ACH Rule Changes for 2026: What Treasury Needs to Know

In this episode, Craig Jeffery speaks with Arjun Krishnan of Valorean Technologies about the automation spectrum in treasury, moving from rules-based processing and analytics to AI assistance and autonomous agentic systems. They discuss practical AI use cases including cash forecasting, hedge management, fraud detection, payment processing, document processing, reconciliation, and natural language interfaces, while emphasizing clean data, strong controls, explainability, and human oversight as treasury teams evaluate how to apply enterprise AI responsibly.   Book Mentioned: Enterprise AI for Treasury: A Guide to Agentic Implementation: https://amzn.to/4vTH8Fv Company Websites: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com Valorean Technologies: https://valorean.ai/

In this episode, Craig Jeffery speaks with Ryan Frederick of Transform Labs about the personal side of AI transition and what professionals should understand as AI reshapes work. They discuss why companies must treat AI as a core operating capability, not just a faster tool, and how staff can move from task-oriented work toward higher-value contributions involving judgment, relationships, problem-solving, and systems thinking. The conversation emphasizes that professionals should actively learn how to work with AI systems, direct agents, improve workflows, and become agents of change inside their organizations. Company Websites: Strategic Treasurer: Corporate Treasury Consultants » Strategic Treasurer Transform Labs: https://transformlabs.com

In this episode, Lee Patton speaks with Craig Jeffery of Strategic Treasurer about the 2026 ACH rule changes and what they mean for corporate treasury teams. They discuss the new company ID requirements, expanded risk-based fraud monitoring requirements, and which organizations must comply. Craig explains the importance of ACH fraud risk assessments, written policies and procedures, annual reviews, exception handling, and maintaining documentation that demonstrates compliance. The discussion also explores the concept of risk-proportionate controls, practical steps for organizations that have not yet completed compliance efforts, and why treasury should act as the coordinator for ACH payment governance across the organization. Links Mentioned: ACH Rules Overview: https://www.nacha.org/rules Company Websites: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com

In this episode, Craig Jeffery speaks with Ryan Frederick of Transform Labs about how artificial intelligence is reshaping corporate strategy, operating models, and the broader economy. They discuss AI investment, automation, AI operating systems, and why organizations should view AI as a business transformation initiative rather than simply another software tool. The conversation explores how companies can measure AI success through business outcomes, improve customer value, and rethink competitive advantage in an AI-driven economy. Ryan also examines AI's impact on jobs, organizational design, and leadership, arguing that companies should focus on redesigning workflows around AI agents instead of simply automating existing processes. The discussion includes practical guidance for executives on AI implementation, governance, use case prioritization, and building an AI operating system that can scale across the enterprise. Company Websites: Strategic Treasurer: Corporate Treasury Consultants » Strategic Treasurer Transform Labs: https://transformlabs.com

In this episode, Craig Jeffery speaks with Nathan Dixon of Deluxe about how treasury and accounts receivable teams can transform fragmented payment data into actionable intelligence. They contrast traditional process-focused approaches with data-centric approaches, exploring how AI and advanced analytics can improve cash application, reduce exceptions, identify payer risk, accelerate forecasting, and uncover trends that would otherwise remain hidden. The discussion examines the role of APIs, AI agents, data normalization, natural language interfaces, and machine learning in modern receivables operations. Nathan explains how organizations can move from reactive exception management to proactive decision-making by leveraging clean, centralized data and AI-driven insights. They also discuss data security, model governance, synthetic data, and practical ways treasury and finance professionals can begin experimenting with AI tools today. Company Websites: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com Deluxe: https://www.deluxe.com

In this episode, Paul Galloway of Strategic Treasurer discusses liquidity stress testing and how treasury teams can prepare for market shocks and operational disruptions. The conversation explores sensitivity testing, scenario analysis, supply chain vulnerabilities, funding risks, counterparty exposure, and contingency planning. They also examine the differences between corporate liquidity stress testing and regulatory bank stress testing, while emphasizing the importance of escalation paths, liquidity buffers, contingent capital facilities, and embedding stress testing into ongoing treasury planning processes. Company Website: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com

In this episode, Paul Galloway speaks with Craig Jeffery of Strategic Treasurer about operational complexity in treasury and the hidden costs it creates over time. They discuss how growth, acquisitions, new payment rails, evolving regulations, and fragmented systems contribute to increasing complexity across treasury operations. The conversation explores the impact of manual processes, defects, inefficient workflows, data fragmentation, and poor process design, while emphasizing the importance of end-to-end visibility, standardization, automation, and scalable controls to improve efficiency and reduce operational risk. Company Website: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com

In this episode, Craig Jeffery and Christin Cifaldi of Strategic Treasurer discuss the technology component of modern payment security and the ideas covered in Strategic Treasurer's recent Payment Security Report. They explore how fraud threats are evolving through AI-enabled attacks, deepfakes, increasingly sophisticated criminal organizations, and efforts to bypass security controls. The conversation examines common gaps in payment security programs, including insufficient training, incomplete payment flow visibility, and weak verification processes. The discussion also covers faster payments, real-time settlement, layered security architectures, anomaly detection, multifactor authentication, passkeys, payee validation, banking security services, and the growing importance of treasury acting as the "superintendent of payments." They conclude with practical recommendations for strengthening payment security through staff training, process mapping, continuous monitoring, and collaboration across treasury, finance, IT, and cybersecurity teams. Links Mentioned: Payment Security Report: https://strategictreasurer.com/payment-security-report/ Webinar Registration: https://strategictreasurer.com/webinars Company Websites: Bottomline: https://www.bottomline.com/us Eftsure: https://www.eftsure.com NSKnox: https://nsknox.net/ Serrala: https://www.serrala.com/ Trustmi: https://trustmi.ai/ VendorInfo: https://vendorinfo.com/

In this episode, Paul Galloway speaks with Craig Jeffery of Strategic Treasurer about AI governance, operational risk, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in treasury. They discuss how organizations should approach AI adoption thoughtfully, balancing efficiency gains with oversight, accountability, and data quality. The conversation explores governance frameworks, human-in-the-loop controls, explainability, anomaly detection, vendor risk, and why treasury teams must understand both the opportunities and risks associated with AI-driven tools and automation. Company Website: Strategic Treasurer: https://strategictreasurer.com

In this episode, Craig Jeffery speaks with Paul Galloway of Strategic Treasurer about the shift toward real-time treasury and instant payments. They discuss RTP, FedNow, faster payment execution, improved visibility, and the operational changes treasury teams must consider as payment speed increases. The conversation also covers fraud risk, payment finality, approval workflows, transaction limits, alerts, and why stronger front-end controls are critical as organizations move toward more immediate payment environments.