FIATA sorts out air freight payment issue

FIATA sorts out air freight payment issue    The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations said Tuesday it has been successful in alleviating a payment burden on forwarders tied to a standard air freight standard cash settlement system.
   FIATA had argued that forwarders were under pressure to deposit higher security bonds to insure payments to the cash settlement system of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   The conflict stemmed from 2009, when IATA uncovered a $15 million internal fraud related to its Cash Accounts Settlement System (CASS).
   'The reaction of IATA management was to impose zero tolerance and remove local discretion from CASS managers, aggravating what forwarders felt were unreasonable and unjust bonding requirements,' FIATA said.
   The issue was broached with IATA at FIATA's 2010 World Congress in Bangkok, which led to forming a joint FIATA-IATA working group to deal with the issue. Several meetings in 2011 have led to a resolution, FIATA said.
   'Under the new criteria there will be no more financial reviews of the intermediaries except in well-defined circumstances,' the federation said. 'The settlement limit of an intermediary which exceeds its established monthly settlement limit will be automatically increased. Finally, it has been agreed that any bank guarantees required of forwarders as a result of the previous established criteria would be released with immediate effect.'
   CASS is an IATA initiative, developed by Citibank, to simplify the billing and settling of accounts between airlines and freight forwarders. The system is operational in more than 70 countries, with IATA aiming to take the number nearer to 100 by the end of the year. IATA-credited freight forwarders can join free of cost, while IATA-member airlines can join for $2,500.