Winnie Chen, head of global payments solutions (GPS), Asia Pacific (APAC) at Bank of America, described how transaction banking has become the backbone of the bank’s client engagement model. 

“GPS is a sizable revenue contributor to our global corporate and investment banking (GCIB) franchise in Asia Pacific,” Chen explained. “This is a major shift from when transaction banking was viewed as an allied business.”

The APAC GPS franchise has delivered an 18% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenues over the past three years. In 2024, client deposit balances grew 13% year-on-year. Chen said, APAC remains one of the fastest-growing regions for the bank’s transaction banking business.

Chen emphasised that multinational corporations entering and expanding into Asia increasingly view Bank of America as a key provider and advisor, supporting their treasury requirements. “Clients rely on us to provide customised and scalable solutions that support their regional liquidity management, foreign exchange (FX) and cross-border payment needs,” she said.

Customised liquidity management for evolving treasury priorities

Aziz Parvez, head of corporate sales, GPS, APAC, explained that corporate treasurers are increasingly focused on liquidity efficiency and risk management, particularly amid higher interest rates and evolving regulatory requirements.

“Liquidity optimisation is now a key priority,” Parvez said. “Clients want to ensure they have full visibility and control over their cash positions, and they expect tailored solutions that fit their unique structures.”

Parvez cited an example of a multinational company with fragmented liquidity across APAC. The client had more than 150 bank accounts in 10 markets. Bank of America worked with the company to design a customised liquidity management solution, consolidating cash pools and reducing operational complexity.

“We helped reduce their bank accounts significantly, and at the same time, lowered their funding costs by 20% through an optimised liquidity structure,” Parvez said. “This was not an off-the-shelf solution—it was specifically tailored to their needs.”

Parvez also highlighted the growing demand for Guaranteed FX rates, which allows clients to lock in exchange rates for up to 365 days in advance. “In today’s environment, predictability matters,” he said. “Clients want to manage FX risk proactively, as part of their cash flow and liquidity strategies.”

Customising trade and supply chain finance to support working capital and supplier resilience

Shankar Radhakrishnan, head of trade product sales, APAC, explained that supply chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty have made working capital efficiency a top concern for many clients.

“Clients are looking for tailored trade and supply chain finance (SCF) solutions that support their end-to-end procurement strategies,” Radhakrishnan said.

Bank of America’s funded SCF balances in APAC grew by 13% in 2024, supported by its trade risk distribution network of more than 155 participating financial institutions.

One standout example is a US-based retailer with suppliers across APAC. The bank implemented a bespoke global SCF programme, which processed more than 57,000 invoices in 2024. Approximately 25% of those invoices were financed, helping suppliers access liquidity and improving the retailer’s supply chain resilience.

For a multinational conglomerate offering a portfolio of  building technology, software and services, Bank of America delivered a customised SCF solution across Australia, India, Greater China and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore), facilitating more than $300 million in supplier financing in 2024 . The programme was integrated directly with the client’s procurement system to streamline invoice processing and supplier onboarding.

Digital platforms and customised onboarding through OAA and CPU

Radhakrishnan emphasised the importance of digitisation in enabling efficient trade finance operations. Bank of America’s Open account automation (OAA) platform processed more than 90,000 files and 16,000 transactions by November 2024, achieving a 94.8% straight-through processing (STP) rate.

In addition, the corporate payment undertaking (CPU) structure has been deployed in India and China to simplify supplier onboarding. Under CPU, Bank of America has reduced the demand on the bank for supplier KYC, transferring the credit risk to the anchor buyer.

“With CPU, we reduced supplier onboarding from two weeks to a few days,” Radhakrishnan explained. “Over 1,500 suppliers have been onboarded under this customised framework, significantly increasing programme adoption.”

Tailored ESG-linked SCF programmes incentivise supplier sustainability

Bank of America is also supporting clients in offering sustainable supply chain financing to their suppliers. Radhakrishnan cited a global ingredients solutions client in APAC that implemented an ESG-linked SCF programme, incentivising suppliers to meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria by offering preferential financing rates.

