Where finance meets freight: the unique role U.S. Bank plays in trucking

A central component of supply chains, freight payments connect businesses shipping goods carried by trucking companies

In 1997, as the internet was beginning to reshape business, a small team working out of a basement in downtown Minneapolis had a bold task: help U.S. Bank automate more of the freight payment process for a major federal government agency.

At the time, freight payments were slow, paper-heavy and riddled with inefficiencies. Invoices and bills of lading were physically stored in warehouses, and payments could take months to process. Many carriers were frustrated by payment that could take more than 120 days and cumbersome paperwork, leading trucking companies to avoid government contracts.

Charged with overhauling the freight payment process, the team began building their solution from scratch. What emerged was Powertrack, which over the last nearly three decades has become an indispensable tool for many U.S. companies: U.S. Bank Freight Payment.

“The bank didn’t just build a payment platform. It built a freight engine,” said U.S. Bank Senior Vice President Joe Eykyn, who has supported the bank’s transportation products for 25 years. “A large shipper might have thousands of invoices a week, and our system was designed to handle that complexity. It can consume over 500 data points per transaction, cross-referencing bills of lading to their respective invoices and additional references like purchase orders to ensure every payment is accurate from the start.”

The first transaction took place April 1, 1998, and by 2000, U.S. Bank had expanded into the commercial space, onboarding manufacturers and retailers.

“Getting payments right the first time was absolutely critical, especially in the early days when correcting errors meant piles of supplemental paper invoices,” said Tiffany Anderson, a U.S. Bank senior product manager who has helped evolve the bank’s freight capabilities over the years. “What set us apart was the real-time transparency we created between shippers and carriers.”  

The team’s deep freight industry experience was critical, Anderson said. Many of the original team members came from transportation, logistics and government backgrounds. They didn’t consider themselves bankers. They were freight professionals who understood how goods moved, how carriers operated and what shippers needed.

The team was tight-knit, mission-driven and deeply connected to expanding the solution to more customers, she said.

“Our first quarter, we processed $70 million,” said Eykyn. “Now we process more than $40 billion in payments annually.”

A critical link in today’s supply chain

Today, U.S. Bank’s freight payment solution is a cornerstone of the transportation and logistics industry. The bank works with around 200 shippers to pay nearly 20,000 carriers on the U.S. Bank Freight Payment platform. In addition to trucking companies and small parcel carriers, the platform works for shippers with carriers moving goods via ocean, rail and air cargo planes. The system enables real-time collaboration between shippers and carriers, automates invoice validation and provides deep audit capabilities.

Additionally, the bank uses the data to provide clients with rich analytics from all the nationwide transaction data to help them make operational and other business decisions, Eykyn said. Each quarter, the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index is published with detailed U.S. and region-specific insights. 

For shippers, the platform offers visibility, control and efficiency, he said. It helps them manage freight spend, streamline accounting and extend payment terms when needed — which is especially valuable in bulk fuel transactions where timing is critical.

For carriers, it ensures faster, more accurate payments and reduces the administrative burden of managing invoices and disputes, Eykyn said.

Evolving with the industry

As the freight landscape continues to shift, U.S. Bank Freight Payment is evolving right alongside it, Anderson said. Clients today are focused on controlling what they can and operating more efficiently in a climate of economic uncertainty and supply chain complexity. That’s why the platform is continually enhanced with a strong emphasis on automation, visibility and speed.

For example, AI is now being used to automate business rules, reduce disputes between shippers and carriers, and identify patterns in audit discrepancies. These capabilities eliminate repetitive issues, reducing the need for manual review and accelerating payments.

Just like in that Minneapolis basement nearly three decades ago, the team remains focused on solving real-world problems with precision and resilience, said Jeff Pape, general manager, U.S. Bank Freight Payment.

“Trucking keeps America moving,” Pape added. “It’s an honor to help power that movement, whether through payments, financing or the visibility that makes it all more efficient.”