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Technology

Capital MarketsTechnology
November 19, 2020

Counterparty Transparency: ‘Looking Through’ Money Market Funds

How a treasury investment manager finds out what assets are owned by the MMFs he owns. For treasury investment managers, visibility into the credit and counterparty risks of their portfolios is essential, especially during times of heightened volatility and uncertainty—like the last nine months. One member of NeuGroup’s Treasury Investment Managers’ Peer Group 2 told peers at a recent meeting sponsored by DWS that part of his assessment of counterparty risk involves “looking through” money market funds (MMFs) to see their…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Technology
November 12, 2020

Retailers Connect With Customers Using Touchless Payments

Smartphone apps, some using QR codes, give customers another way to pay without touching keypads or swiping a card. Members at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Retail Treasury reported a significant drop in cash transactions since the start of the pandemic, and some are turning to what they’re calling touchless methods of payment to meet consumers’ needs. These innovations depend on using smartphone apps and the internet instead of so-called contactless payments including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Those require a device…
Justin Jones
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Talking ShopTechnologyUncategorized
November 12, 2020

Talking Shop: Making Interactive Dashboards With Power BI and SQL

Member 1: “I was encouraged to hear that others are using SQL (structured query language) + Power BI tools to automate reporting and develop interactive dashboards. We have been on a journey the last three years to do the same and would welcome a breakout discussion on best practices and forward looking vision for using these tools.”Member 2: “I’d be more than happy to share what we’ve developed and are working on! SQL is a great way to start in BI;…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalTechnologyTreasury Management
November 10, 2020

Taking a Hard Look at Structure, Resources and Where to Rationalize

A cash manager with staff across the globe considers how technology may reshape and resize his team.  Strategically important goals are the new organizational focus for one NeuGroup member who leads a cash management team of nearly 50 people at a sprawling global company that has a new CEO. At a recent meeting, the member described the structure and responsibilities of his staff today and how rationalization and an increased focus on technology may change his use of resources in the future.…
Justin Jones
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Investment ManagementRisk ManagementTechnology
November 5, 2020

Data-Driven Decisions Aided by Dashboards and Scorecards

A NeuGroup member describes his money market fund dashboard and investment manager scorecards.Dynamic dashboards that help corporates leverage data to make better decisions are becoming essential tools for finance teams committed to tapping technology to transform. Some companies in the NeuGroup Network are generating envy by using in-house tech talent skilled in programs such as Python to create dashboards, while other members are turning to Power BI or Tableau to ramp up.But a recent meeting of treasury investment managers underscored that…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsTechnology
November 5, 2020

A Technology Tool to Help Corporate Bond Issuers

BondCliQ’s solution can give companies more insight into which dealers are supporting secondary trading. A lack of liquidity in the secondary market for investment-grade corporate bonds remains a source of frustration for many corporates that have issued record amounts of debt in the wake of the financial crisis and, more recently, during the pandemic. A key reason for the liquidity problem is that broker dealers, including underwriters, have reduced their inventories of investment-grade corporate debt, in part because of regulations mandating…
Justin Jones
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BankingTechnology
October 22, 2020

Digital Signatures Deliver Relief and a Few Frustrations Amid Pandemic

Corporates report success using DocuSign with many banks, but Latin America presents challenges.“Has anyone successfully used DocuSign with banks?” one NeuGroup member asked at a recent virtual meeting. “Yes” was the resounding answer from peers—more evidence that the pandemic has accelerated automation and digitization in finance. And one goal for many treasury teams is to make “wet” signatures a thing of the past. The member who posed the question wants to use DocuSign’s electronic signature solution internally and externally—for intercompany…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsESGTechnology
October 22, 2020

A Homegrown ESG Dashboard in Search of Better Data

A tech company builds its own tool to get a holistic view of ESG ratings but bemoans social data quality. Many companies in the NeuGroup Network are devoting significant resources to better address environmental, social and governmental (ESG) issues that are increasingly critical to how investors and other stakeholders view corporates. But not many treasury teams have access to an ESG dashboard, something one member who works at a large technology company described to peers at a recent meeting of…
Justin Jones
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BankingCash & Working CapitalTechnology
October 20, 2020

Helping Treasury See Beneath the Payment Iceberg

TIS makes the case for treasury as gatekeeper of payment processes.Nearly half the members at a recent meeting of NeuGroup’s Global Cash and Banking Group (GCBG) said treasury at their companies is responsible for treasury payments only—not for, say, accounts payable (AP) or payroll. Just 15% of those surveyed said treasury completely owns payment processes and tools. Treasury Intelligence Solutions (TIS), sponsor of the meeting, made a case for making treasury the overall “gatekeeper” of all payment processes—with the help…
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Cyber riskTechnology
October 15, 2020

Taking A Second Look: Corporates Reconsider Cryptocurrencies

Members share their curiosity about embracing cryptocurrency amid more regulation.Efforts by central banks and finance ministers to block the widespread use of digital currencies until strong regulation is in place—along with the emergence of new types of currencies—are leading some corporates to reconsider earlier decisions to avoid accepting cryptocurrencies as payment. That is among the takeaways from a discussion at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Retail Treasury, sponsored by U.S. Bank, during which one member said her company, encouraged…
Justin Jones
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