Visa, the global payments giant, has teamed up with Airwallex, the embedded finance and multi-currency infrastructure provider, to develop financial solutions built specifically for freight and shipping platforms.
The partnership will see the two firms design embedded-finance tools that help logistics businesses modernise how they handle payments, manage working capital and conduct cross-border commerce.
The tie-up pairs Visa’s strengths in commercial payments, acceptance strategy, risk management and vertical-specific solution design with Airwallex’s global platform technology and multi-currency capabilities. The pair intend to tackle persistent pain points in the freight ecosystem, where companies routinely contend with slow settlement, constrained working capital, FX complexity and day-to-day operational friction.
Instead of taking a generic approach to payments, the companies are building products shaped around how freight and shipping businesses actually operate. The ambition is for platforms to weave payment and financial functionality directly into freight workflows, allowing their customers to control costs more effectively, tap working capital when required and move money across borders and currencies with less hassle.
While digital forwarders, logistics marketplaces and freight platforms have transformed how goods are booked and moved, the financial plumbing underneath has frequently lagged behind, it said. Many operators still depend on disjointed payment processes that slow settlement, drive up administrative expense and squeeze cash flow. In shipping, invoices take an average of 42 days to be paid, while manual document handling means processing and admin can account for almost 20% of total transportation costs.
The initiative extends the existing relationship between the two companies, moving beyond cross-border B2B payments into specialised, industry-focused products. The pair hope to establish a repeatable blueprint for bringing embedded finance to complex B2B verticals where legacy payment infrastructure has struggled to match the pace of digital change.
Visa Commercial Solutions, Europe head of new verticals & partnerships Alessandro Figueroa said, “Freight and shipping are fundamental to the global economy, yet many businesses continue to operate with payment processes that are fragmented, manual and inefficient.
“As digital freight platforms continue to scale, there is a growing need for financial solutions that can be embedded seamlessly into existing workflows without creating additional complexity. By combining Visa’s commercial payments expertise with Airwallex’s technology platform, we’re helping bring new solutions to market quickly, enabling platforms to simplify payments, improve working capital and deliver greater value to the businesses they serve.”
Airwallex general manager for UK and Europe Christos Chamberlain said, “Cash sitting in limbo while payments clear across borders is capital that should be funding the next shipment, not stuck in transit. Reputations are built on reliability – can you get the container there, on time, every time. Payments need to work the same way. Together with Visa, we’re giving freight operators the speed and precision that global shipping demands.”
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