“These ESG-linked solutions are customised to each client’s sustainability goals,” Radhakrishnan said. “It’s not one-size-fits-all.”

Supporting NBFIs with customised clearing, liquidity and FX solutions

Siddharth Gupta, head of APAC financial institutions sales and co-head of global non-bank financial institutions (NBFI), described how Bank of America has expanded its NBFI franchise, including virtual banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, paytechs and fintechs.

“NBFIs have very different requirements compared to corporates,” Gupta said. “We provide them with tailored solutions that address their specific regulatory, liquidity and operational needs.”

A virtual bank in North Asia required 24x7 (around-the-clock) United States dollar (USD) clearing and real-time FX services for its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers. Bank of America delivered an integrated solution that provided end-to-end application programming interface (API) connectivity, enabling seamless FX execution and payments directly from the virtual bank’s platform.

For paytechs and fintechs, Bank of America offers APIs for FX booking, payment initiation, and real-time reporting. “We are delivering automated, real-time solutions that are customised to fit each client’s internal architecture,” Gupta said.

Global asset managers and insurers leverage Bank of America’s multi-currency liquidity pooling structures, which consolidate cash and enable efficient funding and investment strategies.

Gupta also noted growing demand for sustainability-linked deposits among NBFIs, which align liquidity management with sustainability goals.

Enhancing USD clearing and FX capabilities while piloting DLT solutions

Chandana Thanthrige, head of financial institutions and transactional FX products, said Bank of America processed 98% of USD payments with straight-through processing (STP) in 2024, with 74% settled within one minute.

“Clients expect speed and certainty,” Thanthrige said. “But they also want tailored clearing and liquidity structures that match their specific transaction flows.”

Bank of America’s single account USD clearing structure simplifies liquidity management and offers high intraday liquidity limits, which are particularly valuable for broker-dealers and paytechs.

Thanthrige addressed the industry debate over whether tokenised deposits are necessary for 24x7 clearing. “Our view is that enhanced legacy infrastructure can deliver the same results,” he said. However, Bank of America is also experimenting with applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT) to evaluate potential efficiencies in cross-border payments and trade finance.

Guaranteed FX rates  and trade and pay continue to gain traction, offering clients the ability to lock in FX rates and automate payment processing through a single instruction.

Scaling technology and AI to deliver customised treasury solutions

Terence Tan, chief operating officer, global payments solutions, APAC, said Bank of America spent over $12 billion on technology in 2024, of which $4 billion was channelled into new initiatives that  will have direct client benefits.

“Clients are not looking for generic platforms,” Tan said. “They want bespoke, real-time solutions that not only provide the information they need but also integrate with their treasury systems. Clients are also dependent on banks to provide insights from the past and into the future. We have deployed artificial intelligence  and machine learning models on their transaction data to give them a crystal ball of sorts.”

Narendra Parhi, head of CashPro APAC, added that the CashPro suite of services allows clients to obtain real-time access to payments, FX, liquidity and reporting services across multiple channels, including APIs and host-to-host connectivity. 

He added that generative AI (GenAI) are being piloted to automate responses to client queries through the AI powered virtual assistant Erica, as well as for anomaly detection and fraud prevention. “We’re tailoring AI-driven solutions to fit each client’s risk management and compliance frameworks,” Parhi said.

Transaction banking as the backbone of client partnerships in APAC

Bank of America’s APAC transaction banking franchise continues to grow,  now serving as the backbone of the bank’s corporate banking revenues and client engagement.

“We are co-creating solutions with our clients, whether they are corporates, NBFIs or virtual banks. We’ve been in the region since 1947, and our deep-rooted expertise in Asia has been vital to our success.” said Chen. 

With its focus on customised solutions, scalable platforms and responsible innovation, Bank of America continues to play a critical role in enabling clients to manage liquidity, optimise working capital and navigate cross-border complexities in one of the world’s most dynamic regions.