Intrum Epr 2019

21st Annual Edition
European
Payment
Report 2019
European Payment Report 2019 1

Intrum in brief
A word from the CEO
02
03 Intrum
in brief
Executive summary 04
Results 06
Payment terms 06
Late payments 09
Consequences of late payments 12
International payments 14
Prediction of a cashless society 15
Recession in sight? 17
Legislation – EU and national 19
Key findings per country 21
About the report 80 Intrum leads the way to a sound
About the survey 81 economy for people, companies and
Our other publications 83 society as a whole
Addresses 84 A credit market in which people and companies can safely and
efficiently provide and gain credit is a prerequisite for the business
community, and consequently for societies as a whole, to perform
properly. As a market leader, Intrum leads the way to a sound economy
in which people rid themselves of debt and companies are paid. In a
sound economy, people feel better, companies grow and entire
societies flourish.
Two areas of service

We ensure that companies are paid by offering two types of services.
Credit management services with a focus on late payments and collec-
tion, and purchasing of portfolios of overdue receivables. Beyond these,
we offer a full range of services covering companies’ entire credit man-
agement chain.
80,000 clients
Intrum has about 80,000 clients. They operate in virtually all sectors,
and assisting major companies and financial institutions with large vol-
umes of receivables is our specialty. We also work with tens of thousands
of small and medium-sized companies. Our clients see the benefit of
focusing on their core business rather than on credit management.
9,000 employees
Approximately 9,000 employees work at Intrum. We help companies
prosper by caring for their customers through some 250,000 daily
communications in which we help people become debt free and
ensure that companies are paid.
25 countries
Intrum’s operations are divided into the four regions: Northern Europe,
Central and Eastern Europe, Western and Southern Europe, and the
Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. We maintain operations in a total
of 24 European countries.
A word from the CEO
Know your
customers
when the
economy
turns
Most European countries have seen a period of eco- Sound payment terms should be the norm
nomic growth, but clouds are appearing on the horizon. An important ingredient in a sound economy is safe and
Companies all over Europe report signs of recession. Bad sound payments. Equally important is the change of attitude
debt losses are increasing and companies are reporting towards payment behaviour. We at Intrum acknowledge the
longer average payment times, despite increasingly stricter importance of paying on time and we support numerous
payment terms. The ability to predict cash flow is key to initiatives regarding defined payment times. Both the corpo-
all businesses, as financial stability is the foundation for rate and public community have an obligation to stick to its
growth. For companies this means it is more important than commitments. Our findings demonstrate the opposite: both
ever to choose the right customers. sectors are increasing their average payment times. This is
an alarming signal, which needs to be addressed.
For this year’s European Payment Report we asked 11,856
companies across 29 countries about their outlook on And the fact is that at the same time, many European com-
payment behaviour, the financial health of their company panies are clearly demanding initiatives to prevent late
and economic development in their country. Our findings payments, both on a national and European level. More than
show a clear change to the optimism of prior years. A grow- four out of ten say new national legislation and voluntary
ing number of companies foresee increased risks for their initiatives would diminish the problem of late payments. Our
debtors. At the same time, they also expect a higher level of report also shows that the effect of the EU Late Payment
yearly revenue to be written off. Directive is still fairly low. 71 per cent of the companies
surveyed state they are not aware of the directive. Sound
Europe is split payment terms and on-time payments require long-term
Although European companies are split when it comes to changes in payment behaviour among European businesses.
when an economic down-turn is expected in their country, Until we get there, educational initiatives, voluntary codes
more than half of them believe that a recession will occur and willpower from NGOs, policy makers and stakeholders’
within five years. In preparing for an economic decline, associations will be the drivers of good payment morale to
companies are prepared to take various measures to pro- support healthy economies.
tect their revenues, such as cutting costs and being more
cautious about taking on debt. On a positive note, it is Sustainable economy for people and businesses
encouraging that almost one-third of the companies report For us at Intrum, it is important to contribute to a sustain-
that they will accelerate their sales operations to manage a able economy for both businesses and individuals. We
potential down-turn. support people with debt to get their personal finances in
order. At the same time, we help our clients get paid for
The split between countries is distinct when it comes to their goods and services. And we take pride in using our
prediction of a cashless society. 48 per cent believe their unique insights to develop solutions that work both for the
national economy will be cashless within 10 years. A cash- ones who provide and those who receive credit. By that,
less society entails that all transactions are digital, with new Intrum leads the way to a sound economy.
possibilities to buy on credit as one likely consequence. In
an economy where credit is becoming even more central, it Mikael Ericson
will be necessary to know who is creditworthy, in order to President & CEO
avoid losing revenue. Intrum

Executive
summary
Signs of a new recession: Debt risks and Businesses pay later and the public sector
bad debt losses increase in Europe is still an issue concerning late payments
After a period of economic growth, European busi- Late payments are problematic for companies, whether
nesses report a possible recession in sight. Bad debt they are large or small. The ability to predict cash flow
losses have increased from 1.69 per cent (2018) to is key to all businesses, as financial stability is the foun-
2.31 per cent (2019) after steadily declining since 2016. dation for growth.
Additionally, European companies foresee a higher risk
for their debtors, as 16 per cent predict an increased The average payment time for consumers is 23 days,
risk the next twelve months, an increase from 12 per up from 22 days in 2018. Businesses pay their bills on
cent who stated the same in 2018. average after 40 days, up from 34 days in 2018. The
public sector pays after 42 days, up from 40 days in
European businesses are split regarding when a reces- 2018. This indicates that the bad payment habits of
sion in their country is imminent. Half of European both businesses and the public sector are worsening.
companies (54 per cent) state that a recession is immi-
nent within five years, while 30 per cent of businesses Increased demands for national
believe that a recession will not occur in their country actions to prevent late payments
in the foreseeable future. There is a large difference A total of 41 per cent of companies in Europe state
between countries, where Greece (93 per cent), Italy that new national legislation would solve the problem
(84 per cent) and Portugal (82 per cent) report that of long payment terms and 45 per cent state the same
recession is imminent, while smaller numbers of com- when it comes to the solving the problem of late pay-
panies from Austria (23 per cent), Germany (31 per ments. This is an increase from 2018, where 38 per
cent) and Denmark (35 per cent) hold this view. cent and 42 per cent, respectively, held this position.
Companies are planning a variety of measures to pre- There is also an increased demand for voluntary initi-
pare for an economic decline that could impact their atives from corporations, with one-third (33 per cent)
revenue negatively. Cutting costs (45 per cent) and believing it would tackle the problem of long payment
being cautious about taking on more debt (36 per cent) terms and another third (33 per cent) believing it would
are the most prominent ones, but on the more positive tackle problem of late payments.
note, close to one-third (29 per cent) say they plan to
increase their sales operations. For several years the European Payment Report has
examined the impact of the EU Late Payment Directive.
4 European Payment Report 2019

Awareness of the directive is still fairly low, as cashless society are made by companies from Greece
only 29 per cent of European businesses are familiar (67 per cent), Ireland (63 per cent) and Romania
with it, up slightly from 28 per cent in 2018. Well over (63 per cent). On the other side of the scale are com-
half (57 per cent) of the companies familiar with the panies from Serbia (18 per cent), Estonia (22 per cent)
directive say they never use the right to charge a and Hungary (26 per cent), who believe their national
minimum of 40 Euro and interest in B2B and public economy will be cashless in 10 years or less.
sector transactions.
In a cashless society, European businesses believes
Many companies could hire more that exposure to cyber-attacks (58 per cent), efficiency
employees if they received payments faster of payment routines and accounting (35 per cent) and
One-fifth (21 per cent) say faster payments would transaction data information available to them (34 per
enable them to hire more employees. Around half of cent) are areas that will increase.
the companies in Italy (52 per cent), Bosnia and Herze-
govina (50 per cent) and Romania (49 per cent) state Local culture and payment routines
the same. influence international payments
On average, 10.7 per cent of European companies’
The consequences of late payment are getting less income is international. Companies in the Czech
and less severe, but dismissing employees (12 per cent) Republic (18.4 per cent), Portugal (18.2 per cent) and
or not hiring new ones (18 per cent) stand out as signifi- Bulgaria (17.2 per cent) have the largest percentage of
cant negative consequences of late payments. international payments in Europe, while companies in
Poland, Norway and Bosnia and Herzegovina have the
Half of European companies think their smallest percentages, 5.7 percent, 7.0 per cent and 7.2
country will be cashless in ten years or less per cent, respectively.
A cashless society entails a national economy where
digital modes of conducting economic transactions One-fourth (26 per cent) of the companies in Europe
(credit cards, etc.) have replaced the use of physical say local payment culture impacts international pay-
coins and banknotes. ments in a negative way. One-fourth (24 per cent) also
state that local payment routines do the same, as well
Nearly half, or 48 per cent of companies across Europe as customer payment methods (23 per cent).
say that they think their country will be cashless in
ten years or less. The most positive predictions for a

European results
Payment Late payments are problematic for companies, whether they

are large or small. The ability to predict cash flow is key to all
terms
businesses, as financial stability is the foundation for growth.
The average payment time continues to increase, particu-

larly in B2B, with an increase from 34 days in 2018 to 40 days
in 2019. The public sector is also paying later, increasing
from 40 days to 42 days. The average payment time for
consumers is 23 days, up from 22 days in 2018. Six out of ten
(61 per cent) companies have been asked to accept longer
payment terms than they feel comfortable with. 58 per cent
have accepted longer payment terms.
What payment terms do you allow your customers, on average? (European average)
B2C 2016 20
2017 24
2018 23
2019 21
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 30
2017
32
2018 32
2019 34
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Public sector 2016 29
2017 33
2018 34
2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay? (European average)
B2C 2016 21
2017 24
2018 22
2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
2016 36
B2B
2017 37
2018 34
2019 40
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Public sector 2016 36
2017 41
2018 40
2019 42
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Have you been asked to accept longer payment terms than you feel comfortable with?
(European average)
%
No 80
Yes, by a large/ 70
multinational
corporation 66
60
Yes, by a small to
medium sized
50
company 50
Yes, by public sector 40 41
Do not know 38 38 39
35 35 35
30
30 29
27
20
15
10 13
4 10 11 3 4
3
0
2016 2017 2018 2019

Have you ever accepted longer payment terms than you feel comfortable with? (European average)
%
No 80
Yes, by a large/ 70
multinational
corporation
60 64
Yes, by a small to
medium sized
50
company 50
Yes, by public sector 40
41
Do not know 38 39 38 37
30 35
33
27
25 24
20
15
10 13
4 11 4 11 3 4
0
2016 2017 2018 2019
Generally speaking, what measure do you primarily take when a customer asks for longer payment
terms? (European average)
%
35
35
2016 30 32 31
2017 28
2018 25
2019
20 21
19 19
18 17
15 16
15
14
10 12 12 13
10 11 11
8 8 8 7
5 6 6 6 6 6
5
0
Offer a Accept Offer We do not Accept longer Other Do not know
discount as an longer payment negotiate payment terms measure
alternative terms plans payment unconditionally
but add a terms
surcharge
Of all your outstanding bills, how large share do you pay late? (i.e. not within the required payment terms)
13% 8%
2018 2019*
*2019: Poland not included due to data error.

