• According to a recent European study, every fourth invoice in Europe is paid late (19%) or not paid at all (5%)
• Severe consequences for companies: Almost half of the respondents (48 %) report profit losses
• One in five companies expect payment morale to worsen further in the next two years

Payment morale across Europe is on the decline. According to the latest "European Payment Practices 2025" study by the EOS Group, conducted by Kantar in eleven European countries, approximately 24 percent of all invoices in Europe are paid late (19%) or not at all (5%). In the last survey, conducted in 2022*, it was only 21 percent (18 % delayed and only 3 % uncollectible).

This year the situation is particularly severe in Romania. 29 percent of invoices are delayed or uncollectible. Germany, Switzerland, and France fare somewhat better, with 21 to 22 percent of invoices affected, but the overall trend remains worrying, comments Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group: “The consequences of poor payment morale are severe.” 48 percent of companies report profit losses, 46 percent faced higher interest costs, and 22 percent were forced to cut or halt investments. For 16 percent of companies, their very existence was even at risk—in France and Slovenia, this figure rises to 20 percent. “Unpaid invoices aren't just delayed revenue. Rising defaults can push creditor companies into insolvency and threaten jobs, as the survey is showing,” says Ramcke.

In response to worsening payment morale, many European companies have shortened their payment terms: on average, they now allow only 31 days for payment—down from 37 days in 2022*. Private customers are granted an average of 23 days, while business customers have 36 days to settle their invoices. Yet, even with these shorter terms, if a payment becomes overdue, companies across Europe typically endure an additional waiting period of 21 days, on average, before payment is received. “The longer companies have to wait for their money, the more likely it is that the invoice will not be paid at all,” highlights Dr. Eva Griewel, CFO of the EOS Group. “In that respect, payment behavior is an important indicator of potential payment defaults.”

The study reveals that private customers most often delay payments due to liquidity crunches (54%) and forgetfulness (51%). Business customers typically pay late because they are waiting for payments from their own customers (61%) or deliberately exploit supplier credits (57%). Slow processing (48%) and over-indebtedness (43%) are also significant factors. Additionally, around a third of companies believe that customers intentionally delay payments. The economic outlook remains bleak: 22 percent of surveyed companies expect payment behavior to worsen over the next two years, while only 12 percent anticipate improvement. Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group, emphasizes: “Receivables management is becoming increasingly complex and risky. Companies should proactively secure their liquidity and consider working with professional debt collection service providers.” Still, only a minority of companies consistently leverage external expertise for receivables management. Less than one-third employ a combined strategy of internal and external capacities, and a mere seven percent stated that they completely professionalized their debt collection activities with an external service provider.

The “European Payment Practices 2025” study is based on a survey of 2,200 financial decision-makers in 11 European countries, providing up-to-date insights into the payment behavior of private and business customers.

All relevant results and graphics can be found here.

_{*) Limited comparability due to changed survey method and reduced number of countries.}