Card and digital payments giant Visa has joined forces with Airport Authority Hong Kong ( AAHK ) and Shanghai Commercial Bank to launch an industry-first pilot aimed at transforming B2B payment flow for SME freight forwarders. The pilot’s inaugural transaction was successfully completed at Hong Kong International Airport ( HKIA ), a leading global air cargo hub.

Focusing on co-loading payments, a business practice where multiple freight forwarders collaborate to pool and consolidate shipments to optimize cost and airline capacity, the pilot introduces a commercial card-based working capital solution, enabling real-time, pre-authorized payments backed by verified cargo data. This effectively addresses industry pain points such as delayed payments, fraud risk, and manual reconciliation, while enhancing efficiency, security, and cash flow for small and medium-sized enterprises in the air cargo sector.

The pilot lays the groundwork for a smarter logistics infrastructure, enabling Visa to explore further innovations and partnerships that meet the demands of businesses of all sizes engaged in cross-border trade with greater agility and trust.

As global trade becomes increasingly digital, data-driven payments are critical for a more transparent and scalable supply chain finance system. The new payment system backs every transaction with a reliable, tamper-proof source of truth, eliminating potential chargebacks. This offers a secure way to validate service completion, particularly crucial for complex arrangements involving multiple parties.

Key innovations include:

• Alternative data for credit assessment. It leverages historical cargo and payment data from trusted sources such as AAHK’s HKIA Cargo Data Platform to enable smarter, data-driven lending decisions.
• Accessible working capital solution powered by commercial cards. It extends payment terms for buyers ( up to 85 days in days payable outstanding ) while reducing sellers’ days sales outstanding to as few as three days, improving cash flow for SMEs.
• Real-time shipment verification. It utilizes live cargo data from AAHK’s HKIA Cargo Data Platform to confirm service deliveries, ensuring payments are released only upon verification, thereby mitigating fraud and disputes.

“Together with our partners, we are helping SMEs to unlock liquidity, streamline reconciliation, and give them greater control over cash flow by linking verified cargo data with financial flows,” says Paulina Leong, general manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau. “This pilot marks a significant milestone in driving efficiency through payment innovation along the supply chain – a powerful example of Hong Kong’s leadership as a global hub.”