Late Not getting paid on time is problematic. The ability to predict cash
flow is key to all businesses, as financial stability is the foundation
for growth.
payments In 2019, companies report that bad debt losses have increased from
1.69 per cent (2018) to 2.31 per cent (2019). Additionally, European
companies foresee a higher risk for their debtors, as 16 per cent
predict an increased risk the next twelve months, an increase from
12 per cent who stated the same in 2018. 14 per cent stated that credit
losses increased during 2018. The main cause for late payments is still
debtors in financial difficulties (54 per cent), despite a decreasing
trend since 2016.
Yearly revenue written off (European Yearly revenue written off in the European countries
average 2016–2019*)
%
0
4
3
2
1
Romania 6.4
Bosn. & Herzeg. 5.0
2016 2.44% Greece 4.1

Switzerland 3.9
Bulgaria 3.5
Belgium 3.5
2017 2.14% France 3.1

UK 3.0
Netherlands 2.6
Lithuania 2.5
Austria
1.69%
2.3
2018 European Average 2.3

Ireland 2.0
Croatia 2.0
Spain 1.7
2019* 2.31% Germany 1.7
Serbia 1.6
Latvia 1.6
Poland 1.4
Portugal 1.4
Slovenia 1.3
Czech Rep. 1.2
Hungary 1.1
Finland 1.0
Sweden 1.0
Denmark 0.8
Slovakia 0.7
Norway 0.7
Estonia 0.7
* 2019: Italy not included due to data error. % 0 2 4 6 8 10

How do you see risks from your company‘s debtors developing during the next 12 months?
(European average)
%
Increasing 100
15 12 12 16
Remaining stable
Declining 76 78
80 74 75
60
40
2026
11 13
10 9
0
2016 2017 2018 2019
What is your level of concern regarding the following areas when it comes to problems with payments?
(European average)
3% 3%
Not problematic
8%
Problematic 9% 12%
Highly problematic
Don’t know
19%
47% 46%
47%
42% 38%
27%
Debtors that pay after Long payment terms Credit losses

the set due date
Have your credit losses increased, decreased or remained stable in 2018 compared to 2017?
(European average)
%
50
47
40
30
20 23
10 12
10
3 4
2
0
Increased to a Increased to Neither Decreased to Decreased to a We have not Don´t know
great extent some extent increased nor some extent great extent had any credit
decreased losses for the
past two years

What are the main causes of late payment of your own customers? (European average)
%
2016 80
2017
2018 70 72
2019 66
60 62 63
50 54 55
49 48 50
48
46 45
40
30
20
21 20 19
17
10
Debtors in financial Disputes regarding Administrative Intentional late

difficulties goods and services inefficiency of your payment
delivered customers

Consequences
of late payments
If a company does not get paid on time, consequences may be severe.
Though the over-all consequences of late payments show a decreasing
trend since 2016, businesses in Europe still experience liquidity pressure
(30 per cent), loss of income (28 per cent) and limitations on growth
(23 per cent).
One-fifth (21 per cent) say faster payments would enable them to hire
more employees. To protect against bad payments, over one-third
(39 per cent) still use pre-payment as a precaution, despite a decreasing
trend since 2016.
How do you rate the consequences of late payments for your company with regards to:
(European average)
2016 Answers presented below

2017 are only 4–5 (high impact)
2018 on a scale from 1–5.
2019
%
35
30 31
30
27 28
25 26 26
25 25
23
20 22
21 21
20
19 18
18 18
15 16 16
15 15 15
10 12 12 12
11
10
5 6
0
Additional Loss of Liquidity Threat to Prohibiting Dismissing Not hiring
interest costs income squeeze survival growth of employees new employees
for your the company
company

Would faster payments from your debtors enable
your company to hire more employees? (European average)
Yes, definitely
6% (5) 4% (6)
Yes, probably
No, probably not
No, definitely not 17% (14)
Do not know
(versus last year)
39% (41)
34% (34)
What precautions does your company undertake to protect against bad payment? (European average)
2016
2017
2018
2019
%
50
50
45
40 42
39
36
30 32 31
30 31 30
29
25 25 25 25
20 21
18 19
14
10 12 12 11
11 11
6 6 6 6
0
Bank Credit Credit checks Pre-payment Debt Factoring None of
guarantees insurance collection the above

International As our world becomes smaller, we see an increase in many
export and import markets, where international payments
become even more important for local businesses than
payments before.
On average, 10.7 per cent of European companies’ income

is international. One in four (26 per cent) of them say local
payment culture impacts international payments in a neg-
ative way. Again, one-fourth (24 per cent) state that local
payment routines do the same, as well as customer pay-
ment methods (23 per cent).
What share of your incoming payments are Which of the following factors impact the
international? international payments in a negative way?
(European average)
Czech Rep. 18.4 Customers 23

payment
Portugal 18.2 methods
Bulgaria 17.2
Italy 16.5
Belgium Local 26
14.0
payment
Lithuania 13.3 culture
Croatia 12.7
Romania 12.4
Language 11
Slovenia 12.4 barriers
Serbia 11.9
Switzerland 11.6
Denmark 11.3 Local 24
Slovakia 11.2 payment
routines
Austria 11.1
Estonia 11.0
Hungary 10.9 Currency 16
Sweden issues
10.8
European average 10.7
UK 10.4
% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
France 10.4
%
Latvia 9.5
Answers presented above are only 4–5 (high impact)
Finland 9.3 on a scale from 1–5.
Greece 9.3
Spain 9.1
Ireland 8.6
Germany 7.4
Netherlands 7.3
Bosn. & Herzeg. 7.2
Norway 7.0
Poland 5.7
% 0 4 8 12 16 20

Prediction As consumer payment behaviour changes over time, new
digital payment methods arise to respond to the increasing
demand for simple and easy payment solutions. Almost half
of a cashless of European companies (48 per cent) say they think their
country will be cashless in ten years or less.
society Most positive predictions for a cashless society are com-

panies from Greece (67 per cent), Ireland (63 per cent) and
Romania (63 per cent). On the other side of the scale are
companies from Serbia (18 per cent), Estonia (22 per cent)
and Hungary (26 per cent), who believe their national econ-
omy will be cashless in 10 years or less.
When do you think your country will be cashless?

(European average)
During the next

two years 7%
In 5 years
In 10 years
48%
Later / Never 17%
52%
25%
of all European businesses believe

that their country will be cashless
in a decade or less.
When do you think your country will be cashless?
During the next

two years
In 5 years
In 10 years
%
100
1,0
80
0,8
67
63 63
60 59 57 57 57 57 57
0,6 56
51 50 50 49 48 48 48 45 45 43 41
40
0,4
32 32
29 28 28 26
22
0,2
20 18
0,00
ece
in
ia
ep.
aria
gary
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den
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enia
Den y
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and
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atia
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way
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akia
tria
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and
man
mar
Ital
uan
Serb
Latv
Spa
Fran
Irela
Pola
Esto
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Aus
Cro
Bulg
Gre
Belg
Finl
Swe
Slov
Her
Rom
Nor
Hun
tzer
herl
Por
Lith
Ger
Cze
Swi
n. &
Net
Bos
Percentage shows the sum that has answered any of the alternatives listed in the graph.

How do you think a cashless society would impact your company regarding the following areas?
(European average)
%
60
50 53
40
35 34
30 31
26
20 23 22
14
10
0
Exposure to Efficiency Transaction Transaction Consumer Overall costs Risk of losing Operational
cyber-attacks of payment data costs spending for the customers risk
routines and information company
accounting available to us

Recession in Europe’s economy is weakening and in some countries an
economic decline is more evident than in others. European
businesses are split when it comes to when a recession is
sight? imminent in their country. Half of European companies

(54 per cent) state that recession is imminent within five
years, while 30 per cent of businesses believe that recession
in their country will not happen in the foreseeable future.
Companies are planning a variety of measures to prepare

for an economic decline that could impact their revenue
negatively. Cutting costs (45 per cent) and being cautious
about taking on more debt (36 per cent) are the most prom-
inent ones, but on the more positive note, close to one-third
(29 per cent) say they plan to increase their sales operations.
Do you believe that a recession is imminent in

your country? (European average)
My country is already
in a recession
Yes, within 1 year 16% 18%
Yes, within 2 years
54%
Yes, within
3–5 years
I do not believe
there will be 10%
a recession in
my country in the
foreseeable future
Don’t know 30% 12%
of European companies state

13% that recession is imminent in their
country within half a decade.
Do you believe that a recession is imminent in your country?

My country is already in a recession
Yes, within 1 year
Yes, within 2 years
Yes, within 3–5 years
%
100
1,0
93
84 82 81 80 76
80
0,8
72 71 70
66 65
63 62 59
60
0,6 55
53 51 48 48 47
45 45 45 44 44
40
0,4 38
35
31
23
20
0,2
0,00
ece
Rom .
ania
Italy
Slov ia
enia
den
and
atia
ia
n.&H via
aria
in
y
ce
Den y
k
tria
g.
UK
ia
s
ium
akia
nd
gary
nd
land
ep
tuga
and
man
wa
mar
n
uan
Serb
erze
Spa
Fran
Irela
Pola
at
Esto
ch R
Aus
Cro
Bulg
Gre
Belg
Finl
Swe
Slov
Nor
Hun
tzer
herl
L
Por
Lith
Ger
Cze
Swi
Net
Bos
Percentage shows the sum that has answered any of the alternatives
listed in the graph
What measures, if any, are you taking in order to prepare your company for an economic decline that
would impact your revenues negatively? (European average)
We plan to identify the segments 21

of our business that are particu-
larly exposed
We plan to cut costs 45
We plan to cut down on recruitment 18
We plan to be more cautious 36

about taking on debt
We are aiming to increase our 8

amortisation payments
We are looking to transition 6

to a fixed interest rate on our
company loan
We plan to increase sales operations 29
We plan to secure payments 28

from customers
We are not planning to take any 17

measures
Other 5
Don’t know 4
% 0 10 20 30 40 50
This is a multiple answer question, thus the sum of all answers can be above 100 %.

Legislation The European Late Payment Directive is an initiative from
the European Commission aimed at resolving the problem
of late payments, or at least stemming the tide. This Direc-
– EU and tive recommends that payment periods for companies to be

at most 60 days and for public authorities 30 days.
national Awareness of the ELPD is still fairly low, as only 29 per cent
of European business are familiar with it, up from 28 per
cent in 2018. Well over half (57 per cent) of the companies
familiar with the directive say they never use the right to
charge a minimum of 40 Euro and interest in B2B and public
sector transactions.
There is an increased demand for national actions that pre-

vent late payments. Fully 41 per cent of companies in Europe
state that new national legislation would solve the problem
of long payment terms and 45 per cent state the same when
it comes to the solving the problem of late payments.
Are you familiar with the European Late Payment Now that you have the right to charge min.
Directive? Applicable for B2B and public sector 40 euro and interest in B2B and public sector
payments. (European average) transactions, to what extent do you use it?
(European average)
Yes Not at all

Sometimes 9% (12)
No
(versus last year) Always 8% (6)
29% (28) Do not know
(versus last year)
57% (59)
27% (23)
71% (72)

What of the following would you like to see nationally in order to solve the problem of long payment
terms (i.e. demand of payment terms that are longer than national practice/law)?
%
2018 50
2019
40 41
38
36
30 33
30
26
20
10
8
5
0
Introduction of new Voluntary initiatives Do not know Other
legislation from corporations
What of the following would you like to see nationally in order to solve the problem of late payments?
(i.e. outstanding invoiced paid after due date.)
%
2018 50
2019
45
40 42
30 33 33
28 27
20
10
7
5
0
Introduction of new Voluntary initiatives Do not know Other
legislation from corporations

Key findings
per country
Sources
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019
Conversion rates for non-euro (date: 24-04-2019): https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_ex-
change_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/index.en.html
Real GDP growth: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/economy-finance/saee_autumn_2018_en.pdf
Inflation HICP: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do;jsessionid=YZ9T190t94MQSeadaZ-
kNuW7VJ5i7-J1e2XcC_YYvr7r9IYllJCni!-27575412?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tec00118
Unemployment: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=une_rt_m&lang=en
Austria
What payment terms do you allow your customers, on average?
Key findings
B2C 2016 18
Still low awareness of the European 2017 17
Late Payment Directive in Austria
2018 16
The level of awareness regarding the Euro-
pean Late Payment Directive remains low 2019 15
in Austria. Only 11 per cent of businesses EU average 2019 21
in Austria say that they are familiar with the
European Late Payment Directive, which is Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
only one percentage point higher than last
year. This can be compared with the overall
average in Europe this year, where 29 per B2B 2016 23
cent say they are familiar with the directive.
2017 22
High belief among Austrian companies 2018 23
that a recession is not a major concern
2019 21
Among the Austrian companies polled,
65 per cent do not believe that a recession EU average 2019 34
is imminent in Austria in the foreseeable Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
future. This is significantly higher than
the European average of 30 per cent of
businesses stating the same. Among the
businesses that do believe a recession is Public Sector 2016 24
imminent in Austria, 46 per cent are not
2017 27
planning to take any measures to prepare
the company for an economic decline that 2018 27
would affect their revenues negatively, 2019 24
which is significantly higher than the
European average of 17 per cent. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Austrian companies, to a
large extent, do not believe that
credit losses are problematic
Austria has the highest percentage of
companies in Europe saying that credit
losses are not problematic, when estimating
the level of concern for problems with
payments. A total of 91 per cent of Austrian What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
companies say that credit losses are not
problematic, which can be compared with
the European average, where only 46 per
cent of companies share a similar opinion. B2C 2016 22
2017 18
2018 17
2019 20
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 27
2017 24
2018 24
2019 22
EU average 2019 40
Economic development 2018 Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Austria EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 46,128.31 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 38
GDP percentage 2017 32
growth on
previous year 2018 2.7 2.1 2018 33
Inflation, % 2018 2.1 1.9 2019 42
Unemployment EU average 2019 42
rate, % 12-2018 4.6 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

AT
Would faster payments from your debtors Have you been asked to accept longer payment terms
enable your company to hire more employees than you feel comfortable with?
(versus last year)?
5% (1) % 2%
% (1) %
5% (4)
80 80 80
70 70 70
60 60 60
50 50 24% (21) 50
40 40 40 43
39 39
30 30 30 34 35
32
27
64% (73) 20 20 20 23
21
10 10 10 13
11 2 10 3 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
Yes, definitely No, definitely not No Yes, by a small Yes, by public sector
Yes, probably Do not know Yes, by a large/multi- to medium sized Do not know
national corporation company
No, probably not
What are the main causes of late payment of How do you rate the consequences of late payments
your own customers? for your company with regards to:
%
60 Additional interest costs 19
for your company
15
54 19
50
50 Loss of income 8
48 48
7
44 44 28
40 41
39 Liquidity squeeze 18
37 9
30
30
Threat to survival 3
4
18
20
Prohibiting growth 9
17 of the company
15 15 5
10 23
Dismissing employees 1
5
0 12
Debtors in Disputes Administrative Intentional Not hiring new –*
financial regarding inefficiency late payment employees 7
difficulties goods and of your
services customers 18
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40
Answers presented above are only 4–5 (high impact) on a scale from 1–5.
2018 2018
2019 2019
EU average 2019 EU average 2019 *Austria did not include this option in 2018.

