Background
A leading UK freight forwarder and logistics provider for major UK expos handled a steady stream of first-time consignees, shippers, and walk-up customers. Many of them had no account on file and needed to pay for and clear their cargo quickly.
£3.7M+
in payment value settled across GBP and EUR
£129,000
saved in card processing fees
Same-day
cargo release, consistently enabled
Real-time
payment visibility for operations and finance
Challenge: Manual payment collection was delaying cargo and hurting cash flow
The expo alone drove a surge of one-off payers who needed to pay and clear cargo fast, yet traditional payment models meant complex invoicing, high merchant fees, and transaction delays.
Manual reconciliation made it worse: payment errors led to delayed cargo release and higher storage fees, while a growing backlog of overdue customs payments held up clearance, hurting both cash flow and operational efficiency.
Solution: Payments — Simplifying collection and automating reconciliation
PayCargo integrated directly with the forwarder’s existing customer portal, embedding a payment widget into a system exhibitors and customers already used. Payment initiation, processing, and confirmation all now happen inside that familiar journey, with no separate PayCargo account required. After early success with freight payments, the forwarder extended the same embedded approach to customs duties and taxes:
- No new account, no added friction: customers pay directly within the portal they already use, removing a common barrier that used to slow down first-time and walk-up payers
- Predictable costs: flat-fee pricing replaces costly card transactions, so customers avoid unpredictable merchant fees
- One less manual step for finance: payments reconcile automatically within the forwarder’s finance and TMS systems, so staff no longer chase down mismatched records
- Faster customs clearance: QR codes on invoices and statements send payers straight to a secure portal, so customs duties get paid and cargo gets cleared faster
Result: £3.7M+ settled, same-day cargo release enabled
Measured results:
- £3.7M+ in payment value settled across GBP and EUR
- £129,000 saved in card processing fees
- Same-day cargo release, consistently enabled
- Real-time payment visibility for operations and finance
Strategic Outcome:
By moving collection and reconciliation onto PayCargo’s payments platform, the forwarder cut card processing fees and ended the manual errors that delayed cargo. Customers now pay in a few clicks and get instant confirmation, while finance gains real-time visibility and cargo is released the same or next business day. Behind the scenes, collections teams have also become more productive securing payments, with a smoother cash allocation process end to end. After clear results with both its events logistics business and its customs payment operations, the forwarder is extending the approach across Europe in 2026.
