GNS, one of the leading providers of maritime solutions, and Caxton FX, a leading payment card and foreign exchange specialist, today announced a partnership to help shipping companies manage cash onboard ship more easily and cost-effectively.

The new VOYAGER Money service enables shipping companies to optimise cash flow and increase financial controls while reducing Cash-to-Master costs. VOYAGER Money is also the first payment card of its kind to offer shipping companies very simple, fixed annual pricing that is fully inclusive of all ATM, replacement card and other fees.

“One of the great opportunities in commercial shipping is the delivery of tangible benefits from digital technology,” said Paul Stanley, GNS CEO. “GNS’s development efforts are focused on the creation of our powerful VOYAGER ecosystem that harnesses big data and delivers new digitally-led efficiencies and safety improvements to a wide range of stakeholders ashore and onboard. By working with Caxton to provide a modern Cash-to-Master solution we are helping shipping companies realise more of the tangible commercial benefits promised by our digital age.”

Many commercial vessels still carry large amounts of cash to pay for provisions, sundries and crew advances. The custom of keeping thousands of US dollars of cash in an on-board safe is inefficient in terms of business cash flow, rarely delivers the best foreign exchange rates and can carry significant logistical costs. It also makes it hard maintain effective financial controls and increases exposure to theft and fraud.

With VOYAGER Money, ship managers can electronically transfer funds on demand to their ship’s “virtual safe” in any of 15 currencies. Funds are immediately  accessible to the ship’s Master for loading to convenient and secure VOYAGER payment cards that can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs, over-the-counter at banks and to purchase items from more than 33 million Mastercard merchant locations worldwide.

“As the leader in maritime solutions, GNS is an ideal partner for us to work with to help shipping companies transform how they manage their global cash requirements,” said Rupert Lee Browne, Caxton’s CEO. “Through this agreement, we’re able to help shipping businesses tap into the incredible capabilities that technology and digital money can deliver. With VOYAGER Money, shipping companies can keep their money in the bank for longer, have greater financial control and Masters have safe and secure access to the funds they need.”

Being able to transfer money to vessels on demand liberates working capital and helps improve cash flow. Online electronic transfers remove ship agent fees and eliminate secure delivery costs. VOYAGER Money users also benefit from ‘better-than-bank’ foreign exchange rates to help cash go further.

VOYAGER Money features in-built MasterCard security to protect funds against theft and fraud. All account activity is instantly visible when ship managers and Masters sign into their online VOYAGER Money account, providing greatly enhanced financial controls and faster, more efficient account reconciliation.  VOYAGER Money is very competitively priced to make it affordable to all shipping companies worldwide with both large and small Cash-to-Master requirements.