Belgium
Key findings
B2C 2016 21
Belgian companies find long payment 2017 21
terms problematic, and state that
2018 21
intentional late payment is the main cause
of late payment from their customers 2019 20
Two-thirds (67 per cent) of Belgian com- EU average 2019 21
panies surveyed find long payment terms
problematic. This can be compared with Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
the European average of 50 per cent of
companies stating the same. Of the Belgian
businesses polled, 64 per cent say that in- B2B 2016 31
tentional late payment is the primary cause
of late payments from their customers, 2017 30
which is higher than the European average 2018 30
of 50 per cent.
2019 31
High risk among debtors EU average 2019 34
according to Belgium companies Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Of Belgian companies polled, 26 per cent
said that they foresee an increased risk
from company debtors within the next
twelve months. This is significantly higher Public Sector 2016 44
than the European average of 16 per cent,
2017 42
meaning that Belgian companies are among
the least confident when it comes to future 2018 39
debt risks, according to the survey. 2019 38
A majority of Belgian companies EU average 2019 33
surveyed believe their country will be Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
cashless within a decade
When asked when their country would
become cashless, 57 per cent of Belgian
companies believe it would occur in ten
years or less. Almost half (48 per cent)
of European businesses stated the same.
Among the companies that believe Belgium
will be cashless in ten years or less, 62 per What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
cent stated that a cashless society would
have no impact on consumer spending,
which is higher than the European average
of 55 per cent. B2C 2016 26
2017 20
2018 22
2019 20
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
B2B 2016 41
2017 38
2018 39
2019 38
EU average 2019 40
Economic development 2018 Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Belgium EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 41,909.66 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 64
growth on
previous year 2018 1.5 2.1 2018 60
Inflation, % 2018 2.3 1.9 2019 60
rate, % 12-2018 5.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

BE
(versus last year)?
% %3% (8) %
80 80 80
9% (7)
70 70 70
17% (16)
60 60 60
50 50 50
33% (26) 40 40 40 42
38 39
36 35 35
30 30 30
28 27
20 20 20 25
38% (44) 18
10 10 10 16
13
4 4
1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
17
70 72 19
68 Loss of income 14
64 33
60 62
60 60
28
54 Liquidity squeeze
50 28
50
48 41
30
40
14
30
18
20 22 22 of the company 25
17 23
10 Dismissing employees 4
6
0 12
Debtors in Disputes Administrative Intentional Not hiring new 10
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019
EU average 2019 EU average 2019

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Key findings
B2C 2016 6
For businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2017 42
late payments have a high impact on both
2018 47
income and additional hiring
Of the businesses polled in Bosnia and 2019 27
Herzegovina, 51 per cent fear loss of EU average 2019 21
income as a result of late payment. Together
with Romania, this is the highest reported Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
percentage among European nations, where
the average is 28 per cent. Half (50 per cent)
of Bosnian-Herzegovinian companies also B2B 2016 14
state that they would be able to hire more
employees if their debtors were faster with 2017 46
the payments. This is significantly higher 2018 70
than the European average of 21 per cent.
2019 39
A majority of businesses in Bosnia and EU average 2019 34
Herzegovina state that customers’ Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
payment methods negatively affect
international payments
Of the businesses surveyed in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, 51 per cent state that Public Sector 2016 18
customers’ payment methods negatively
2017 41
influence international payments. One-fifth
(23 per cent) of businesses in Europe share 2018 67
the same opinion. Additionally, the other 2019 46
leading issues for businesses in Bosnia and
Herzegovina when it comes to international EU average 2019 33
payments are currency issues (50 per cent), Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
local payment culture (42 per cent) and
local payment routines (42 per cent).
More than half of companies in Bosnia and

Herzegovina believe that their country is
already in a recession
Among the companies surveyed in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, 52 per cent believe that What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
their country is already in a recession,
which is substantially higher than the
European average of 18 per cent. Moreover,
only 13 per cent of businesses surveyed B2C 2016 11
in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not believe 2017 33
a recession is imminent in their country in
the foreseeable future, compared to the 2018 39
European average of 30 per cent. 2019 16
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
B2B 2016 29
2017 40
2018 56
2019 33
EU average 2019 40
Bosnia and Herzegovina EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 5,088.42 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 38
growth on
previous year 2018 3.4 2.1 2018 50
Inflation, % 2018 1.8 1.9 2019 34
rate, % 12-2018 34.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

BA
(versus last year)?
5% (18)
% % 6% (4) %
6% (10) 80 80 80
70 70 70
60 60 60 62
50 50 50
40 40 40 44
44% (22) 42
39
30 30 30 35
39% (45) 31
27
20 20 20
19 18
10 10 10 6 13
9 10 5 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
47
93
19
87
51
28
Liquidity squeeze 28
60
35
54 30
48 50 Threat to survival 12
40 44 31
38 18
33 Prohibiting growth 15
of the company 44
20 22 23
17 17 Dismissing employees
13 8
31
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2018 2018
2019 2019

Bulgaria
Key findings
B2C 2016 19
Bulgarian companies offer the shortest 2017 23
payment terms to the public sector
2018 26
among all European companies surveyed
When it comes to payment terms, Bulgarian 2019 11
companies surveyed offer an average of EU average 2019 21
8 days to public sector customers, which
is the shortest period among all European Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
companies polled. The European average is
33 days. The time actually taken to pay by
customers in the Bulgarian public sector is B2B 2016 32
12 days, while the corresponding average
for all European companies surveyed is 2017 35
42 days. 2018 32
2019 26
Faster payments from debtors
would allow Bulgarian companies to EU average 2019 34
increase their hiring Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Of the companies surveyed in Bulgaria,
43 per cent state that faster payments from
their debtors would enable them to hire
more employees. One-fifth (21 per cent) Public Sector 2016 33
of all the European companies surveyed
2017 34
believe the same. Furthermore, 38 per
cent of Bulgarian companies say that late 2018 32
payments from their debtors lead to loss of 2019 8
income, which is higher than the European
average of 28 per cent. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Bulgarian companies face issues
with long payment terms and debtors
paying after the due date
When it comes to problems with payment,
58 per cent of Bulgarian businesses
surveyed say they face problems with long
payment terms, while the corresponding
average for European businesses is 50 per What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
cent. Late payments are another leading is-
sue for 51 per cent of Bulgarian companies,
which is equal to the European average.
Late payments are believed to limit growth B2C 2016 23
among 36 per cent of Bulgarian companies, 2017 20
which is higher than the European average of
23 per cent of businesses stating the same. 2018 21
2019 11
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 36
2017 38
2018 28
2019 26
EU average 2019 40
Bulgaria EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 8,100.50 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 34
growth on
previous year 2018 3.5 2.1 2018 32
Inflation, % 2018 2.6 1.9 2019 12
rate, % 12-2018 4.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

BG
(versus last year)?
% % %
80 80 80
12% (1)
70 70 20% (4) 70
60 60 60
50 50 50
40 40 40 45
27% (33) 43
38 38 39
30 30 23% (27) 30 35
27
20 20 20 24
19
10 (35)
19% 10 10 14 13
4 4
2 0
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
27
19
80 83 Loss of income 33
38
28
60 63
23
54 30
51 50 Threat to survival
48 12
40 25
36 18
26 of the company 36
24
20 22
23
17
15
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Croatia
Key findings
B2C 2016 28
Companies in Croatia believe 2017 34
a recession is likely to occur in the near
2018 22
future and plan to cut costs to prepare
for an economic decline 2019 20
37 per cent of companies polled in EU average 2019 21
Croatia believe that their country is already
in a recession, which is higher than the Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
European average of 18 per cent. In addi-
tion, 29 per cent of businesses surveyed in
Croatia believe that their country will be in B2B 2016 32
a recession within one to five years. Among
the companies that believe a recession is 2017 30
imminent, 46 per cent plan to cut costs to 2018 32
prepare for an economic decline.
2019 31
In a cashless society, Croatian companies EU average 2019 34
believes the exposure to cyber-attacks Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
and transaction data information
available to them will increase
When asked when their country would
become a cashless society, the Croatian Public Sector 2016 31
companies were divided 50/50, where
2017 35
one-half believes it will occur within ten
years and the other half claims it will never 2018 38
occur or occur after more than ten years. 2019 31
Among the companies that believe their
country will be cashless within a decade, EU average 2019 33
55 per cent believe that exposure to cyber- Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
attacks is likely to increase and 51 per cent
that transaction data available to them
will increase.
Croatian companies would like to see

new national legislation to overcome the
issue of late payments
Among Croatian companies polled, 63 per What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
cent would like to see the introduction of
new legislation to solve the late payment
problem. This figure is higher than the
European average of 45 per cent. 17 per B2C 2016 47
cent would instead prefer voluntary initi- 2017 37
atives from companies to solve the issue
of late payments, while across companies 2018 28
surveyed in Europe, only 33 per cent prefer 2019 21
this alternative.
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
B2B 2016 51
2017 44
2018 43
2019 41
EU average 2019 40
Croatia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 13,058.08 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 57
growth on
previous year 2018 2.8 2.1 2018 44
Inflation, % 2018 1.6 1.9 2019 38
rate, % 12-2018 7.7 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

HR
(versus last year)?
% %
5% (6) %
80 80 80
11% (14)
70 70 70
60 60 60 65
16% (22)
50 50 50
50
40 40 40
39
51% (28) 30 30 30 35
26 27
20 20 18% (30) 20 22
17
10 10 10 14 13
9 4
6 2 0
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
9
70 19
Loss of income 9
60 13
60
57 28
54 Liquidity squeeze
50 20
50
48 15
43 30
40
38
35 7
30
29 18
20 23 of the company 13
17 23
10 11 Dismissing employees 10
4
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Czech Republic
Key findings
B2C 2016 18
To prepare for an economic decline, 2017 17
companies in the Czech Republic would
2018 19
cut costs, identify particularly exposed
segments, and be more cautious with 2019 17
taking on debt EU average 2019 21
Among the Czech companies surveyed that
believe a recession is imminent in the near Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
future, 66 per cent would prepare for an eco-
nomic decline by cutting costs, 37 per cent by
being more cautious about taking on debt and B2B 2016 24
32 per cent by identifying particularly exposed
segments in their business. The preference for 2017 27
these measures is higher than the European 2018 32
averages, where 45 per cent plan on cutting
2019 31
costs, 36 per cent plan to be more cautious
with taking on debt and 21 per cent plan to EU average 2019 34
identify particularly exposed segments. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
A majority of the Czech companies
surveyed face problems with debtors
paying after due date Public Sector 2016 25
When asked about their level of concern
2017 22
regarding late payments, 70 per cent of
companies polled in the Czech Republic state 2018 24
that they face problems with late payments. 2019 31
This is 19 percentage points higher than the
European average of businesses stating the EU average 2019 33
same. Furthermore, when asked about the Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
main causes of late payments, 72 per cent
of Czech companies state intentional late
payments, 68 per cent debtors in financial
difficulties and 43 per cent administrative
inefficiency of their customers.
Companies in the Czech Republic have

accepted excessively long payment terms What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
Of the Czech businesses surveyed, 88 per
cent say that they have accepted payment
terms that are longer than what they actually
feel comfortable with. Comparatively, only B2C 2016 19
58 per cent of all the European companies 2017 17
state the same. Over half (57 per cent) of
Czech companies polled claim that they have 2018 19
accepted longer payment terms from large or 2019 18
multinational companies, 60 per cent from
EU average 2019 23
small to medium-sized companies and 31 per
cent from the public sector. These shares are Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
substantially higher than the corresponding
European averages, where 24 per cent claim
to have accepted longer payment terms from 2016
large or medium-sized companies, 37 per cent B2B 24
from small to medium-sized companies and 2017 32
13 per cent from the public sector. 2018 37
2019 38
EU average 2019 40
Czech Republic EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 20,594.30 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 25
growth on
previous year 2018 3.0 2.1 2018 25
Inflation, % 2018 2.0 1.9 2019 33
rate, % 12-2018 2.1 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

