Manual No More? FX Automation in Treasury Faces a Tipping Point

Conservative or Confident? Reimagining FX Management with Augmented Intelligence: Despite the rapid advance of treasury technology, manual FX exposure management still dominates large multinationals, restricting hedging flexibility and real-time risk management. According to PwC’s 2025 survey, 36% rely on human intervention for pre-trade FX processes, revealing a major adoption lag. While most treasurers aspire to embrace APIs (65%) and AI-driven tools (74%), obstacles persist, including integration challenges, risk aversion, and change resistance. These technological gaps hinder treasury’s strategic impact and competitive edge. Treasurers must overcome legacy systems and human barriers to truly harness automation, predictive analytics, and 24/7 execution for superior efficiency and resilience.

Missing the Momentum: Why Treasurers Lag Despite Ready-Made Tech?

Treasury teams in large multinationals remain surprisingly manual in FX management, particularly in the pre-trade phase, despite proven technology solutions. According to PwC's 2025 Global Treasury Survey, 36% of respondents still manage FX exposure manually, greatly limiting effectiveness and agility, especially during weekends, holidays, and overnight periods.

From Manual Exposure to Machine-Led Hedging: The Next Era of Treasury

Why Are FX Processes Still Manual? Despite 79% of organizations hedging exposures and 57% using a Treasury Management System (TMS), fragmented processes and partial system adoption persist. Barriers include high costs and long IT implementation times, suboptimal satisfaction with existing TMS modules, and continued reliance on spreadsheets or outdated systems for short-term forecasting and risk analysis. Many treasurers prioritize control and oversight, viewing manual processes and human intervention as safeguards against error and oversight, even as automation accelerates. The burden of reconciling and aligning disparate data sources and business silos also supports manual interventions.

Mind the Gap: Why Treasurers Miss the Train to FX Automation

Why Not Use Existing Technology? There are numerous advanced FX management solutions are available (please see couple of examples of key solutions):

1. 360T EMS (Deutsche Börse): Streamlined automated execution, STP network compatibility, ERP integration, AI-powered risk tools.
2. Kantox: Dynamic FX hedging, automated multi-currency pricing, real-time FX analytics.
3. GTreasury: SaaS-based TMS solution focused on FX risk and compliance.
4. Kyriba: API-powered FX hedging, workflow automation, and cloud-based, real-time exposure management.
5. Integral OCX, LMAX Exchange, AtlasFX, and SOLUM Finnacials provide customizable execution and advanced risk analytics.

Hesitant Hands on FX: Human Resistance in a Digital Treasury Age

Why the Conservative Attitude Toward Automation? There are clear hurdles to adopting Augmented Intelligence and execution technologies include:

1. Perceived legal, reputational, and compliance risks, especially with AI (69% of CFOs see moderate-to-serious risk).
2. Talent shortages in AI/data science and lack of internal buy-in for change management.
3. Reluctance to surrender authority and oversight to machines; many treasurers prefer to use automation as a second opinion, not a replacement.
4. Misalignment between treasury and FP&A data granularity needs; legacy processes often persist to ensure business continuity.
5. Fear of missing critical context, scepticism about predictive accuracy, or simply lack of resources to upgrade technology stacks.

How Treasury Teams Can Catch the Bandwagon of Digital Best Practices

There is an obvious human resistance and missed opportunities. Human resistance to change remains powerful, treasurers may worry about losing control or introducing operational risk through automation. There is a discernible “fear of missing the train,” with slow adopters risking falling behind peers in best practices and competitive edge. Those who embrace APIs (65%) and AI/machine learning (74%) as per PwC's survey are building future-proof, proactive risk management frameworks.

AI and APIs: The Key to Unlocking Treasury’s 24/7 Competitive Advantage

The chart below illustrates an interesting fact. It shows the surprising dynamic, comparing the pace of technology evolution with the rate of adoption among corporate treasurers from 2015 to 2025. The technology line shows rapid acceleration, especially after 2018, while the adoption rate by treasurers rises more slowly. This widening gap visually supports the statement and can be reused directly in your PowerPoint presentation.

Pace of Treasury Technology Evolution vs. Treasurer Adoption Rate (2015–2025):

Treasury technologies such as real-time liquidity platforms, API integrations, and AI-powered analytics have seen exponential advancement in recent years. Corporate treasurers often face organizational, regulatory, and talent barriers that slow down the adoption rate, making it difficult to keep pace. This gap highlights the need for continuous education, strategic alignment, and change management to help treasurers better leverage emerging technologies.

Treasurers at the Crossroads: Adopt, Adapt, or Fall Behind

While cutting-edge technology is widely available and corporates claim an appetite for automation and AI, treasury departments are hampered by the cost, complexity, and culture of change. Progressive treasurers who leverage machine learning, predictive analytics, and automated execution gain around-the-clock coverage, heightened risk management, and measurable operational efficiency. The competitive advantage is clear for those catching the train toward intelligent treasury management, while many risk being left at the station.

François Masquelier, CEO of Simply Treasury – Luxembourg – November 2025