In a recent analysis, Lisa Vasic, managing director for transaction banking at ANZ, shed light on the economic landscape anticipated for 2024. With a focus on real-time payments and digital transformation, Vasic outlined key trends and potential opportunities shaping the financial sector.
According to Vasic, the time for real-time transactions has arrived. ANZ anticipates a notable surge in the adoption of real-time payments throughout the region in the coming year. This surge is poised to unlock opportunities for enhanced customer experiences, streamlined liquidity management, and heightened process efficiencies across various sectors of the economy.
She mentioned the enablement of the PayTo Biller capability, which has been described as a testament to the evolution of real-time payments infrastructure. The New Payments Platform made its inception in Australia several years ago, making ANZ the first Australian bank to introduce this feature.
“It will be interesting to see how institutional, corporate and commercial businesses increase their engagement in the real-time economy in 2024 as innovation of this type continues to develop,” said Vasic.
A pivotal aspect to monitor in the upcoming year is the support provided by regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders for the digital transition, according to Vasic. She said ANZ has devised a real-time plan aimed at assisting its clientele to align with the evolving regulatory landscape.
The transition towards real-time operations necessitates a shift in businesses’ approach to data ingestion, payment collection, and payment initiation amid the emergence of generative AI tools.
“Over the past 12 months, the use of tools like ChatGPT has moved from conversations about possibility to seeing exciting use cases where digital assistants are helping all kinds of industries,” said Vasic. “ANZ sees a great opportunity to adopt this technology to support our teams in becoming more efficient and productive.”
Vasic emphasised the significance of doing basic business practices amidst escalating inflation. She said that in such conditions, the optimisation of working capital and liquidity management assumes paramount importance for sustained viability and growth.
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