CZ
(versus last year)?
3% %
(3) % %
80 80 80
11% (8)
70 70 70
66
60 60 60
61
50 50 50 55
46
40 40 40
48% (58) 39
30 30 38% (28) 30 35
27 27
20 20 20
19
10 10 10 13
10 9 4
0 1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
Yes, definitely 0% (1) No, definitely not No Yes, by a small Yes, by public sector
No, probably not
%
for your company
76 10
70 72 19
60 15
28
56
50
50
48 23
47
43 30
40
12
30
18
17 17 23
9
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Denmark
Key findings
B2C 2016 15
Danish businesses seek 2017 16
action against late payments
2018 14
Of the respondents from Denmark,
52 per cent say they want to see voluntary 2019 13
initiatives from companies to solve the EU average 2019 21
late payment problem. This is significantly
higher than the European average of 33 per Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
cent. Furthermore, Danish companies are
less inclined to fight the issue through the
introduction of new legislation than busi- B2B 2016 25
nesses in many other European countries.
Of the companies polled in Denmark, only 2017 21
24 per cent stated that introduction of new 2018 21
legislation would be the preferred solution,
2019 21
compared with 45 per cent of European
businesses. EU average 2019 34
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Bad debt loss remains low in Denmark
Denmark has one of the lowest reported
levels of bad debt loss as a percentage
of total annual revenue, in 2018 within Public Sector 2016 24
Europe. Reported bad debt loss among
2017 21
Danish companies amounts to 0.8 per cent.
This is a higher percentage than the previ- 2018 23
ous year when bad debt losses averaged 2019 21
0.6 per cent. Meanwhile, bad debt losses
averaged 2.3 per cent among European EU average 2019 33
companies this year. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
A high percentage of Danish

companies stated that a recession is
not imminent in Denmark
Among the Danish companies polled,
49 per cent do not believe that a recession
is imminent in Denmark. This is a higher
percentage than the European average What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
of 30 per cent businesses. Furthermore,
among the businesses that believe a reces-
sion is imminent in Denmark, 37 per cent
companies are not planning to take B2C 2016 16
any measures to prepare the company for 2017 16
an economic decline, which is higher than
the European average of 17 per cent. 2018 15
2019 16
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 29
2017 23
2018 24
2019 24
EU average 2019 40
Denmark EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 54,620.59 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 29
growth on
previous year 2018 1.2 2.1 2018 25
Inflation, % 2018 0.7 1.9 2019 26
rate, % 12-2018 4.9 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

DK
(versus last year)?
1% %
(0) % 5% (3) %
80 80 80
70 70 70
60 60 60
59
50 50 50
49
37% (28)
40 40 40
39
30 30 30 35
57% (68) 31
27
20 20 20 24
15 16
10 10 10 13
10 1 4
6 2
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
10
70 19
Loss of income 7
60 11
58 28
50 52
50 50
48 21
30
40 43
7
30
18
20 of the company 6
17 23
14 15
3
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Estonia
Key findings
B2C 2016 9
Estonian companies do not expect their 2017 11
country to be cashless in the near future
2018 11
Among the Estonian companies surveyed,
78 per cent believe that Estonia will become 2019 11
a cashless society in more than ten years, or EU average 2019 21
never. This is second only to Serbia, where
82 per cent of companies stated the same. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
The Estonian result on this issue is substan-
tially higher than the European average of
52 per cent. B2B 2016 16
Estonian companies believe a 2017 20
recession is probable in the near future 2018 17
and plan to cut costs to prepare for an
2019 16
economic decline
Two-thirds (67per cent) of Estonian compa- EU average 2019 34
nies polled state that a recession is imminent Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
in Estonia within one to five years. This can
be compared with the European average,
where 35 per cent of companies stated
the same. Furthermore, 41 per cent of the Public Sector 2016 19
Estonian companies that believe a recession
2017 21
is imminent plan to cut costs in preparing for
an economic decline. This is slightly lower 2018 18
than the European average of 45 per cent. 2019 12
B2B customers experience short EU average 2019 33
payment terms from companies in Estonia Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Estonia offers the lowest number of days
when it comes to extending payment terms
to B2B customers within Europe. On aver-
age, a B2B customer in Estonia is allowed
16 days to pay amounts due, which can be
compared to the European average of 34
days. The average time actually taken by B2B
customers to pay in Estonia is 17 days, which What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
is substantially lower than the European
average of 40 days.
B2C 2016 9
2017 11
2018 10
2019 10
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 18
2017 22
2018 19
2019 17
EU average 2019 40
Estonia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 19,997.94 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 23
growth on
previous year 2018 3.5 2.1 2018 25
Inflation, % 2018 3.4 1.9 2019 13
rate, % 12-2018 4.2 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

EE
(versus last year)?
% %4% (2) %
5% (18)
80 80 80
7% (5)
70 70 70
60 60 60 61
50 50 50
27% (44)
40 40 40 45
38 39
30 30 30 34 35
57% (31) 27
20 20 20
21
17
10 10 10 13
11 3 10 4
2
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
9
70 19
60 23
59 28
50
50
48 21
43 30
40
12
30
29 18
28
17 23
8 6
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Finland
Key findings
B2C 2016 12
Finnish companies more pessimistic 2017 13
about risk from debtors than last year
2018 14
Finland reported a high percentage of
companies expecting an increased risk 2019 12
from debtors over the next twelve months, EU average 2019 21
with 23 per cent of the companies issuing
such a forecast. The European average for Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
the same forecast is 16 per cent. The Finn-
ish companies exhibit a more pessimistic
outlook when compared to last year, where B2B 2016 18
only 13 per cent of businesses stated
that they thought risk from debtors would 2017 20
increase in the coming twelve months. 2018 20
2019 21
Debt collection and credit checks are the
two leading methods to protect against EU average 2019 34
bad payments among Finnish companies Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Among Finnish businesses, 52 per cent
report using debt collection as a means
of protecting themselves against bad
payment. This is significantly higher than Public Sector 2016 19
the European average of 25 per cent. Of the
2017 19
Finnish companies surveyed, 38 per cent
also say that they use credit checks to avoid 2018 20
bad payments, which can be compared to 2019 20
Europe as a whole, where 28 per cent of
companies report the same practice. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Finnish companies less concerned
about exposure to cyber-attacks in a
cashless society
About half (51 per cent) of companies
surveyed in Finland believe that their
country will be cashless in ten years or less.
The European average is 48 per cent. Of
the Finnish businesses that believe Finland What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
will be cashless in ten years or less, only
34 per cent state that they believe the
exposure to cyber-attacks will increase as a
result, compared to the European average B2C 2016 14
of 52 per cent. 2017 15
2018 14
2019 14
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 23
2017 25
2018 25
2019 23
EU average 2019 40
Finland EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 44,665.73 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 23
growth on
previous year 2018 2.9 2.1 2018 25
Inflation, % 2018 1.2 1.9 2019 23
rate, % 12-2018 6.7 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

FI
(versus last year)?
% 2%
% (2) %
80 80 80
7% (4)
70 70 13% (10) 70
60 60 60 64
50 50 50
49
36% (41) 40 40 40
39
30 30 30 35
28 27 27
20 20 43% (43) 20
19 18
10 10 10 16
13 13
4 3 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
11
70 19
67 Loss of income 4
65
64 63 17
60 61
58 28
50
50
48 28
30
40
11
30
18
16 17 23
9
7
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

France
Key findings
B2C 2016 36
Debtors in financial difficulties cited as 2017 35
main cause of late payment in France
2018 29
Of the French companies surveyed, 66 per
cent state they find late payments prob- 2019 17
lematic, which is higher than the average EU average 2019 21
response among European businesses,
where 50 per cent state the same. Seven Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
out of ten (73 per cent) French businesses
also cite debtors in financial difficulties as a
primary cause of late payments, which can B2B 2016 41
be compared to the European average of
54 per cent. 2017 43
2018 40
Increase in awareness among French
2019 38
companies regarding the European Late
Payment Directive EU average 2019 34
Two out of three (65 per cent) French Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
businesses polled state that they are familiar
with the European Late Payment Directive,
which is a substantial increase in awareness
compared to last year’s result of 49 per Public Sector 2016 46
cent. Among the French businesses that are
2017 48
familiar with the Directive, 46 per cent state
that they use the right to charge a minimum 2018 44
of 40 euros plus interest in B2B and the 2019 36
public sector, while for Europe as whole 33
per cent of companies report using the fee. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
French companies express they have
accepted excessively long payment terms
Among the French companies surveyed 70
per cent say that they have accepted longer
payments terms than they actually feel
comfortable with. The European average
stating the same is 58 per cent. Over half
(54 per cent) of French companies state What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
they have accepted longer payment terms
from small to medium-sized companies than
they feel comfortable with, which is a higher
percentage than the European average of B2C 2016 34
37 per cent. 2017 27
2018 23
2019 21
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
B2B 2016 48
2017 46
2018 42
2019 48
EU average 2019 40
France EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 38,298.54 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 58
growth on
previous year 2018 1.7 2.1 2018 55
Inflation, % 2018 2.1 1.9 2019 48
rate, % 12-2018 8.9 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

FR
(versus last year)?
% 3%
% (2) %
100100 100
9% (7)
10% (10)
80 80 80
60 60 60
31% (43) 56
52
40 40 40
39
34 35
47% (38) 26 27
20 20 20 22 22
14 13
1 9 3 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
76 16
70 73 19
60 61 26
61
28
50 52
50
48 27
30
40
15
30
29 18
21
17 23
8
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Germany
Key findings
B2C 2016 12
A majority of German companies 2017 15
surveyed do not believe that there will
2018 25
be a recession in the country in the
foreseeable future 2019 17
Among the German companies surveyed, EU average 2019 21
62 per cent say they do not believe that
there will be a recession in their country Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
in the near future, differing significantly
from the European average of 30 per cent.
Meanwhile, 4 per cent of German compa- B2B 2016 14
nies believe that their country is already in a
recession, a significantly lower percentage 2017 21
2019 27
Debtors who pay after the due date
is the strongest cause of concern for EU average 2019 34
German companies when it comes to Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
problems with payments
Seven out of ten (77 per cent) of German
companies surveyed find it problematic
with debtors who pay after the due date, Public Sector 2016 14
which is a significantly higher percentage
2017 20
The second most concerning issue when 2018 29
it comes to problems with payment is 2019 25
long payment terms, where 52 per cent of
German companies have stated that they EU average 2019 33
find them problematic. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
German companies inclined to

believe a cashless society would increase
the risk of cyber-attacks
Among the German companies surveyed
that believe Germany will be cashless
within a decade (45 per cent), about two-
thirds (68 per cent) believe that this will What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
mean increased exposure to cyber-attacks,
and 41 per cent that it will increase the
risk of losing customers. Moreover, 54 per
cent believe transaction data will be more B2C 2016 12
available, and 49 per cent that consumer 2017 12
spending will increase.
2018 17
2019 16
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 15
2017 19
2018 24
2019 28
EU average 2019 40
Germany EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 43,418.18 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 15
growth on
previous year 2018 1.7 2.1 2018 33
Inflation, % 2018 1.9 1.9 2019 27
rate, % 12-2018 3.3 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

DE
(versus last year)?
% 1%
% (1) %
100100 100
6% (5)
19% (17)
80 80 80
28% (36)
60 60 60
40 40 40 41 41 44
37 39
35
46% (40) 27
20 20 20 21
17 7
4 7 13 4
8
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
28
70 19
70
Loss of income 13
60 29
28
50 51 50
48 48 33
43 44 30
40 42
28
30
18
24
17 23
30
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Greece
Key findings
B2C 2016 29
A high percentage of Greek companies 2017 27
surveyed believe faster payments from
2018 12
their debtors would enable them to hire
more employees 2019 15
Over one-third (38 per cent) of Greek EU average 2019 21
companies believe that faster payments
from debtors would enable them to hire Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
more employees. This can be compared
with the European average of 21 per cent
of businesses stating the same. When B2B 2016 52
inquired about the main cause of late
payments from customers, 71 per cent of 2017 49
Greek companies cited debtors in financial 2018 41
difficulties as the leading cause, while the
2019 45
European average is 54 per cent.
EU average 2019 34
High belief among Greek companies Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
that a cashless society is imminent
Of the Greek companies surveyed, 45 per
cent believe that their country will be cash-
less within five years, while the average Public Sector 2016 91
for Europe is only 23 per cent. Among the
2017 80
Greek companies that think Greece will
be cashless within a decade, 62 per cent 2018 65
believe that transaction costs will increase. 2019 80
On a more positive note, 54 per cent of the
companies believe that operational risks will EU average 2019 33
decrease. Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
A vast majority of Greek companies

surveyed believe their country is already
in a recession
Among the Greek companies polled, 87 per
cent believe their country is already in a
recession. This is the highest figure among
all European countries surveyed, where the What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
average for the whole is a mere 18 per cent.
Furthermore, among the Greek businesses
that believe a recession is imminent, cutting
costs (67 per cent) and planning to secure B2C 2016 41
payments from customers (51 per cent) are 2017 28
the measures of choice in preparing for an
economic decline. 2018 11
2019 23
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
B2B 2016 63
2017 63
2018 40
2019 64
EU average 2019 40
Economic development 2018 Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Greece EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 18,119.46 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 115
growth on
previous year 2018 2.0 2.1 2018 73
Inflation, % 2018 0.8 1.9 2019 115
rate, % 12-2018 18.5 6.6
Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

