From liquidity management to digital innovation: the future treasury toolkit

Corporate treasurers across Asia Pacific are operating in one of the most complex liquidity environments in decades. Higher-for-longer interest rates, persistent FX volatility, geopolitical fragmentation, regulatory divergence and accelerating digitalisation are reshaping priorities.

The treasury mandate has changed. What was once mostly focused on capital preservation and incremental yield is now about resilience, speed, transparency and global interoperability. The new expectation is delivering real-time visibility across entities, optimising working capital across currencies and jurisdictions, and responding instantly to market dislocations.

Against this backdrop, money market funds (MMFs) remain foundational. But they are no longer the whole story. Stablecoins and tokenised MMFs are emerging as complementary tools in a next-generation treasury toolkit.

Three pressures reshaping liquidity strategy

1. Macro and market volatility – Regional treasurers managing multi-currency pools face policy divergence between the US, Europe and Asia that has created dispersion in yields and funding conditions in an era of higher – and changing – rates. FX volatility further complicates cross-border cash flows, raising hedging costs and increasing the need for dynamic liquidity positioning. Liquidity itself has become fragmented across jurisdictions, reflecting regulatory ring-fencing and local market constraints.
    
2. Operational complexity – Asia’s corporates are deeply embedded in global supply chains. Multi-currency exposures, cross-border subsidiaries and round-the-clock trade flows have made intraday liquidity management critical. The 24/7 economy, fuelled by real-time payment systems and digital platforms, exposes mismatches between settlement cycles across time zones. Treasurers must ensure liquidity is available whenever needed – not just end of day.
    
3. Regulatory and counterparty scrutiny – The supervisory focus on liquidity risk management continues to intensify. Counterparty diversification, transparency of underlying exposures and robust reporting standards are no longer optional. For CFOs, treasury resilience has become a board-level concern.

MMFs an essential tool

In today’s treasury landscape, MMFs continue to serve as a core liquidity solution by offering capital preservation, daily liquidity and diversification across high-quality, short-duration issuers.

In many markets, these funds provide competitive yields relative to bank deposits while maintaining a conservative risk profile. It’s no different in Asia. And as treasurers strive to balance yield optimisation with liquidity certainty amid rate dispersion, MMFs appeal for strategic cash segmentation.

Importantly, institutional MMFs are frequently used as collateral in repo markets. This is a practical testament to their quality and liquidity. Such optionality provides flexibility during periods of market stress or funding needs.

These funds  are now becoming the foundation for a generation of digital instruments in the form of stablecoins and tokenised MMFs which are beginning to address long-standing operational and settlement frictions in global payments.

The case for stablecoins in cross-border treasury

Notably, traditional cross-border payments can be slow, costly and opaque. Intermediary banking chains create settlement delays, trapped liquidity and counterparty exposure.

In response, properly structured stablecoins – fully backed by high-quality, liquid reserves – offer the potential for near-instant settlement on a 24/7 basis on blockchains. For corporates operating across time zones, that availability aligns more closely with real-world trade flows.

There are significant implications for working capital efficiency. Firstly, faster settlement can shorten cash conversion cycles and reduce the need for precautionary liquidity buffers. Secondly, trapped liquidity across jurisdictions may be reduced. And thirdly, treasury operations within multinational structures can be streamlined.

However, risk considerations are paramount. Stablecoins must be backed by transparent, high-quality assets. Further governance, regulatory clarity and independent verification of reserves are essential. Also critical is trust in the issuer – that is non-negotiable.

Moving towards tokenised MMFs

Amid the shift towards digital finance, tokenised MMFs represent an evolution rather than a disruption. They digitise traditional high-quality assets, allowing them to move across blockchain-based infrastructure.

The benefits are compelling for intraday liquidity management. Tokenisation can enable faster settlement, programmable liquidity and more efficient collateral mobility across platforms. This may support repo activity, margin calls and cross-border transactions during peak funding windows.

For corporates engaged in digital asset ecosystems – or those operating 24/7 treasury models – tokenised MMFs can extend the utility of traditional liquidity instruments into digital environments.

These are not a replacement for conventional MMFs. Instead, they form part of an integrated liquidity architecture that bridges traditional finance and digital infrastructure.

Bridging stability and innovation

Yet digital efficiency cannot come at the expense of prudence. Corporate treasurers must also ensure innovation meets the same standards as established liquidity tools, particularly as regulatory frameworks continue to evolve. Key criteria include:

• Issuer integrity – The reputation, governance and regulatory standing of the provider.
   
• Quality of underlying assets – High credit quality, short duration, deep liquidity and independent verification.
   
• Institutional-grade infrastructure – Operational resilience, secure custody arrangements and legal enforceability across jurisdictions.

As treasurers evaluate partners capable of supporting this evolution, scale and credibility matter.

BNY Investments brings a long-standing track record in managing institutional money market strategies, characterised by credit portfolios of high quality and disciplined risk management. The firm’s MMFs are widely used as collateral in repo markets, underscoring their longstanding reliability, liquidity and high credit quality.

The institution has also taken a supportive approach to digital asset innovation via several initiatives which signal a commitment to regulatory-compliant innovation and institutional-grade digital infrastructure.

For example, in July 2025, BNY collaborated with Goldman to provide clients with the ability to invest in tokenised MMF share class across a number of fund companies¹.

A few weeks later in August, OpenEden selected BNY to provide investment management and custody services for its tokenised U.S. Treasury Bills ($TBILL) Fund².

More recently, in January 2026, BNY Investments served as the investment manager for the underlying strategy of the first actively managed tokenised US equity income fund on Ethereum public blockchain, introduced by DigiFT³.

Combined with features such as real-time liquidity access across accounts and entities, automated cash sweeps, and multi-currency access for working capital and short-term allocations, BNY Investments has positioned itself as a bridge between traditional liquidity management and blockchain-enabled efficiency.

Building the next-generation treasury toolkit

That approach reflects the direction of travel for modern treasury. As treasury management moves from static liquidity buffers to dynamic liquidity ecosystems, MMFs remain the foundation, delivering capital preservation, daily liquidity and diversification.

Stablecoins reinforce this by incrementally enhancing cross-border payment efficiency, and tokenised MMFs can strengthen intraday liquidity and collateral mobility.

For CFOs and treasurers across Asia Pacific, the imperative is clear: partner with credible institutions capable of delivering both traditional stability and disciplined digital innovation.

For more information on BNY Investments’ liquidity solutions, please visit our websites and connect with our team:

• Hong Kong
• Singapore

_Sources

_{1 - https://www.fstech.co.uk/fst/BNY_Partners_With_Goldman_Sachs_On_Blockchain_Funds_Product.php
2 - https://www.bny.com/corporate/global/en/about-us/newsroom/company-news/openeden-selects-bny-to-provide-investment-management-and-custody-services-for-its-tokenized-us-treasury-bills-fund.html
3 - https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/digift-introduces-first-actively-managed-tokenized-equity-fund-with-bny-as-investment-management-services-provider-302669665.html}