The freight bill payments sector remains healthy, industry leaders say, even as it grapples with the challenge of bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the process without losing the human insight required to catch errors and curb unnecessary spend.
“People are buying the sizzle and ignoring the substance,” says Mike Regan, founding president of TranzAct. “They focus on the buzzwords we can all repeat, but overlook the delivery component.”
Regan notes that TranzAct employs roughly 250 people—an important point, he says, when evaluating providers. He recalls reviewing one freight payment company that looked strong on paper until he discovered it had a staff of just 20. “They pick up accounts, but a deeper dive reveals they don’t have the people to support the work,” he explains.
That tension between AI’s promise and the operational realities of today’s freight environment—on the ground, in the air, and across the oceans—continues to shape how shippers and providers think about the future of freight payment.
As usual, shippers and manufacturers have their choice among freight bill payments companies. There are the giants such as Cass Information Systems and U.S. Bank, of course. The latter processes $43 billion in freight payments annually, making it a leader among U.S.-based companies.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market,” says Jeff Pape, senior vice president and general manager of transportation for U.S. Bank. “That’s the biggest news.”
At the other end of the spectrum are mid-sized companies such as TranzAct and Cleveland-based CT Logistics. The latter is starting its second century serving freight users.
But whether large or small, freight bill payment companies all strive for best‑practice freight audit and payment systems to help shippers in four major areas:
—How to understand and analyze your freight spend globally.
—How to achieve significant audit savings.
—How to optimize invoice management processes.
—How to improve working capital.
As Logistics Management has done for many years, we welcome the New Year by examining the latest trends in the freight bill payments sector. We explore what customers are asking for—and how the industry is responding amid shifting tariffs, economic uncertainty, and evolving shipper expectations.
The AI promise and the reality
Artificial intelligence has become the new Holy Grail for back-office transportation teams. More shippers are leaning on AI to detect anomalies—such as duplicate invoices—and to surface audit errors faster than manual processes can.
“We’re embracing AI, but AI is only what you train it to do,” says Allan Miner, CEO of CT Logistics. “We’re training it to be a great freight auditor so we can employ those solutions in the marketplace—even as we maintain our human relationships.”
Yet some of the market’s hype glosses over the human expertise still required. “What they’re selling is that you don’t need the bodies with AI,” says TranzAct’s Mike Regan. “But 30% of AI is driven by prompts and another 30% relies on the human element. Technology and AI are great, but so is experience and expertise.”
Peter Latta, chairman and CEO of A. Duie Pyle, agrees that the technology has enormous upside. “Technology is a great enabler of efficiency,” he says. “The prospects that AI offers to improve efficiency and reduce cost are both exciting and very real.”
Still, the freight payment market is bifurcated. Many providers offer basic automation—such as general ledger coding—while shippers increasingly need deeper integration. The real challenge, experts say, is using AI-derived data in combination with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to create a more complete view of supply chain operations.
“TransAct has been around 41 years,” Regan adds. “We have substantive knowledge of how freight bill payments have affected Walmart. We have the human expertise to do that.”
Integrate data, cut fraud
Integrating customer data with an ERP system allows freight payment providers to create a seamless data flow—reducing manual effort, improving visibility, and giving shippers a much clearer understanding of their transportation spend.
“That integration is very, very important,” says TranzAct’s Mike Regan. “You need the ability to take that data, marry it with sales data, and get a look into each customer’s profitability. You can interface that with customers, and the integration is exceedingly important.”
CT Logistics’ Miner says the level of integration shippers pursue often depends on the sector they operate in. Highly competitive global industries—such as pharmaceuticals and electronics—tend to scrutinize every dollar.
“They come to us for consulting services,” Miner explains. “They give us their top 10 contracts, we run the data through our FreightSaver software, and we identify the best rates based on cost and geographic coverage. But you still need to distill those contracts down to their specific bottom line—here is your cost. There’s a lot of competition for these international businesses.”
Regan stresses that modern integration is no longer one-way. “It’s not merely ERP-to-bill-of-lading,” he says. “It’s not unidirectional. It’s bidirectional—taking and giving data at the same time.”
Executives say shippers turn to freight bill payment partners for three primary reasons:
—To save time through automated handling and collaboration tools.
—To prevent fraud and ensure compliance.
—To reduce costs by eliminating manual processes.
Fraud prevention has rapidly become a critical issue. Freight theft in the U.S. is estimated at $30 billion annually, though most experts believe the real number is significantly higher. As global theft rises, the financial impact ripples across carrier networks and supply chains.
“One of the things front and center is the level of theft and fraud in the freight space,” says U.S. Bank’s Pape. “It’s driving up insurance and the cost of goods. We’re seeing shipment volumes contract while transportation spend increases. That points directly to higher costs tied to insurance and theft—and it’s adding to today’s economic uncertainty.”
Going big, going global
As more companies operate multimodally and expand globally, leading freight bill payment providers are extending their capabilities across ocean, air, rail and cross-border movements. “What you’re seeking is a global data warehouse,” says Miner.
Beyond basic payment services, these providers now deliver insights on cost reduction, carrier performance, routing and modal optimization. Their analytics tools help shippers identify the best network routes and operating partners. “We’re hearing a lot of different things from clients,” adds Pape. “There’s a heightened need to manage costs in ways they haven’t had to in the past.”
Tariff uncertainty and shifting monetary policy have also pushed companies to re-evaluate sourcing strategies, including nearshoring options. “It’s all about controlling what they can control and managing supply chains in the best possible ways,” Pape says.
Miner notes that global reach is increasingly essential—but not without challenges. Subsidiaries and regional operations sometimes resist centralized programs. “What they really want is the data,” he explains. “How you get that data is open to dialogue.”
Digital payments platforms are also reshaping the market. PayCargo, which supports air cargo, ocean freight and trucking transactions, enables shippers, freight forwarders and carriers to send and receive payments electronically.
“The freight payment landscape continues to digitize and converge across modes,” says Dennis Monts, president of PayCargo. “We view the freight payment market as entering the next phase of digital transformation.”
The first phase focused on automating payment execution and reconciliation while adding visibility and authorization controls. Now, both shippers and carriers want immediate confirmation that a cargo release or delivery is tied to a verified payment event.
To meet that expectation, providers are investing heavily in integrations with ocean, air and rail carriers; marine terminals; air handlers; and intermodal systems. The goal, Monts says, is “event-based payments” that align financial transactions with the physical movement of cargo.
“Customers are asking for tools that let them manage cash flow and credit exposure across multiple vendors in one secure platform,” he adds. Through its two-sided network, PayCargo enables instant, verified payments supported by full freight-lifecycle visibility, audit trails and embedded analytics.
“Our role in serving this evolving market is to connect all stakeholders across modes through a trusted financial operating system for global freight,” Monts says. “Reducing friction and latency in settlement helps supply chains operate more efficiently and predictably—especially in a market where cost, speed and transparency matter more than ever.”
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