GR
(versus last year)?
% %
4% (2) %
100100 100
12% (16)
21% (15) 80 80 80
60 60 60
61
26% (43) 56
40 40 40
39
33 33 35
27
20 20 20 23
37% (24)
17 16
10 13 4
1 0
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
20
91 19
26
71 28
65
60
47
54 30
48
40 18
18
of the company 36
25
20
23
17
6
2 20
0 12
delivered % 0 20 40 60 80 100
2018 2018
2019 2019

Hungary
Key findings
B2C 2016 16
Hungarian companies do not see risk from 2017 14
debtors changing in the coming year
2018 12
Of the Hungarian businesses polled, 88 per
cent expect risk from their debtors to 2019 11
remain stable over the next twelve months, EU average 2019 21
which is the highest observed percentage
in Europe where the average is 75 per cent. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Only 2 per cent of Hungarian companies
believe risks from debtors will increase,
while for Europe as a whole, 16 per cent of B2B 2016 20
observed companies anticipate the same.
2017 27
Hungarian companies call for new 2018 21
national legislation to remedy overly
2019 24
long payments
57 per cent of Hungarian businesses prefer EU average 2019 34
the introduction of new national legislation Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
to solve the problem of long payments.
This is higher than the European average,
amounting to 45 per cent of companies
stating the same. 44 per cent of Hungarian Public Sector 2016 22
companies also point to voluntary initiatives
2017 27
from companies as a method of solving the
late payment problem, with the European 2018 23
average standing at 33 per cent. 2019 31
Hungarian companies more inclined to EU average 2019 33
unconditionally accept when customers Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
ask for longer payment terms
Among the Hungarian companies surveyed,
65 per cent claim that they have accepted
longer payment terms than what they feel
comfortable with, which is higher than
the European average of 58 per cent. In
Hungary, 45 per cent of the companies
polled say they unconditionally accept when What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
a customer asks for longer payment terms.
This is the highest percentage observed of
all European companies polled in this survey
and can be compared to Europe as a whole, B2C 2016 20
where only 18 per cent of businesses claim 2017 11
they use the same practice.
2018 14
2019 11
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 24
2017 26
2018 26
2019 25
EU average 2019 40
Hungary EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 14,287.91 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 29
growth on
previous year 2018 4.3 2.1 2018 33
Inflation, % 2018 2.9 1.9 2019 39
rate, % 12-2018 3.7 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

HU
(versus last year)?
% %2% (2)
2% (3) %
80 80 80
7% (12)
70 70 70
6% (17)
60 60 60
50 50 50
40 40 40
39
36 37 35 35
30 30 30 32
31
27
20 20 20 25
82% (66)
10 10 10 13 13 13
3 3 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
6
70 19
Loss of income 27
60 13
28
55 54 Liquidity squeeze
50 32
50
48 12
46
30
40
11
30 18
29 28 28
24
17 23
9
7 2
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2018 2018
2019 2019

Ireland
Key findings
B2C 2016 35
Compared to last year, Irish 2017 30
companies are more inclined to believe
2018 20
that risk from debtors will decrease
Of the companies surveyed in Ireland, 2019 33
16 per cent anticipate that risk from EU average 2019 21
debtors will decrease in the coming
twelve months. This is a higher reported Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
percentage compared to 2018, when the
corresponding figure was 11 per cent.
Moreover, 11 per cent of Irish companies B2B 2016 40
this year anticipate that risk will increase
in the next twelve months, which is only 2017 43
1 percentage point higher than 2018. For 2018 28
European businesses as a whole, 9 per cent
2019 32
believe that risk from debtors will decrease,
and 16 per cent anticipate it will increase EU average 2019 34
over the next twelve months. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Irish businesses believe a cashless
society will decrease operational risk and
the risk of losing customers Public Sector 2016 46
Among the Irish companies that believe a
2017 48
cashless society will occur within a decade
(63 per cent), 55 per cent believe it will 2018 31
decrease operational risk and 50 per cent 2019 20
foresee a reduced risk of losing customers.
These figures are significantly higher than EU average 2019 33
the European average of 28 per cent and Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
17 per cent, respectively. Moreover, a
cashless society in Ireland is expected to
result in an increase in consumer spending
(50 per cent) and efficiency of payment
routines and accounting (58 per cent). The
corresponding figures for all European
businesses polled stand at 26 per cent and
35 per cent, respectively. What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
Half of Irish companies polled do not
negotiate payment terms
When asked about what measures they B2C 2016 30
usually take when a customer asks for longer 2017 34
payment terms, 50 per cent of the Irish
companies surveyed state that they do not 2018 12
negotiate payment terms. This is the highest 2019 31
reported percentage among all European
EU average 2019 23
companies polled, where the corresponding
average is 21 per cent. Additional measures Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
proposed by Irish companies are to offer
payment terms (24 per cent) and accept
longer payment terms while adding a 2016
surcharge (11 per cent). B2B 36
2017 50
2018 20
2019 33
EU average 2019 40
Ireland EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 67,079.04 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 40
growth on
previous year 2018 7.8 2.1 2018 43
Inflation, % 2018 0.7 1.9 2019 23
rate, % 12-2018 5.5 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

IE
(versus last year)?
% %3% (10)
2% (3) %
80 80 80
70 70 70
17% (16)
60 60 60
56 55
35% (27) 50 50 50
40 40 40
39
30 30 30 35
32 32
27
20 20 20 23 23
43% (44)
10 10 10 6 13
8 2 4
1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
24
19
Loss of income 20
80 82
21
76
28
60 23
54 30
50 Threat to survival 1
47 48
40 44 15
42
18
30
of the company 24
20 23
18 17 Dismissing employees 1
13
0 12
financial regarding inefficiency late payment employees
8
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Italy
Key findings
B2C 2016 31
Financial difficulties among debtors 2017 39
cited as main reason for late payments
2018 32
by Italian companies
Seven out of ten (72 per cent) of Italian 2019 27
companies cite debtors encountering finan- EU average 2019 21
cial difficulties as one of the leading causes
of late payments, which is significantly Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
higher than the European average of 54 per
cent. More than two-thirds (68 per cent)
of Italian companies also name intentional B2B 2016 60
late payment from customers as one of the
main causes of late payments. This can be 2017 45
compared with the European average of 2018 50
50 per cent of businesses.
2019 44
A large majority of Italian EU average 2019 34
companies surveyed believe their Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
country is already in a recession
Among the Italian companies polled, two-
thirds (65 per cent) believe their country is
already in a recession, which is substantially Public Sector 2016 83
higher than the European average of 18
2017 68
per cent. Furthermore, among the Italian
businesses that believe a recession is immi- 2018 73
nent, common measures they plan to take 2019 56
in preparing for an economic decline, are
cutting costs (55 per cent) and being more EU average 2019 33
cautious about taking on debt (40 per cent). Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Italian companies fear loss of income

and liquidity squeeze as consequences
of late payment
Of Italian companies surveyed, 50 per cent
state that late payments affect their business
negatively in the form of liquidity squeeze,
a higher reported percentage than the What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
European average of 30 per cent. Moreover,
48 per cent also express that late payment
affect their business negatively by leading to
loss of income, which can be compared to B2C 2016 37
2018 28
2019 24
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
B2B 2016 80
2017 52
2018 56
2019 48
EU average 2019 40
Italy EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 30.642,94 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 131
growth on
previous year 2018 1.1 2.1 2018 104
Inflation, % 2018 1.2 1.9 2019 67
rate, % 12-2018 10.5 6.6
Days 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

IT
(versus last year)?
% %
5% (12) %
100100 100
12% (2)
12% (31) 80 80 80
60 60 60
55
40 40 40 42
30% (39) 39 39
40% (15) 34 35
25 26 27
20 20 20
4 11 4 13 4
1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
31
70 72 19
60 61 48
28
50 52
50 50
48 50
30
40
38
33
30
30 18
24
17 23
28
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2018 2018
2019 2019

Latvia
Key findings
B2C 2016 15
A high percentage of Latvian 2017 16
companies believe that their country
2018 15
is already in a recession
Of Latvian companies surveyed, 29 per 2019 9
cent believe their country is already in EU average 2019 21
a recession, which can be compared to
the European average of 18 per cent of Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
companies stating the same. Among the
Latvian companies that believe a recession
is imminent, 34 per cent state that they do B2B 2016 22
not plan to take any measures to prepare
for an economic decline. 2017 22
2018 20
Latvian companies less inclined to believe
2019 18
that a cashless society will increase the
efficiency of payment routines EU average 2019 34
Among Latvian companies surveyed, Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
41 per cent believe that their country will be
cashless within ten years, which is slightly
less than the average number for Europe
as a whole, where 48 per cent state the Public Sector 2016 20
same. Among the Latvian companies that
2017 18
believe their country will be cashless within
a decade, only 11 per cent say it would 2018 22
increase the efficiency of payment routines 2019 10
and accounting, which significantly differs
from the European average of 35 per cent. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Comparatively low level of concern
among Latvian companies when it comes
to problem with payments
Of Latvian companies polled, 28 per cent
state they face problems with debtors
who pay after the due date. This can be
compared to the European average of
50 per cent. Only 14 per cent of Latvian What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
companies face problems with credit
losses, which is substantially lower than the
European average of 46 per cent.
B2C 2016 16
2017 20
2018 12
2019 12
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
B2B 2016 22
2017 27
2018 18
2019 20
EU average 2019 40
Latvia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 15,731.62 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 18
growth on
previous year 2018 4.1 2.1 2018 18
Inflation, % 2018 2.6 1.9 2019 14
rate, % 12-2018 7.1 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

LV
(versus last year)?
% %
5% (4) %
80 80 80
7% (4)
70 70 6% (12) 70
70
60 60 60
50 50 14% (17) 50
40 40 40 44
39
30 30 30 35
32
27 27
20 20 20 21
68% (63)
10 10 10 14 13
1 8 2 4
1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
9
19
60 24
28
50 15
48
44 30
40 43
38
18
18
19
17 23
16
11
6 10
0 12
14
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Lithuania
Key findings
B2C 2016 20
A majority of Lithuanian companies 2017 12
believe that a cashless society is more
2018 20
than ten years in the future, or that it will
not happen at all 2019 13
When Lithuanian are asked when they think EU average 2019 21
their country will be cashless, 72 per cent
state that they believe it will take more than Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
a decade, or that it will never happen. This
figure is only higher in Serbia (82 per cent),
Hungary (74 per cent) and Estonia (78 per B2B 2016 27
cent), and is substantially higher than the
European average of 52 per cent. 2017 23
2018 27
Almost one-third of Lithuanian
2019 23
companies believe that faster payments
from debtors would enable them to hire EU average 2019 34
more employees Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Of the Lithuanian businesses surveyed,
30 per cent believe that faster payments
from debtors would enable them to hire
more employees, which is a higher reported Public Sector 2016 28
percentage than the European average of
2017 24
21 per cent.
2018 28
Lithuanian companies cite financial 2019 14
difficulties among debtors as main reason
for late payments from customers EU average 2019 33
When Lithuanian businesses were surveyed Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
about the leading causes of late payment,
45 per cent state debtors encountering
financial difficulties as one of the main
causes. This is still, however, lower than the
European average of 54 per cent. A third
(32 per cent) of Lithuanian companies also
state intentional late payment as one of the
leading causes of concern regarding late What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
payments, a lower reported percentage than
the European average of 50 per cent.
B2C 2016 15
2017 13
2018 25
2019 11
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
B2B 2016 27
2017 26
2018 30
2019 25
EU average 2019 40
Lithuania EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 16,822.20 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 29
growth on
previous year 2018 3.4 2.1 2018 32
Inflation, % 2018 2.5 1.9 2019 13
rate, % 12-2018 5.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

LT
(versus last year)?
% % %
100100 100
8% (3) 10% (7)
80 80 80
20% (10)
60 60 60
35% (63)
53
40 40 40 43
38 39
33 35
20 20 20 27
27% (17) 19 18 8
12 13 4
0 1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
13
72 19
Loss of income 35
60 10
28
50 5
48
45 30
6
33 32
30 18
17 23
11 10
4
0 12
10
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

