In this use case, we’ll look at how businesses can manage their day-to-day cash flow through working capital optimisation – transforming idle cash into a strategic asset that powers greater financial agility.
In today’s volatile economic environment, having full visibility over working capital is essential for businesses looking to grow and scale. Yet despite advances in real-time banking infrastructure, many firms still rely on outdated processes and manual oversight to manage their working capital.
According to PwC’s Working Capital Study, poor working capital management can tie up to €1.2 trillion globally in excess working capital. That means billions in idle cash that could otherwise be used to invest and grow.
The hidden cost of idle capital
Idle cash isn’t just wasted—it’s costly. It limits liquidity, drags down returns, and creates operational risk. Businesses maintaining excessive reserves in low-interest accounts are missing out on yield and flexibility. In today’s economy, where uncertainty is high and interest rates are in flux, inefficient cash management could mean the difference between scaling up or slowing down.
Intelligent liquidity automation in action
Cash optimisation is the art of making every pound work harder. And with programmable payments, businesses can now automate liquidity management based on live data and predefined rules. Quant Flow, our ready-to-deploy, API-driven programmable money platform, enables real-time sweeping between operational, reserve, and high-yield accounts. Funds are automatically repositioned to ensure that liquidity is available where it’s needed most, without relying on manual transfers or end-of-month reconciliations.
Consider a business maintaining an operating balance between £10k and £25k. Surplus funds can be swept into an interest-bearing reserve, and top-ups are triggered automatically when the balance dips. These actions take place behind the scenes, keeping the business liquid and agile.
Real-time dashboards provide unified visibility across accounts that allows for precise auditing, giving business leaders more financial confidence. They can see exactly where money is going, make decisions faster, and better plan for the future.
This level of automation not only saves time, but it also provides finance leaders with a clear, real-time view of their capital position. Instead of reacting to shortfalls, they can pre-empt them and take proactive action.
The strategic benefits of programmable payments
In an uncertain economic landscape, businesses need certainty that their pounds are pennies are working as hard as possible. Programmability takes the headache away from trying to figure out the best way to optimise idle cash, enabling businesses to maintain optimal liquidity effortlessly, achieve maximum interest and prevent overdrafts.
These efficiencies aren’t just operational, they’re a huge commercial asset. By reducing the time and cost of managing cash, programmable payments unlock capacity for more impactful, forward-looking financial planning.
Cash should never be static. With programmable payments, it becomes an intelligent, real-time tool to power resilience and growth.
Want to learn more about how we can help you optimise your working capital? Get in touch with our team here >
Learn how we serve corporates >
Discover how programmable money management can improve business finances >
