Autotoll’s e-payment system boosts smart logistics capabilities

Throughout the last two decades, Autotoll has transformed into a diversified business expanding into the Greater Bay Area, and in leading the pace with the Hong Kong Government's “Smart City Blueprint”, branching out its services to cover key aspects of Smart Mobility, Smart Logistics, Smart Living, and Smart Environment.

Leveraging its experience with traffic, vehicle and payments management, Autotoll’s dedicated professional team offers many smart and innovative solutions such as Free-Flow Tolling, Traffic Control and Surveillance, Fleet Management, Electric Vehicle Charging, Property Management, Digital Wallets, Smart Payment Collection and Clearing, and enabling its customers and users to drive into a smarter future.

The Objectives

Autotoll has embraced the smart logistics era by transitioning from traditional to digital services amid Hong Kong’s cash-based logistics industry. To realise the strategic goal of developing Hong Kong into a smart city equipped with a cashless economy, Autotoll entered into a ground-breaking partnership with PayCargo, a leading international logistics payment platform, to develop an innovative smart logistics payment system and align with Hong Kong's drive towards transforming the intelligent logistics sector.

The collaboration aims to enhance payment processing efficiency within Hong Kong’s logistics sector by:

• Reducing cash and cheque use by digitising cash collections from logistics customers (e.g. freight forwarders, cargo operators, sea carriers)
• Automating data feed from logistics players to streamline document validation (at docks, ports, airports etc.)

The Solution

The outcome of the partnership was the launch of Hong Kong’s first large-scale logistics e-payment platform, enabling digital business-to-business (B2B) transactions within the logistics industry.

Autotoll utilised the following solutions to digitise the end-to-end payment process with HSBC as the sole operating bank of the new e-platform:

• All-in-one logistics payment platform for faster release of cargo and enable instant settlement of payments
• Introduced real time direct debit authorisation via API connectivity with the bank to automatically pull funds from customers’ accounts for settlement of payments
• Established host-to-host connectivity with PayCargo to automate transmission of data (e.g. bill of lading, airway bill) for instant document validation of each transaction
• Enable e-payslips to digitise payment records which are made available on the e-platform for payers to access and retain
• In the process of introducing an e-wallet solution specifically for logistics players to further digitalise the payment process.

The digital proposition is set to transform the city’s logistics sector, reducing reliance on physical cash and cheques to speed up shipment and cargo release. This bespoke solution, which has been quickly adopted by major air cargo providers, with integration underway with Cathay Cargo Terminal for import cargo collection, will help drive digital adoption among other logistics players and drive behavioural changes from within the traditional sector.

The transformation will also allow Autotoll to further contribute to Hong Kong’s trade growth and power the city’s ambition to become a leading international logistics hub.

Success

• Fully digital proposition to reduce cash/cheque handling and speed up the operation
• Integrate digital payments and electronic trade data into systems
• Streamlined collections and reconciliation
• Drive transformation and promote digital adoption within Hong Kong’s logistics sector

Autotoll International is a Highly Commended Winner of the 2024 Treasury Today Adam Smith Awards Asia in the Best Emerging Technology category.