The Netherlands
Key findings
B2C 2016 21
The Netherlands is likely to enter into a 2017 22
recession within five years or less, according
2018 20
to the Dutch companies surveyed
48 per cent of Dutch companies believe that 2019 22
their country will be in a recession within EU average 2019 21
five year or less, which is a higher reported
percentage than the European average of Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
35 per cent. However, only 6 per cent
believe that their country is already in a
recession, a significantly lower percentage B2B 2016 27
2017 27
Awareness about the European Late 2018 27
Payment Directive among Dutch
2019 25
companies decreased in 2019
Compared to the survey done in 2018, EU average 2019 34
awareness regarding the European Late Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Payment Directive (ELPD) in the Nether-
lands has decreased. In this year’s survey,
16 per cent of the Dutch companies
surveyed state that they are familiar with Public Sector 2016 29
the directive, which is 5 percentage points
2017 29
lower than in 2018. This year’s result is also
lower than the European average of 29 per 2018 26
cent businesses stating that they are famil- 2019 28
iar with the directive. On the other hand,
42 per cent of Dutch companies aware of EU average 2019 33
the ELPD state that they use the right to Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
charge a minimum of 40 euro, and 51 per
cent do not use it at all. The corresponding
European averages are 34 per cent and
57 per cent, respectively.
Dutch companies not concerned about

late payments limiting firm growth
When companies in the Netherlands were What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
asked to rate the impact of late payments
on the growth of their company, only 2 per
cent of the businesses rate the impact to be
high. This is the lowest reported percentage B2C 2016 21
among all European companies surveyed, 2017 20
where an average 9 per cent reported high
impact. Only Austria and Serbia reported a 2018 17
similarly low impact (2 per cent). 2019 37
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 32
2017 32
2018 28
2019 45
EU average 2019 40
The Netherlands EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 47,336.53 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 39
growth on
previous year 2018 2.8 2.1 2018 35
Inflation, % 2018 1.6 1.9 2019 40
rate, % 12-2018 3.6 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

NL
(versus last year)?
% %2% (1) %
80 80 80
10% (6)
70 70 13% (10) 70
60 60 60
50 50 50 54
52
40 40 40
29% (30) 39
30 30 30 35
47% (53)
27
20 20 20 24 22
21
10 10 10 12 13
10 4
8 6 7
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
7
19
Loss of income 10
60 17
28
49 50 21
48
46 46
44 30
40 43 42 Threat to survival 5
10
18
21
16 17 23
6
0 12
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Norway
Key findings
B2C 2016 14
Low concern among Norwegian 2017 15
companies regarding problems with
2018 17
payments
Seven out of ten (77 per cent) of Norwegian 2019 16
companies surveyed find long payment EU average 2019 21
terms non-problematic, while the average
for European companies is a significantly Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
lower 47 per cent. Similarly, seven out of ten
(74 per cent) of the Norwegian companies
also express that credit losses are not B2B 2016 18
problematic, and 72 per cent state that
debtors paying after the due date is not 2017 25
an issue. The European averages for these 2018 23
issues differ – 46 per cent of all companies
2019 21
polled in Europe say that credit losses are
not problematic, and 47 per cent state that EU average 2019 34
long payment terms and debtors who pay Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
after the due date is not an issue.
Norwegian companies protect

against bad payment with credit checks Public Sector 2016 22
and pre-payment
2017 34
When asked what precautions companies
undertake to protect against bad payments, 2018 24
the leading alternative for Norwegian compa- 2019 25
nies surveyed is credit checks (55 per cent).
Among European companies as a whole, EU average 2019 33
credit checks are the second most preferred Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
option, with 29 per cent choosing this as a
precaution. The second most popular alter-
native for Norwegian companies to protect
them against bad payment is pre-payment,
with 49 per cent of companies surveyed
choosing this alternative. The European
average is 39 per cent.
What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
A high percentage of Norwegian companies
do not believe that there will be a recession
in their country in the near future
Among the Norwegian companies polled, B2C 2016 19
44 per cent do not believe that a recession 2017 22
is imminent, while only30 per cent of Euro-
pean companies hold this belief. Moreover, 2018 18
of the Norwegian businesses that believe 2019 18
a recession is imminent, increasing sales
EU average 2019 23
operations (68 per cent) and cutting costs
(58 per cent) are the measures of choice in Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
preparing for an economic decline.
B2B 2016 24
2017 37
2018 25
2019 23
EU average 2019 40
Norway EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 73,650.99 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 27
growth on
previous year 2018 1.9 2.1 2018 26
Inflation, % 2018 3.0 1.9 2019 27
rate, % 12-2018 3.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

NO
(versus last year)?
1%%(1) % 5% (6) %
80 80 80
70 70 70
60 60 60 63
28% (27)
50 50 50
50
40 40 40
39
66% (65) 30 30 30 35
28 27
20 20 20 23 23
10 10 10 13
10 5 11 4
3 1
0 0 0
No, probably not
%
for your company
10
19
Loss of income 19
60 63 23
58 28
57
51 52
50 50 24
48
30
10
18
21
19 17 23
6
0 12
16
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Poland
Key findings
B2C 2016 21
A high percentage of Polish companies 2017 24
that believe a cashless society is in the
2018 24
near future, believe the exposure to
cyber-attacks will increase as a result 2019 25
Among Polish companies polled that believe EU average 2019 21
a cashless society is likely within a decade,
71 per cent believe that exposure to cyber- Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
attacks will increase as a result. This can
be compared to the European average of
52 per cent. One-third (34 per cent) of B2B 2016 24
Polish companies also believe that the risk
of losing customers will increase, which 2017 26
is a higher reported percentage than the 2018 28
European average of 21 per cent.
2019 26
A large percentage of Polish companies EU average 2019 34
surveyed believe a recession will occur in Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
their country within 1–5 years
Among Polish companies surveyed, 41 per
cent believe a recession in Poland is immi-
nent within one to five years. This is a higher Public Sector 2016 23
reported percentage than the European
2017 25
average of 35 per cent businesses that voice
similar concerns. Only 3 per cent of Polish 2018 26
companies said their country is already in a 2019 25
recession, which is significantly lower than
the European average of 18 per cent. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Polish businesses fear late payments lead
to liquidity squeeze and loss of income
Four out of ten (44 per cent) of Polish
companies state that late payments affect
their business negatively in the form
of liquidity squeeze, a higher reported
30 per cent. Furthermore, 43 per cent also What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
express that late payments affect their busi-
ness negatively by leading to loss of income,
which can be compared to the European
average of 27 per cent. B2C 2016 25
2017 27
2018 25
2019 23
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 30
2017 33
2018 33
2019 26
EU average 2019 40
Poland EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 12,936.90 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 29
growth on
previous year 2018 4.8 2.1 2018 33
Inflation, % 2018 1.2 1.9 2019 25
rate, % 12-2018 3.7 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

PL
(versus last year)?
% % %
80 80 80
9% (8) 7% (11)
70 70 70
60 60 17% (17) 60
50 50 50
40 40 40 41 41 39
30 30 30 36 35
49% (28)
18% (35) 29 28 27
20 20 20 23
10 10 10 13
8 9 9 2 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
25
19
Loss of income 22
60 43
58 28
51 50
48 44
30
40 42 Threat to survival
40 39 12
34
30 18
17 17 23
16
0 12
33
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Portugal
Key findings
B2C 2016 28
Credit losses and long payment terms 2017 31
raise concern for Portuguese companies
2018 36
when it comes to payment problems
When it comes to payment problems, 2019 18
80 per cent of Portuguese companies EU average 2019 21
polled state that they find credit losses
problematic, differing from the European Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
average of 46 per cent. Long payment
terms are also found to be problematic for
80 per cent of Portuguese companies, B2B 2016 52
while the corresponding average for Euro-
pean companies is 50 per cent. 2017 46
2018 53
A large majority of Portuguese
2019 47
companies surveyed expect a recession
in the near future EU average 2019 34
Seven out of ten (71 per cent) of Portuguese Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
companies surveyed believe a recession
could occur within one to five years. This
is significantly higher than the European
average of 35 per cent businesses stating Public Sector 2016 59
the same. The three most common meas-
2017 49
ures that Portuguese companies state they
intend to take in preparing for an economic 2018 54
decline are: being more cautious about 2019 47
taking on debt (56 per cent), planning to
secure payments from customers (52 per EU average 2019 33
cent) and cutting costs (52 per cent). Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
More than one-third of Portuguese

companies believe faster payments
from debtors would enable them to hire
more employees
Of the Portuguese businesses surveyed,
35 per cent believe that faster payments
from debtors would enable them to hire What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
more employees, which is a higher reported
21 per cent.
B2C 2016 45
2017 39
2018 38
2019 25
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
B2B 2016 68
2017 66
2018 65
2019 63
EU average 2019 40
Economic development 2018 Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Portugal EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 20,657.83 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 76
growth on
previous year 2018 2.2 2.1 2018 86
Inflation, % 2018 1.2 1.9 2019 75
rate, % 12-2018 6.6 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

PT
(versus last year)?
4% %
(7) % %
80 80 80
9% (6)
70 70 70
20% (29) 60 60 60
57
50 50 50 53
26% (16)
40 40 40 42
38 39
30 30 30 35
27
20 20 20 25
18 16
40% (43)
10 10 10 13
10 2 4
1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
27
72 73 19
Loss of income 22
60 42
59 60 28
55 56 Liquidity squeeze
54 33
50 49
48
30
17
18
18 17 23
8
0 12
27
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Romania
Key findings
B2C 2017 21
Romanian companies more concerned
2018 25
about risk from debtors than last year
28 per cent of the Romanian companies 2019 19
surveyed believe that risk from debtors
will increase in the coming twelve months. EU average 2019 21
In 2018, the corresponding figure was
19 per cent. When it comes to problems Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
with payments, 78 per cent of Romanian
companies are concerned about debtors
who pay after the due date, which is signif- B2B 2017 31
icantly higher than the European average
of 51 per cent. Similarly, 78 per cent of 2018 36
Romanian companies find long payment
terms to be problematic, while only 50 per 2019 33
cent of the entire European companies
surveyed percentage the same opinion. EU average 2019 34
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
A majority of Romanian companies
believe their country will be cashless
within a decade
Of the Romanian companies surveyed, Public Sector 2017 35
63 per cent believe Romania will be cash-
less within ten years. The corresponding 2018 48
average is 48 per cent for all European
2019 27
businesses surveyed. Furthermore, among
the Romanian businesses that believe their
EU average 2019 33
country will be cashless within a decade,
41 per cent believe that consumer spend- Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
ing will decrease in a cashless society. On
a more positive note, the percentage of
companies that believe overall costs for
companies and risk of losing customers will
decrease are 45 per cent and 36 per cent,
respectively.
A high percentage of Romanian What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
companies believe a recession is
imminent within one to two years
Almost half of the Romanian companies
surveyed (49 per cent) believe that a reces- B2C 2017 15
sion is imminent within one to two years;
2018 18
a significantly higher percentage than the
European average of 22 per cent. Among 2019 23
the Romanian businesses that believe a
recession is imminent, cutting costs EU average 2019 23
(59 per cent), being more cautious about
taking on debt (56 per cent) and securing Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
payments from customers (55 per cent)
are the measures of choice in preparing
for an economic decline.
B2B 2017 28
2018 35
2019 41
EU average 2019 40
Romania EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 10,989.86 30,349.34 2017
Public Sector 40
GDP percentage
2018 43
growth on
previous year 2018 3.6 2.1
2019 45
Inflation, % 2018 4.1 1.9
EU average 2019 42
Unemployment
rate, % 12-2018 4.0 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

RO
(versus last year)?
3% %
(3) % %
80 80 80
11% (23)
70 70 70
15% (32)
60 60 60
56
50 50 50
49
40 40 40
40 39 39
30 30 38% (18) 30 35
33% (24) 28 27
20 20 20 22
18
10 10 10 13 13
3 3 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
41
74 19
70
Loss of income 24
66
60 51
28
54 54 Liquidity squeeze 24
50 63
48 47
30
35 32
18
19
17 23
15
26
0 12
31
18
services customers
delivered % 0 20 40 60 80
2018 2018
2019 2019

