In 2023, the share of enterprises experiencing problems because of late payments in the EU experienced its highest increase in the past five years. Average payment periods seem to have deteriorated, albeit more on Business to Business (B2B) than on Government to Business (G2B) transactions. Regardless, governments continue paying later than businesses and larger companies remain less likely to pay on time in most Member States.
A special analysis was conducted in this edition of the Annual Report regarding the relationship between late payments and cross-border transactions, and late payments and access to finance. For the first, it was found that companies where exports account for between 0 and 50% of their turnover tend to face more issues with late payments. In case of the second, the main finding is that late payments considerably hinder firms’ ability to access financial services and, conversely, difficulties in accessing finance, which results in even more late payments. Find all findings of the report here.
The Annual Report is the main analytical output of the European Payments Observatory. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the main trends and developments in payment performance related to commercial transactions in 2023.
This report was written in the context of a European Commission project to set up a European Payment Observatory. The report was originally published here.
