2026 Vision: Towards a strategic and global corporate treasury

Anticipating global financial dynamics is a non-negotiable priority for companies operating in interconnected markets. Looking ahead to 2026, we observe that organizations across BBVA’s footprint are no longer viewing technology as a mere operational enabler, but rather as a catalyst for competitiveness and value creation.

Below, we outline the five key trends that will shape the corporate treasury agenda in 2026:

1. The CFO as a strategic ally to the CEO in a persistently volatile environment

The finance function continues to evolve, positioning itself as a central pillar of the CEO’s strategic agenda. In 2026, geopolitical volatility remains a critical factor influencing investment decisions and supply chain configurations. Treasury is emerging as a strategic command centre, ensuring the group’s operational agility. This role demands full, real-time visibility of financial positions across all subsidiaries. Such end-to-end transparency enables agile risk mitigation and efficient cash mobilisation. This ensures capital is available precisely when and where it is needed in order to grow the business, while simultaneously reducing financing costs through domestic and international cash pooling structures (e.g. Zero Balance Accounts,  intraday sweeps, …).

Moreover, in a context of stable interest rates, the focus shifts towards liquidity hyper-optimisation and more sophisticated investment policies to safeguard margins.

2. Operational excellence and end-to-end automation

By 2026, digitalisation is no longer a differentiator, it is the baseline for efficiency. Enterprises, in collaboration with financial and technology partners, are striving to eliminate manual administrative tasks, freeing teams to focus on strategic activities. Solutions such as virtual accounts are gaining momentum as a key tool for automated reconciliation of collections and payments, as well as for streamlining client onboarding and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. These solutions enhance operational agility across the organisation and energise commercial activity.

3. Agentic AI: From Insights to Action (with controls)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved beyond pilot programmes to become embedded in day-to-day financial operations. From building predictive cash flow models to advanced risk analytics, AI enables faster and more reliable data utilisation. In 2026, the focus is on Agentic AI: systems that not only analyze but also activate actions and manage complex workflows autonomously with limits, rules, and expert supervision. This transformation is also reshaping talent, as financial expertise converges with technological and quantitative skillsets.

4. Real-time payments and ISO 20022 interoperability

The demand for immediacy is redefining the payments landscape. 2026 marks a tipping point for instant payments adoption in both B2B and B2B2C segments, driven by the full deployment of the ISO 20022 standard. This universal messaging format allows payments between banks to carry an unprecedented richness of data, facilitating interoperability across international payment systems.

Solutions such as BBVA Directa reflect this shift, enabling any international bank to execute payments to Spain from anywhere in the world with immediate availability. Meanwhile, by November 2026, SWIFT and major payment systems will cease to accept unstructured address formats, a clear opportunity for the future, but a pressing challenge for corporations today.

5. Next Generation Infrastructures. Digital Assets and DLT

Interest in Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) is maturing within the corporate space. Corporations are exploring the use of tokenised deposits and stablecoins as complementary infrastructures for payments and collections. These  technologies introduce the possibility of 24x7x365 instant payments. They also enable the programmability of payments via smart contracts, laying the foundation for a financial management model that is agile, traceable, and transparent in the context of global trade.

In conclusion, the 2026 landscape presents complex challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities for progress. At BBVA, our commitment is to stand by our clients throughout this transformation, sharing our vision of the trends and collaborating closely so that corporations  operate successfully in this global and uncertain environment. The future of treasury is digital and real-time, and, above all, it is strategic.