Serbia
Key findings
B2C 2017 40
Late payments are mostly caused by
2018 40
debtors in financial difficulty, according
to Serbian companies 2019 53
Of the Serbian companies polled, 72 per
cent state that debtors in financial difficulty EU average 2019 21
is the leading cause of late payment from
customers. This can be compared with the Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
significantly lower European average of
54 per cent. The preferred precaution
among Serbian companies to protect B2B 2017
against bad payment is pre-payment, with 35
65 per cent of Serbian companies favouring 2018 33
this alternative. But the European average
for this alternative is 39 per cent. 2019 38
EU average 2019 34
Serbian companies do not
believe a cashless society will happen Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
in the near future
When companies were asked about the
possibility of a cashless society in their
country, as many as 82 per cent of Serbian Public Sector 2017 37
companies believe it will take more than a
decade, or that it will never happen. This is 2018 41
the highest figure among all the countries in
the survey. However, the Serbian companies 2019 36
that believe the country will be cashless EU average 2019
within a decade see a number of advan- 33
tages. For example, 55 per cent believe Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
that overall costs for their companies will
decrease, and another 55 per cent believe
that transaction costs will decrease.
A high percentage of Serbian

companies believe their country is
already in a recession
Almost half of the Serbian companies What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
surveyed (47 per cent) believe their country
is already in a recession. A significantly high-
er percentage than the European average of
18 per cent. Among the Serbian companies B2C 2017 38
that believe a recession is imminent,
cutting costs (70 per cent) and securing 2018 33
payments from customers (41 per cent)
2019 47
are the measures of choice in preparing for
an economic decline. When looking at the EU average 2019 23
average for European companies asked the
same question, 45 per cent plan to cut costs Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
and 28 per cent plan to secure payments
from customers.
B2B 2017 39
2018 34
2019 43
EU average 2019 40
Serbia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 6,093.27 30,349.34
Public Sector 2017 41
GDP percentage
growth on 2018 40
previous year 2018 3.8 2.1
2019 38
Inflation, % 2018 2.0 1.9
EU average 2019 42
Unemployment
rate, % 12-2018 11.3 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

RS
(versus last year)?
% %
3% (1) %
80 80 80
9% (5)
70 70 70
60 60 11% (18) 60
61
50 50 50 53
10% (63)
40 40 40
39
37 35
30 30 30
30
68% (13) 27
20 20 20
10 10 10 15
6 12 13
10 4
0 1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
12
19
80
9
72 28
60 13
30
54
48
40 5
18
30 of the company
26 26 14
20 23
9 11 4
0 12
7
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Slovakia
Key findings
B2C 2016 17
Slovakian companies do not 2017 17
believe a cashless society will happen
2018 18
in the near future
When companies were asked about 2019 15
the possibility of a cashless society in EU average 2019 21
their country, as many as 71 per cent of
Slovakian companies state that it will take Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
more than a decade, or that it will never
happen. This is significantly higher than the
European average of 52 per cent. More- B2B 2016 22
over, among Slovakian companies that
believe the country will be cashless within 2017 18
a decade, 47 per cent fear exposure to 2018 23
cyber-attacks will increase.
2019 22
A high percentage of Slovakian EU average 2019 34
companies expect a recession within Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
one to five years
Of Slovakian companies polled, 45 per cent
believe that a recession is imminent in their
country within one to five years. This can be Public Sector 2016 25
compared with the European average of
2017 22
35 per cent stating the same. Meanwhile,
only 4 per cent of Slovakian companies 2018 25
believe their country is already in a recession, 2019 14
while the average for European companies
is 18 per cent. Among Slovakian companies EU average 2019 33
that believe a recession is imminent, being Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
more cautious about taking on debt (60 per
cent) and cutting costs (51 per cent) are
the measures of choice in preparing for an
economic decline.
Awareness in Slovakia about the

European Late Payment Directive lowest
among all countries surveyed What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
Slovakia and Latvia together exhibit the
lowest reported awareness among all
countries surveyed about the European
Late Payment Directive. Only 4 per cent of B2C 2016 16
Slovakian companies say they are familiar 2017 20
with the directive. This is significantly lower
When asked what initiatives companies 2019 16
would like to see in order to solve late
EU average 2019 23
payment problem, 74 per cent of Slovakian
companies surveyed wish to solve the issue Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
through new national legislation. Only
14 per cent would like to see voluntary
initiatives from companies to solve the 2016
matter of late payments. B2B 24
2017 24
2018 23
2019 24
EU average 2019 40
Slovakia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 17,562.44 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 38
growth on
previous year 2018 4.0 2.1 2018 29
Inflation, % 2018 2.5 1.9 2019 17
rate, % 12-2018 5.9 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

SK
(versus last year)?
1%%(2)%3% (8) %
80 80 80
7% (8)
70 70 70
60 60 60
58
50 50 20% (25) 50
47
40 40 40
39
30 30 30 35
68% (57) 30
27
20 20 20 22
20
18
10 10 10 6 13
5 4
1 1
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
13
19
Loss of income 14
60 23
28
49 50 13
48
30
36 16
32 18
26 26 Prohibiting growth 12
24
18 17 23
12
0 12
18
18
services customers
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Slovenia
Key findings
B2C 2016 15
Slovenian companies say late 2017 20
payments lead to loss of income and
2018 19
slow-down of company growth
When companies were asked to rate conse- 2019 16
quences of late payment, the highest-rated EU average 2019 21
outcomes for Slovenian companies were
loss of income (35 per cent) and limiting Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
growth of the company (27 per cent). This
can be compared to Europe as a whole,
where 28 per cent think that late payment B2B 2016 29
cause loss of income, and 23 per cent
believe it limits growth of the company. 2017 28
66 per cent of Slovenian companies would 2018 29
like to new legislation to solve the late pay-
2019 29
ment problem, while the average European
preference for this alternative is 45 per cent. EU average 2019 34
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
A majority of Slovenian companies
believe their country will be cashless
within a decade
Of the Slovenian companies polled, Public Sector 2016 28
57 per cent believe Slovenia will be cash-
2017 31
less within ten years. In Europe as a whole,
the corresponding figure is 48 per cent. Fur- 2018 33
thermore, among the Slovenian companies 2019 29
that believe their country will be cashless
within a decade, 34 per cent expect it to EU average 2019 33
result in reduced transaction costs, and Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
36 per cent believe transaction data infor-
mation available to them will increase.
A majority of Slovenian companies expect

a recession within one to five years
Of the Slovenian companies asked, 63 per
cent believe that a recession is imminent
in their country within one to five years. What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
This is significantly higher than the overall
European average of 35 per cent voicing
the same concern. Meanwhile, only 9 per
cent of Slovenian companies believe their B2C 2016 20
country is already in a recession, while 2017 20
the corresponding average for European
companies is 18 per cent. Among Slovenian 2018 22
companies that believe a recession is 2019 21
imminent, cutting costs (55 per cent) and
EU average 2019 23
being more cautious about taking on debt
(52 per cent) are the measures of choice in Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
preparing for an economic decline.
B2B 2016 42
2017 32
2018 33
2019 37
EU average 2019 40
Slovenia EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 23,771.18 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 38
growth on
previous year 2018 4.3 2.1 2018 40
Inflation, % 2018 1.9 1.9 2019 30
rate, % 12-2018 4.3 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

SI
(versus last year)?
2% %
(5) % %
80 80 80
7% (4)
70 70 70
11% (6)
60 60 60
50 50 50
51 50
40 40 40
39 39
56% (63) 30 30 25% (21) 30 35 35
27
20 20 20
10 10 10 16
13 13
4
8 0 8 0
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
10
19
Loss of income 15
60 35
28
53 53
50 23
48
30
40 42 43
22
18
21
17 23
7 17
6
0 12
20
18
services customers
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Spain
Key findings
B2C 2016 44
Spanish companies do not see the issue 2017 44
of long payment terms being solved by
2018 46
voluntary initiatives from companies
Among all companies surveyed, Spain has 2019 36
the lowest tendency to think that voluntary EU average 2019 21
initiatives from companies will solve the issue
of long payment terms, with only 11 per cent Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
preferring for this alternative. In Europe as
a whole, the average is 33 per cent. On the
other hand, 41 per cent of Spanish companies B2B 2016 57
would prefer new legislation to solve the issue
of long payment terms. 2017 51
2018 51
Spanish companies think a cashless society
2019 52
might lead to less transaction data available
and decreased consumer spending EU average 2019 34
Among the Spanish companies that believe Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
a cashless society will occur within a decade
(43 per cent), one-third (32 per cent) believe
transaction data information available to
them will decrease. This can be compared Public Sector 2016 65
with the European average of 11 per cent.
2017 59
Similarly, one-third (34 per cent) of Spanish
companies believe that consumer spending 2018 51
will decrease in a cashless society. This 2019 56
is significantly higher than the European
average of 14. EU average 2019 33
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Intentional late payment and
administrative inefficiency of customers
less concerning for Spanish companies,
compared to Europe
Thirty-two per cent of Spanish companies
surveyed state intentional late payment as
a reason of late payments from customers.
This is significantly lower than the European What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
average of 50 per cent of businesses that
stated the same. Moreover, 36 per cent
of Spanish companies cite administrative
inefficiency of customers as a reason for late B2C 2016 47
payments, which also is lower compared to 2017 43
the European average of 48 per cent.
2018 45
2019 44
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
B2B 2016 69
2017 55
2018 52
2019 61
EU average 2019 40
Economic development 2018 Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Spain EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 27,771.0 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 98
growth on
previous year 2018 2.6 2.1 2018 56
Inflation, % 2018 1.7 1.9 2019 66
rate, % 12-2018 14.4 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

ES
(versus last year)?
% %5% (5) %
80 80 80
6% (7)
70 70 70
15% (11)
60 60 60
50 50 50
40 40 40 46
39 39
30 30 23% (44) 30 35 34 35
52% (32)
29 27
20 20 20
21
10 10 10 15 13
12 3 5 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
28
19
Loss of income 13
60 26
28
55 54 Liquidity squeeze 15
50 37
48
30
40 Threat to survival
38 6
36 19
32 18
20 21
17 23
11
8 13
0 12
19
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Sweden
Key findings
B2C 2016 20
A majority of Swedish companies 2017 21
expect a recession in the near future
2018 22
57 per cent of Swedish companies believe
a recession is imminent in the country 2019 19
within one to five years, which is higher EU average 2019 21
Furthermore, among Swedish businesses Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
that believe a recession is imminent,
caution while taking on debt (45 per cent)
and cutting costs (43 per cent) are the B2B 2016 28
measures of choice in preparing for an
economic decline. 2017 28
2018 29
A high percentage of Swedish companies
2019 29
say that international payments are
affected negatively by the local payment EU average 2019 34
culture and routines of other countries Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
When Swedish companies with international
payments were asked to rate various factors
that affect those payments, 41 per cent
stated that the local payment culture affects Public Sector 2016 29
such payments negatively. The second
2017 29
biggest issue of concern is local payment
routines, which was cited by 33 per cent of 2018 29
the Swedish companies as having a negative 2019 29
impact on international payments.
EU average 2019 33
Intentional late payment and Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
administrative inefficiency cited as main
causes of late payment by Swedish
companies
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of
Swedish companies surveyed find intention-
al late payment from customers to be one
of the leading causes of late payments. This
is significantly higher than the European What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
average of 50 per cent businesses that
stated the same. Similarly, more than two-
thirds (68 per cent) of Swedish companies
find administrative inefficiency as one of the B2C 2016 23
main causes of late payment by customers, 2017 22
also a significantly higher percentage than
2019 21
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 31
2017 32
2018 33
2019 33
EU average 2019 40
Sweden EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 48,173.60 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 33
growth on
previous year 2018 2.4 2.1 2018 33
Inflation, % 2018 2.0 1.9 2019 34
rate, % 12-2018 6.4 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

SE
(versus last year)?
5% (3)% %4% (6) %

80 80 80
70 70 10% (12) 70
60 60 60
50 50 50
37% (35)
40 40 40 44
41
39
30 30 30 35 35
33
30 29 27
20 20 45% (44) 20
10 10 10 14 13
11 4
0 2
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
15
74
19
71
60 33
28
51
50 26
47 48
30
17
18
19
17 23
11
0 12
17
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

Switzerland
Key findings
B2C 2016 27
Swiss companies are significantly more 2017 26
concerned about risk from debtors in
2018 27
comparison to last year
One-third (37 per cent) of Swiss companies 2019 24
surveyed believe that risk from their debtors EU average 2019 21
will increase in the coming twelve months.
In 2018, the corresponding figure was Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
7 per cent. This year, only 6 per cent of
Swiss companies estimate that the risk
from debtors will decline in the next twelve B2B 2016 30
months, which is a significant drop of
13 percentage points compared to 2018. 2017 27
For European companies as a whole, 16 per 2018 28
cent believe that risk from company debtors
2019 28
will increase in the next twelve months,
while 9 per cent believe that it will decline. EU average 2019 34
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Debtors who pay after the due date and
credit losses raise concern for Swiss
companies when it comes to payment
problems Public Sector 2016 34
When it comes to payment problem,
2017 31
71 per cent of Swiss companies surveyed
express that they face problems with 2018 33
debtors who pay after the due date, which 2019 31
is substantially higher than the European av-
erage of 51 per cent. Credit losses are also EU average 2019 33
found to be problematic for 61 per cent of Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Swiss companies, while the corresponding
figure for European companies is only
47 per cent.
With the emergence of a cashless

society, exposure to cyber-attacks and
transaction data available will increase
according to Swiss companies What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
Of the Swiss companies that believe a
cashless society will occur within a decade
(48 per cent), 63 per cent believe it will
increase the exposure to cyber-attacks, B2C 2016 31
compared to the European average of 2017 30
53 per cent. 44 per cent of Swiss
companies also believe that transaction 2018 30
data available to them will increase with 2019 27
the emergence of a cashless society, which
EU average 2019 23
is a higher reported percentage than the
European average of 34 per cent. Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 37
2017 34
2018 34
2019 35
EU average 2019 40
Switzerland EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 74,748.81 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 45
growth on
previous year 2018 2.4 2.1 2018 44
Inflation, % 2018 0.9 1.9 2019 42
rate, % 12-2018 2.7 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

