While completely eliminating incidences of payment fraud may be impossible, there are definitely steps you can all take to minimize the risk of exposure. By taking daily precautions, you can make it that much harder for fraudsters to perpetrate their schemes.

Sharing information in today's highly connected world is second nature for most of us. From social networks to personal communications, we exchange data on a daily basis with little more than a second thought. This tendency is the very thing that fraudsters exploit when using social engineering to steal vital information in the act of perpetrating fraud.

Staying one step ahead of fraudsters is the goal of the payments industry, but this is no easy task. As fast as new payment methods are introduced, new criminal schemes are quick to follow. Understanding your vulnerabilities and fraud risks is crucial in order to develop effective strategies to address this pervasive and persistent problem.

Myths have a way of creating fear and trepidation. There’s nothing like a good myth to keep you from exploring changes that could catapult your treasury operation to the next level of efficiency and influence within your organization. Here we bust two myths with truths that could kick-off the change your supply chain management function has been looking for.

Fostering strong partnerships is crucial to the success of most businesses. And one of the most important relationships needing attention is with suppliers. This is why many companies are putting a greater focus on managing relationships with key suppliers, including the payment flows associated with these partnerships. These relations are at the heart of a healthy financial supply chain and are every bit as important as the supply chain itself.

When it comes to Internet banking and conducting transactions online, consumers have been leading the march forward. This trend around the socialization of payments has not yet been fully embraced in the business-to-business (B2B) world. However, recent innovations in payment networks are enticing B2B buyers and suppliers to connect more efficiently and in ways that are mutually beneficial.

The following check list will help you evaluate the current state of your financial supply chain so you can take steps to make improvements and strengthen your relationship with key suppliers and ensure greater reliability and stability across your supply chain.

All too frequently, businesses focus primarily on managing the relationship with key suppliers, leaving issues around the financial supply chain as an afterthought. With today’s low returns on deposits, many companies are coming to recognize that managing cash flow more effectively and efficiently to reduce transaction costs is key to business growth and success.

For many organizations, cash and currency are a significant part of their collections process. Yet, manual handling of cash remains an impediment to effective and efficient cash flow for the organization. Fortunately, innovative currency processing solutions are available to help dramatically improve this vital treasury function.

As an increasingly digital world engulfs everyday processes, surprisingly, paper checks remain a significant part of many business transactions. Issuing checks for payables is an Achilles heel for Treasury, creating inefficiencies, higher costs and a greater risk of fraud. Exploring solutions that mitigate these challenges is a priority in an efficiency-driven environment.

For many of us, New Year's resolutions are all too soon forgotten. However, when it comes to treasury operations, resolving to achieve greater operational efficiency is a goal well worth keeping. Here are five ways to get your resolution started.

As the treasury function continues to evolve, treasury professionals are under pressure to stay ahead of issues and trends that impact their organizations.

Foremost in the minds of many treasury professionals today is the importance of adopting strategic working capital management practices. The road to Treasury 4.0 will be paved with innovative ways to look at three trends that have emerged as critical steps on that path – information management, financial supply chain management and cash processing.

Information is vital to any treasury organization. Gaining access to detailed data is the key to improving treasury processes and ultimately achieving working capital management goals.

Twentieth century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once proffered, “the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.” Centuries later, this pearl of wisdom still rings true, particularly as it relates to the business community. Timely and accurate information is critical to the treasury function and the ability of an organization to make fully informed business decisions.

In the January edition of Treasury at a Glance, we discussed the growing threat of fraud on today’s business. Fraud’s impact is far reaching, compromising revenues, data security, intellectual property, and customer confidence.

The following are some basic questions an organization can ask itself in order to gain insight into their currency processing needs and how the latest technology solutions might dramatically improve the efficiency of those processes.

With the growing acceptance of electronic payment methods, one might conclude that consumers are finally making paper currency and coins an obsolete form of payment. However, that conclusion may be premature. Cash today accounts for at least eight out of every 10 payment transactions.

The Chinese general, Sun Tzu, knew nothing of the threats posed by fraud upon modern-day businesses. But he was keenly aware that the first step in defeating his enemies was to understand their strengths and weaknesses – and those of his own.

Because no two organizations are alike, it’s important to figure out how best to fit a card program into your organization. The following are some basic questions that you should consider when looking at how cards can improve their operations, and when talking to a banking partner about the specific solutions which might help achieve your objectives:

As treasury professionals continue their never ending quest to improve efficiencies and achieve greater cost savings across the entire payables process, the latest innovative card solutions hold tremendous promise for helping to attain these important goals. Cards are increasingly being seen as an effective tool for eliminating paper from payables, while enhancing efficiency and mitigating risk.