Despite supply chain woes, PayCargo has been doubling its business yearly, aggressively hiring

It’s a remarkable feat for a company to double business year after year, and Coral Gables-based fintech PayCargo is doing just that.

PayCargo lets customers pay electronically for freight services such as transport by air, sea and rail, speeding up payments and allowing for quicker release of cargo. Its business is soaring, partly because the Covid pandemic shifted more payments online. Investors also pumped in cash to fuel growth.

In 2021, PayCargo processed a record $10 billion in payments through its online platform, up from roughly $4 billion in 2020 and just $2 billion in 2019. This year, expansion into the Middle East and Asia should catapult business to $20 billion in payments processed, says CEO Eduardo del Riego.

“We’ve doubled the number of transactions, more on the maritime side than by air. And freight rates have also increased dramatically, increasing the value of each transaction,” says del Riego. “Two years ago, the average freight rate was about $3,000 per container. Now, it’s about $14,000 per container.”

PayCargoCEO Eduardo del Riego

PayCargo charges a fee for each payment it processes, currently about $6 to $12.50 per transaction. In 2021, its revenue topped $40 million, and that number also is doubling yearly, says del Riego.

“We’re looking to do this year over $100 million in revenue, next year $200 million, and in year three, $500 million,” says the longtime freight executive and PayCargo’s chief since 2013.

Fueling growth is $160 million in Series A and Series B funding since 2020, led by New York-based Insight Partners. The investment helped PayCargo open offices in Madrid and other European cities in 2021. This year, the company plans to add hubs in Dubai in the Middle Eastern region and also, in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and maybe Australia in the Asia-Pacific region, del Riego says.

The expansion means more jobs in South Florida and worldwide. In 2021, PayCargo doubled employment to roughly 120 people, including some 50 people at its administrative offices in Coral Gables and 20 at its tech hub in downtown Miami, says del Riego. This year, staff likely will rise to 200 globally.

Yet even in North America, there’s plenty more room to grow. Del Riego estimates nearly 90 percent of payments for cargo services in the United States and Canada still rely on checks, vouchers and cash, not electronic platforms. That’s partly because the freight business involves many small, local operators.

“Once you’ve secured a payer, the challenge is working with them to onboard all of their vendor networks. Of course, they all pay the major ship lines, major airlines and major rail lines. But you’d be surprised how many different warehouses, trucking companies, messenger services, etcetera that each of them uses, and it’s kind of unique to each location,” says del Riego. “The DHL office in Dallas, for example, uses a different network of vendors than the one in Houston.”

Started by a group of South Florida cargo executives in 2007, PayCargo focuses on online payments for freight that moves in metal containers. That can range from “a small package shipped by FedEx or UPS to single container-loads or multiple container-loads of cargo. It’s everything from electronics to food.”

The freight industry faces challenges, of course. Covid disrupted global supply chains, delaying shipments and payments. Del Riego sees supply-chain woes easing this year, but not returning to “normal, or close to normal, operations until 2023.” Finding talent also can be tricky. PayCargo is working with Florida International University and other schools to strengthen logistics programs.

The fintech also is adding support services for customers, including short-term financing. Its PayCargo Capital division, based in New Jersey, recently announced a program with Evolve Bank of Tennessee to provide $150 million in revolving credit lines to PayCargo clients. Plans call for doubling the amount of those credit lines yearly for the next two to three years, says del Riego.

Modernizing freight payments fast remains PayCargo’s focus. The company now is forging partnerships with key freight-service groups to speed growth. It just teamed with INTTRA, a maritime booking system for European carriers that’s part of E2Open. “We signed a five-year agreement to become their payments solution,” says del Riego, “and that alone could triple the size of our company.”

Photo at the top of this post is PortMiami and was provided by PortMiami. Other photos are from PayCargo.

Doreen Hemlock