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Cybersecurity has climbed to the top of UK finance leaders’ risk agendas, with 99% of CFOs reporting a payments-related cyber incident in the past two years, according to new research by Corpay.
The findings expose how outdated systems and fragmented finance infrastructures are leaving organisations vulnerable — and driving a surge in planned investment and automation.
Cybersecurity Becomes the Defining CFO Concern
Cybersecurity dominates CFO agenda
The survey of 150 UK CFOs found cybersecurity threats were cited as the leading operational risk by 42% of respondents, ahead of inflation, regulation, and supply chain pressures.
Nearly all CFOs (94%) plan to increase spending on cybersecurity over the next year, with more than half signalling “significant” budget uplifts.
The growing threat surface reflects how finance functions — traditionally viewed as administrative back offices — have become prime targets for sophisticated cybercriminals.
As the research notes, legacy systems and manual processes not only hinder efficiency but also leave organisations exposed to evolving attack vectors.
“The fragility of legacy payments systems is now worryingly clear,” said Piero Macari, Vice President of Products at Corpay.
“Virtually every UK finance leader has experienced a payments-related cyber incident in the last two years, and that should be alarming to everyone. Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT problem — it’s the number one operational risk facing CFOs.”
Automation: A New Line of Defence
Facing increasing threats and operational complexity, CFOs are turning to automation as a key strategy for resilience.
Every CFO surveyed expressed an appetite for automation, with Accounts Payable (54%) topping the list of functions they want to modernise, followed by expense management (53%), cross-border payments (47%), and fraud prevention (42%).
Automation, Macari noted, is not only about speed but about security.
“Given that cyber threats are now universal, increasing automation within financial processes can support CFOs in minimising cyber attacks,” he said.
“Legacy systems are no longer just an inconvenience — they’re a liability.”
However, the path to automation remains obstructed. Almost half of respondents (47%) cited integration with existing systems as the biggest barrier, followed by internal resistance to change (41%) and cybersecurity concerns (37%).
The Visibility Gap
While 94% of CFOs value real-time visibility across payments and cash flow, only 64% feel confident their systems can deliver it — a shortfall that compounds both security and efficiency risks.
Corpay’s solution, Corpay Complete, aims to bridge that gap by unifying Accounts Payable, domestic and cross-border payments, and expense management into a single mobile-first platform.
The system, launched earlier this year in the UK, provides real-time oversight and automation designed to “make finance smarter, faster, and safer.”
As CFOs face escalating cyber risks, the message from Corpay’s findings is clear: the cost of inaction is no longer tolerable.
To future-proof their operations, finance leaders must replace fragmented legacy systems with integrated, intelligent infrastructure that brings visibility, control, and resilience to the heart of payments.
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