Airfreight booking portal WebCargo has developed a new service that will allow forwarders to pay for their bookings on the platform rather than having to use a separate payment tool.
WebCargo, part of the Freightos Group, said that the payment service is currently being piloted with around 30 freight forwarders and airlines IAG Cargo and Qatar Cargo.
Zvi Schreiber, chief executive of the Freightos Group, said: “Freight and payments are foundations of global trade, but both introduce friction. Until today, forwarders booked cargo on one platform and paid on another, which is like shopping on Amazon but paying on Paypal."
“We aim to digitalise both on one platform, improving how forwarders and carriers interact and providing a better experience for importers and exporters.”
The payment service is currently being tested in the US, Europe and the UK, with plans roll out in parts of Asia in the near future.
Additional airlines are expected to join the pilot scheme soon, WebCargo said.
Guillaume Halleux, chief cargo officer at Qatar Airways Cargo, said: “By unifying payments with bookings, we can provide more effective and efficient service to a growing base of customers worldwide, safely and securely.
"As a matter of fact, this technology opens new frontiers to airlines by allowing them to accept bookings from every freight forwarder in a given market without having to setup or maintain a stock of AWB.”
Peter Roberts, head of distribution at IAG Cargo said: “This partnership is a natural continuation of our work with Freightos and helps to significantly reduce the time it takes for a new customer to book with IAG Cargo safely and securely.”
Earlier this week, Air Cargo News revealed that WebCargo is in the process of launching a new service that will enable freight forwarders to offer shippers live rate quotations and real-time capacity, and allow shippers to finalise bookings themselves.
