This, says Higgins, means implementation can be delivered “in just a few weeks” for a multi-bank portfolio. “Very little is required on the corporate side in order to enable BankSense, and all necessary implementations are handheld by dedicated members staff.”

A detailed delivery schedule of additional functionality for BankSense has been tabled. “Our next release includes forecasting functionality allowing corporates to see a projected closing balance and take advance action,” explains Higgins. In addition, “sophisticated alerting” which notifies users when, for example, balances and balance sheet movements breach large exposure or liquidity usage limits, is planned. “Beyond that, we move into automated reconciliation and reporting,” he adds.