CH
(versus last year)?
3% (4)
% 2%
% (3) %
80 80 80
70 70 15% (9) 70
60 60 60
50 50 50
41% (57) 40 40 40 44
38 39
30 30 30 34 35
27 27
20 20 38% (27) 20 22 21
17 16
10 10 10 6 13
4 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
14
19
Loss of income 11
80 81
24
74 28
71
60 28
58 58 30
54
48
40 14
18
of the company 21
20 23
17 17 Dismissing employees
15 4
9
0 12
19
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

United Kingdom
Key findings
B2C 2016 25
Currency issues, customers’ payment 2017 19
methods and local payment culture
2018 20
negatively affect international payments
in the United Kingdom 2019 25
32 per cent of companies surveyed in EU average 2019 21
the United Kingdom with international
payments state that currency issues affect Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
such payments negatively, which is twice
the European average (16 per cent). Addi-
tional factors that influence international B2B 2016 29
payments negatively are customer payment
methods (30 per cent) and local payment 2017 25
culture (28 per cent). The corresponding 2018 24
figures for Europe as a whole are 23 per
2019 45
cent and 26 per cent, respectively.
EU average 2019 34
Companies surveyed in the United Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
Kingdom offer long payment terms to
B2B and B2C customers
The businesses polled in the United
Kingdom offer longer payment terms on Public Sector 2016 27
average than the European average for
2017 23
consumer and corporate customers. Com-
panies surveyed in the United Kingdom 2018 26
offer corporate customers (B2B) 45 days 2019 24
and consumers (B2C) 25 days on average
to pay their debts. The corresponding EU average 2019 33
European averages are 34 days for B2B Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
customers and 21 days for B2C clients.
High belief among companies in the

United Kingdom that a cashless society
will increase exposure to cyber-attacks
Of British businesses surveyed that believe
a cashless society will occur within a dec-
ade, 54 per cent believe that exposure to What is the average time actually taken by customers to pay?
cyber-attacks will increase as a result. This
concern is similar to the European average
of 52 per cent. Forty per cent of companies
in the United Kingdom also believe that the B2C 2016 17
efficacy of payment routines and account- 2017 16
ing will increase in a cashless society, which
is a higher percentage than the European 2018 18
average of 36 per cent. 2019 17
EU average 2019 23
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50
B2B 2016 29
2017 26
2018 27
2019 45
EU average 2019 40
United Kingdom EU, average

GDP per capita
in euro 2018 37,700.97 30,349.34 2016
Public Sector 30
growth on
previous year 2018 1.3 2.1 2018 26
Inflation, % 2018 2.5 1.9 2019 28
rate, % 12-2018 3.8 6.6
Days 0 10 20 30 40 50

UK
(versus last year)?
% % 5% (16) %
80 80 80
7% (4)
70 70 70
60 60 19% (23) 60
50 50 50
51
32% (25)
40 40 40 43
39
30 30 30 35
32
27
20 20 20 22 24
22
37% (32)
10 10 10 14 13
3 10 4 4
0 0 0
2018 2019 EU average 2019
No, probably not
%
for your company
14
19
Loss of income 33
80
31
28
60 23
30
54 53 54
52 Threat to survival
48 50 50 24
45 17
40
18
35
of the company 20
20 24
23
17 Dismissing employees
14 13
11
0 12
13
delivered % 0 10 20 30 40 50
2018 2018
2019 2019

About the
Intrum has published the European Payment
Report on a yearly basis since 1998. This is the
21st Annual Edition of the report.
report
The report is based on a survey that was con-
ducted simultaneously in 29 European countries
between 31st of January and 5th of April. A total
of 11,856 companies across Europe participated
in the research.
The content of the report is developed by Intrum

in cooperation with Prime and United Minds.
Design by Passion/Jeanette Friman. The report is
published June 2019.
Through the comprehensive survey among Euro-

pean companies, Intrum generates awareness
and debate among politicians and the media
regarding how late or non-payments impact
economies in Europe.
Intrum participates in seminars and meetings in

Brussels to inform EU delegates of the situation
and the best approach for working towards a
sound economy and secure payments in Europe.
Since 2013 Intrum has, as the representative

of the business community, spoken about the
consequences of late payments to the European
Union. Intrum continues through 2019 to partici-
pate in dialogue with the EU Commission on how
to make the implementation of the Late Payment
Directive as effective and forceful as possible.
The Late Payment Directive recommends that
payment periods for companies to be at most
60 days and for public authorities 30 days.

Information about
the survey
The European Payment Report is based on Following sub-contractors have supported
a survey that was conducted simultaneously in the data collection:
in 29 European countries between 31st of Bellresearch (Hungary)
January and 5th of April 2019. In this report Crystal Call (Slovakia)
Intrum gathered data from 11,856 compa- Cuneo (Spain)
nies across Europe to gain insights into the Data diggers (Bulgaria, Ireland, Slovenia,
payment behaviours and financial health Bosn.&Herzeg., Serbia, Croatia, Greece,
of European businesses. The companies Germany)
are selected randomly based on size and Gallup (Austria)
industry. GPF associate (Italy)
Kantar TNS (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)
The research was conducted through web Markteffect (Belgium, UK, Netherlands,
panels, telephone interviews and online France, Switzerland)
survey participation (web questionnaire). Mkor (Romania)
The questionnaire was translated into the Norstat (Norway)
respective national language. Dispatch and S8 (Poland)
return of the questionnaires was carried out Unisono (Spain)
on a decentralized basis by the countries Weberschandwick (Czech Rep.)
concerned, whereas the analysis was car- Sweden, Finland and Portugal are the only
ried out centrally in accordance with prede- countries where Intrum is fully responsible
termined guidelines and validation rules. for collecting all data in the research.
All information has been verified and uncer-

tainties were not included in the evaluation.
The structure of Company size: Business sector:

the sample Up to 19 employees 81 % Agriculture, forestry and fishing 6%
20 to 49 employees 8% Mining and quarrying 0.1 %
50 to 249 employees 6% Electricity, gas, steam 1%
250 to 499 employees 2% and air conditioning supply
500 to 2,499 employees 2% Manufacturing 8%
More than 2,500 employees 1% Construction 10 %
Wholesale and retail trade 20 %
Transportation and storage 4%
Accommodation and 4%
food service activities
Information and communication 4%
Financial and insurance activities 1%
Real estate activities 3%
Professional, scientific, technical, 15 %
administration and support service
activities
Public administration, defense, 5%
education, human health and social
work activities
Other services 19 %

Explanation of The Eurostat data presented in the report allows comparisons of economic develop-
economic indicators refers to 2018, or in some cases 2017, if that ment both over time and between economies
is the latest year for which annual data is of different sizes, irrespective of changes in
available, as of April 2019. The unemploy- price. Growth of GDP volume is calculated
ment rate is presented as the annual aver- using data at previous year’s prices.
age for 2018. For countries where Eurostat
data is unavailable, data has been sourced Unemployment rate
from the applicable national statistics office. Unemployment rate represents unemployed
persons as a percentage of the labour force.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure The labour force is the total number of peo-
for economic activity. It is defined as the ple employed and unemployed.
value of all goods and services produced
less the value of any goods or services used Inflation rate
in their creation. All information given represents the annual
average rate of change in Harmonized Indi-
GDP growth rate ces of Consumer Prices (HCIP). The inflation
GDP growth rate is presented as change in rate is the rate of increase of the average
percentage on previous years. The calculation price level.
of the annual growth rate of GDP volume
Legal disclaimer The material contained in this document has report may be reprinted or reproduced in
been prepared with the aim of providing key any form or by any means without the prior
information and is for illustrative purposes written permission of Intrum. In all journal-
only and is not meant to be legally binding. istic or scientific purposes Intrum must be
Intrum has used its reasonable endeavours indicated as reference. Intrum encourages
to ensure that the information is complete dissemination of its work and will normally
and accurate where possible. However, you grant permission promptly. Additional hard
acknowledge and agree that Intrum accepts copies may be requested via e-mail to
no liability whatsoever in contract, tort or epr@intrum.com.
otherwise for any loss or damage caused by
or arising directly or indirectly in connection Contact
with any use or reliance on the contents of Anna Fall
this document. The country background Chief Brand & Communications Officer
information in this report was compiled Intrum
using a variety of open source material
and should not be viewed as definitive. Phone: +46 70 996 98 21
e-mail: anna.fall@intrum.com
Rights and Permissions
The material in this work is copyrighted. The full European Payment Report
With the exception of fair use for journal- can be downloaded as a pdf document at
istic or scientific purposes, no part of this intrum.com/epr2019.

Our other
Intrum is the undisputed market leader in credit
management in Europe. We help companies
succeed by taking care of their customers and
considerately helping people pay. Intrum is lead-
publications
ing the way towards a sound economy where
payment flows work, and people become debt
free. We have a lot of insights and knowledge
regarding the late or non-payment impact on
economies throughout Europe.
Intrum actively participate in seminars and

meetings in Brussels to inform EU delegates of
the situation and the best approach to secure
payments in Europe. Through our publications
you can learn more about the development of
late payment trends from a local, regional and
pan European view.
Country specific EPR European Industry White Paper European Consumer Nordic Debt Collection Analysis
The results from European The European Industry White Payment Report The Nordic Debt Collection
Payment Report (EPR) is Paper looks at the impact of late The European Consumer Payment Analysis (NDCA) seeks to close
published in country specific payment behaviour from a sectoral Report (ECPR) is based on an the knowledge gap between debt
reports across all 24 European perspective, based on the survey annual survey conducted in 24 collection and the general eco-
markets where Intrum is present, conducted for European Payment European countries covering over nomic development. The analysis
describing the impact late pay- Report. The Industry White Paper 24,000 respondents throughout provides insight on which direc-
ment has on national level. includes key findings on the Euro- the continent. The report provides tion the default market is currently
pean level, in addition to a national insights to European consumers’ heading and to point out the key
Download the latest report at your analysis from the perspective of views on their economic outlook, drivers behind the observed mar-
local Intrum webpage. selected business sectors in each and aim to gain insight in European ket movements. The analysis is
country where Intrum is present. consumers’ everyday life; their based on our internal data.
behaviour of spending, behaviour
Download the latest report at of paying for products and services, Download the latest report at
www.intrum.com/whitepaper2018 perception on credit and ability to www.intrum.com/nordic-
manage their household finances analysis2019
on a monthly basis.
Download the latest report at

www.intrum.com/ecpr2018

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21st Annual Edition

European Payment Report 2019 1

Two areas of service

European Payment Report 2019 3

4 European Payment Report 2019

European Payment Report 2019 5

Payment Late payments are problematic for companies, whether they

The average payment time continues to increase, particu-

Public sector 2016 29

6 European Payment Report 2019

Public sector 2016 36

European Payment Report 2019 7

*2019: Poland not included due to data error.

8 European Payment Report 2019

2016 2.44% Greece 4.1

2017 2.14% France 3.1

2018 European Average 2.3

* 2019: Italy not included due to data error. % 0 2 4 6 8 10

European Payment Report 2019 9

Debtors that pay after Long payment terms Credit losses

10 European Payment Report 2019

Debtors in financial Disputes regarding Administrative Intentional late

European Payment Report 2019 11

2016 Answers presented below

12 European Payment Report 2019

European Payment Report 2019 13

On average, 10.7 per cent of European companies’ income

Czech Rep. 18.4 Customers 23

14 European Payment Report 2019

society Most positive predictions for a cashless society are com-

When do you think your country will be cashless?

During the next

of all European businesses believe

When do you think your country will be cashless?

During the next

European Payment Report 2019 15

16 European Payment Report 2019

sight? imminent in their country. Half of European companies

Companies are planning a variety of measures to prepare

Do you believe that a recession is imminent in

of European companies state

Do you believe that a recession is imminent in your country?

We plan to identify the segments 21

We plan to cut costs 45

We plan to cut down on recruitment 18

We plan to be more cautious 36

We are aiming to increase our 8

We are looking to transition 6

We plan to increase sales operations 29

We plan to secure payments 28

We are not planning to take any 17

18 European Payment Report 2019

– EU and tive recommends that payment periods for companies to be

There is an increased demand for national actions that pre-

Yes Not at all

European Payment Report 2019 19

20 European Payment Report 2019

Austria EU, average

22 European Payment Report 2019

European Payment Report 2019 23

Belgium EU, average

24 European Payment Report 2019

European Payment Report 2019 25