By PYMNTS | October 12, 2026
Corporate treasury is approaching an uncomfortable reality about artificial intelligence. Almost every firm has it, but relatively few companies can demonstrate that it is making them financially better off.
Findings in the latest 2026 edition of the Working Capital Index (WCI) from PYMNTS Intelligence reveal that 97% of the lowest-performing middle-market firms use AI in treasury, virtually matching the 100% adoption rate among top performers.
But the two groups still operate with notably different levels of financial efficiency.
Top performers report cash conversion cycles averaging 39 days, compared with 63 days among bottom performers. Some 70% of the strongest firms report predictable financing needs, versus just 3% of laggards.
The PYMNTS Intelligence WCI report findings suggest that the next competitive divide in corporate treasury may not be between companies that have adopted artificial intelligence and those that haven not. It may be between companies that use AI to understand their cash positions and those that can translate that technology into financial decisions.
Better Forecasting Doesn’t Always Produce Better Cash Flow
Automating collections, identifying overdue invoices and improving cash forecasts can make finance operations more efficient. But those improvements do not alone change when customers pay, how much liquidity a company must maintain or whether cash can be deployed toward more productive uses.
The report’s findings suggest that visibility and control are different capabilities.
A treasury department might know with greater precision that a cash shortfall is approaching. Unless that information changes borrowing, payment or investment decisions, however, the forecast remains an operational input rather than a financial advantage.
The strongest-performing firms distinguish themselves not by whether they use AI, but by how willing they are to incorporate it into treasury decisions. Among top performers surveyed for the report, 93% would allow AI to forecast a cash shortfall, compared with 69% of bottom performers. Nearly 60% would let AI determine when to draw on a credit line, versus 48% of laggards.
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About 19% of top performers would be comfortable allowing AI to execute transactions exceeding $100,000, compared with none of the bottom-performing firms.
Read the report: Working Capital Has Lost Its Strategic Edge
If an artificial intelligence system can anticipate a liquidity problem but cannot initiate an appropriate response within established controls, how much of its potential economic value remains unrealized?
That question becomes more relevant as banks, ERP providers and treasury management platforms introduce AI agents capable of moving beyond analysis into workflow execution.
The research from PYMNTS Intelligence also challenges a familiar assumption about financial sophistication: that greater access to liquidity products necessarily indicates stronger working capital management. Bottom performers use external working capital solutions more frequently than top performers, at 97% versus 74%, per the WCI.
They are also nearly five times as likely to use three or more financing solutions.
Across the broader sample, 83% of companies use at least one external working capital solution, while 61% use two or more. Both measures reached their highest levels in the four-year series.
But the reasons for borrowing have changed. For the first time since the WCI’s 2023 edition, tactical motivations, including cash flow management and emergencies, exceeded growth-related motivations, 45% to 38%.
When nearly every company has adopted AI, adoption itself stops being a useful measure of competitive advantage. The next test for treasury technology may be whether it can help companies turn predictions into better financial decisions before a cash flow problem becomes a borrowing requirement.
At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.