Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury

I had a great chat the other day – the first in a series of three – with Quant’s Chief Product Officer Martin Hargreaves about programmable liquidity. What’s that? Read on …

Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury

How is programmable money reshaping treasury operations and financial infrastructure? This conversation moved beyond theoretical frameworks to examine practical implementation challenges, regulatory positioning, and the convergence of AI with automated financial systems. Here are five critical insights from the discussion.

1. Programmable money automates payments, not spending restrictions
   Programmable money does not limit how money can be used. Instead, it automates how payments move based on conditions or external events. For example, a contractor can be paid automatically once a surveyor verifies work completion. This shifts finance from manual, batch processes to real-time, event-driven transactions.
2. Digital money will exist as a multi-instrument ecosystem
   Different types of digital money will coexist, each serving different roles:

• CBDCs: Risk-free settlement assets mainly for wholesale banking.
• Stablecoins: Highly portable bearer instruments with global reach, though yield benefits the issuer.
• Tokenised deposits: Bank-issued digital deposits that support credit creation and operate within existing regulation but require KYC and banking relationships.
  Treasury teams will need to manage this mixed landscape strategically.

3. AI + programmable payments enable controlled automation
   Programmable payment libraries can act as guardrails for AI. Instead of giving AI direct access to bank accounts, organisations can allow it to operate within pre-approved rules. AI can then optimise liquidity, forecast cash flows, and trigger payments while governance and approvals remain controlled by humans.
4. Quantum computing threatens legacy financial infrastructure
   Post-quantum cryptography is already available for new systems, but retrofitting legacy payment infrastructure will be extremely costly and complex. Many institutions may decide it is easier to replace old infrastructure with new quantum-safe systems rather than upgrade existing ones.
5. Strategy should come before technology choices
   Treasury teams should first define their future operating model—how approvals, automation, and supplier interactions should work—before selecting vendors. Once the strategic vision is clear, banks, APIs, and fintech partners can be chosen to support that model.

The general insight is that finance is moving toward automated, programmable liquidity systems, where multiple forms of digital money, AI-driven treasury operations, and new infrastructure combine to create real-time, intelligent financial flows.

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