Silo Busting: Why Businesses Must Fix the Past to Embrace the Future | PYMNTS.com

Operational silos, fragmented and disconnected functions within organizations, have long been a roadblock to efficiency and innovation.

As 2025 kicks off, the stakes for businesses to dismantle these calcified roadblocks to business process optimization are higher than ever, with the risks of keeping them intact becoming near existential.

Operational silos are pervasive in large organizations, particularly those with legacy systems and processes. At their core, these silos inhibit collaboration, slow decision-making and obscure visibility into operations. These issues are magnified as businesses scale and adopt more sophisticated technologies, such as grappling with the demands of real-time decision-making, artificial intelligence (AI) driven analytics and an increasingly interconnected and unpredictable global market.

In the context of finance and payments, silos manifest in several ways: isolated accounting departments, disparate data systems and disconnected workflows. These inefficiencies not only increase operational costs but also hinder the ability to make informed decisions in real time — a capability that has become crucial in today’s fast-paced environment.

Breaking down these silos is not a one-time initiative; it can be an ongoing journey that requires commitment, collaboration and innovation. As the finance function and payments industries continue to evolve, organizations that prioritize integration to unlock the full potential of digital transformation are likely to differentiate themselves in a positive, results-driven manner from their peers and competition.

See also: The Importance of Change Management in Unlocking B2B Payments Innovation

Digital Transformation Hinges on Integration

As PYMNTS has covered, throughout 2024, the expectation for immediacy in financial operations became a mandate. Liquidity and treasury management moved from quarterly and monthly cycles to daily — and in some cases, hourly. The benefits of these innovations? Better visibility into cash flow, optimized working capital and the ability to pivot at a moment’s notice in a volatile global economy.

Siloed operations make it difficult to access integrated data streams, delaying insights and impeding swift action. Moreover, siloed systems often lead to data inaccuracies, duplications, and compliance risks, particularly in highly regulated industries like payments and finance.

“B2B payments haven’t evolved much from the modalities that dominated the landscape 40 or even 50 years ago,” Boost Payment Solutions Chief Operating Officer Illya Shell told PYMNTS. “Traditionally, payments were an afterthought, but modernizing global B2B payments is an enormous opportunity … Much of what’s left is really hampered by rigid and inflexible systems.”

For organizations managing cross-border payments, the lack of integration between treasury, compliance and operations can create bottlenecks that delay transactions and erode customer trust.

“Corporate inertia is a very powerful force,” Boost Payment Solutions founder and CEO Dean M. Leavitt told PYMNTS. “It’s not just about digitizing the process; it’s about embedding finance and payment strategies into every workflow. That’s where the real opportunity lies.”

Breaking down silos can require a holistic approach that integrates people, processes and technology. At its core, digital transformation in finance and payments is about leveraging technology to optimize workflows, enhance data visibility and create seamless customer experiences. However, achieving these goals is impossible without cross-functional collaboration and unified systems.

Read more: 5 Ways 2024 Kicked Off a New Era for CFOs and Treasury Pros

Leveraging Data to Break Down Silos

One example of successful integration is the adoption of end-to-end payment platforms that connect accounts receivable, accounts payable and treasury functions. These platforms enable real-time data sharing, automated workflows and enhanced visibility across the financial ecosystem. For instance, a unified system can automatically flag compliance issues in cross-border transactions, reducing delays and ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements.

By breaking down silos, companies can consolidate customer data, transaction histories and market trends into a single source of truth. This not only improves decision-making but also enables personalized customer experiences — a key differentiator in the competitive payments landscape.

“Incorporating data into the money flow will provide significant improvements for businesses,” Seamus Smith, executive vice president and group president at FIS, told PYMNTS. “Organizations that are early adopters and larger-scale consumers of new technology will accelerate ahead.”

AI and machine learning (ML) further amplify the benefits of integrated data. For example, AI-powered analytics can identify patterns in payment fraud, while ML algorithms can optimize cash flow forecasting. However, the effectiveness of these technologies depends on the quality and accessibility of data, underscoring the need to eliminate silos.

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