EOS Ten Nations Survey 2011
‘European Payment Practices’
Payment reliability varies across Europe
In spring 2011, in cooperation with the independent market research organization Ipsos, the EOS Group asked a total of 2200 companies in ten countries about prevailing payment practices in their respective countries.
They answered questions on all aspects of their payment experiences, economic trends in their home country and risk and receivables management in general.
Germany
In Germany, almost eight out of ten invoices are settled by the stipulated deadline. In no other European country is this figure higher.
At the same time, the German economy allows the shortest payment period with an average of 16.78 days, shorter than Russia (18.67 days) and Slovakia (29.15 days).
In addition, German companies write off less than 2% of all debts.
International
On average, individuals and corporate customers in Western Europe are more likely to pay on time than those in Eastern Europe. Over 75 per cent of all invoices are paid on time in Western Europe.
In Eastern Europe, the proportion of receivables paid on time is 63 per cent on average. German (76.1 per cent), Bulgarian (74.6 per cent) and Spanish (73.5 per cent) businesses are among the most reliable payers.
Collaboration with external specialist varies widely
In the end consumer segment, 82.9 per cent of invoices are paid on time in Germany, 81.6 per cent in Belgium and 77.2 per cent in the UK.
Customers in Greece are the least likely to respect payment deadlines.
Only 46.09 per cent of invoices are settled on time in Greece, followed by Slovakia (57.13 per cent) and Russia (56.91 per cent).
