What does 2025 have in store?

The last 12 months have brought no shortage of changes around the world, from momentous election results and the continuing stresses of geopolitical turbulence to a slower-than-expected rate-cutting cycle by central banks.

The rate of change in technology has proved no less significant, with conversations around AI, virtual cards, and digital currencies developing at breakneck speed.

But what about the year ahead? Which challenges will companies be focusing on, and how will technology help companies address the fundamental challenges they face, from manual processes to geopolitical risks? Here are some predictions for 2025 from Taulia’s leaders.

Harnessing AI in the finance function

“Excitement around the potential applications of AI is likely to continue in 2025. As the business landscape evolves, no one can afford to ignore the opportunities that AI presents.

“In the finance function, AI has a key role to play in helping CFOs drive transformation, automate repetitive processes, and boost operational efficiency, in turn freeing up finance professionals to focus on more strategic tasks. Likewise, AI has the ability to provide valuable insights, such as predicting market shifts, optimizing decision-making, and improving contingency planning.

“Where working capital is concerned, AI can help businesses predict their future cash flows and increase the efficiency of their invoicing processes, as well as indicating the best payment terms or discounts for individual transactions.

“AI has much to offer, but this won’t happen overnight, and it does require clear goals and high-quality data. In 2025, CFOs and finance directors will need to keep informed about the opportunities presented by technologies such as AI and identify how these can translate into real opportunities to drive value for their companies – while also remaining attuned to the possible risks.”

– Rene Ho, CFO, Taulia

Driving payment efficiency

“Today’s businesses want payment products that can give them automation, frictionless experiences, and smooth implementations while meeting their specific needs. But they’re also paying ever-closer attention to the needs of their suppliers when it comes to accessing reliable payment methods.

“As the payments landscape continues to evolve in 2025, businesses will be looking for ways to execute payments quickly, securely, and efficiently. Suppliers, meanwhile, will be seeking payment methods that offer rapid transfer speeds and easy reconciliation, not least because of the ongoing challenges they face as a result of late customer payments.

“In 2025, I expect to see virtual cards rising to the fore as a solution that can balance the needs of both buyer and supplier, giving each side of this equation an opportunity to manage cash flow more effectively. Buyers can use virtual cards to include the long tail of suppliers within a working capital management program while paying suppliers in a way that works for them, with access to rich remittance data and analytics.

– Danielle Weinblatt, Chief Product Officer, Taulia

Transformation through AI and innovative payment solutions

“AI offers an unprecedented opportunity to drive automation across the business, making smarter decisions faster, and unlocking opportunities to save costs. In particular, AI is a game-changer when it comes to helping businesses explore different financial scenarios, analyze their implications, and weigh up the options available.

“I believe AI has an enormous amount to offer businesses in 2025 – but only where there is a genuine use case. Many companies have heard a lot from their vendors about AI in a short space of time, and it can be difficult to cut through the noise and identify where real value can be found. With that in mind, Taulia is very much focused on identifying use cases that can only be solved with AI by analyzing a massive amount of data sets, and this is also an area where we are collaborating closely with our colleagues at SAP.

“Turning to the topic of payment innovation, I expect to see more businesses exploring the role that digital currencies can play in streamlining cross-border payments. While widespread adoption is likely to take some time, there is a clear appetite for innovative payment solutions – as demonstrated by the recent news that PayPal had completed its first business payment in PYUSD, its in-house stablecoin, using SAP’s Digital Currency Hub to complete the transaction.

– Cedric Bru, CEO, Taulia

Reconfiguring supply chains and harnessing data

“Against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, companies will continue to reconfigure their supply chains in 2025. As well as assessing potential challenges in key markets and shipping corridors, companies will also be weighing up the benefits of supplier diversification against cost efficiency. Likewise, companies will continue to seek greater diversification when it comes to using the right tool at the right time for working capital financing, from Supply Chain Finance, Virtual Cards to Dynamic Discounting to Receivables and Inventory Finance.

“There is also an opportunity for companies to increase visibility over different types of data in order to improve supply chain processes. For example, greater connectivity between sales and procurement data can make it easier for companies to predict future shortages of raw materials and adjust their approach accordingly.

“On a similar note, companies that have access to data across all business processes can pinpoint possible liquidity shortages and are much better placed to use the full power of AI to make informed decisions, for example, when it comes to working capital strategies.”

– Thomas Mehlkopf, Head of Working Capital Management, SAP & Taulia

Embracing the future, today

In the coming year, Taulia will continue to support businesses as they seize the opportunities and navigate the challenges presented by an evolving business environment. Our solutions will play a key role in helping companies free up cash throughout the supply chain, streamline invoicing processes, and unlock opportunities for working capital efficiency.

At the same time, we will continue to monitor innovations in technology and identify opportunities to add real value to our customers’ working capital processes – all while giving businesses the flexibility they need to adjust to changing market conditions.