The surge in late payments: An increasing barrier for EU companies
Presentation of Annual Report 2024
5 February 2025 10:00-11:00 (CEST) Budapest
Late payments are a major obstacle to the competitiveness and growth of businesses across the EU, having particularly dire consequences for SMEs. Delayed payments significantly affect firms’ ability to invest in expanding their product and service offerings, hinder efforts to enhance their sustainability performance, and impede their digital transformation strategies.
Despite the known consequences of late payments, the situation only seems to be worsening. The recently published 2024 Annual Report of the EU Payment Observatory highlights a concerning trend: in 2023, the share of enterprises struggling with late payments returned to 2019 levels, marking the sharpest rise in the past five years. Payment periods for Business to Business (B2B) transactions saw a marked deterioration, while Government to Business (G2B) transactions showed a smaller increase but continue to pose challenges. Adding to these worrying figures is the fact that larger companies remain among the least likely to pay on time, exacerbating pressures on smaller businesses that often lack the financial resilience to cope with payment delays. This year’s report also delves into the negative impacts of late payments on access to external finance and firms’ chances to succeed in intra-EU cross-border trade.
During this webinar, the EU Payment Observatory will present the key findings from its second Annual Report. The presentation will be followed by a panel debate, bringing together experts to discuss the implications of late payments and explore strategies to address this growing challenge for the competitiveness of the EU and its businesses.
Turning the tide on late payments
EU SME Week
20 November 2024 9:15-10:15 (CEST) Budapest
The Draghi report published in September analyses what is standing in the way of SMEs from becoming the engine of European competitiveness. Challenged by regulatory burdens, struggling to innovate and embrace the technology advances they need, SMEs cannot make the “big step” and scale up. There is a red line linking all these problems: cash. SMEs rely on payments made regularly and within fair terms. For SMEs, even one single invoice paid late can make the difference between survival and growth. Late payments affect businesses’ liquidity, hampering their ability to cover their operational costs but also preventing them from properly planning for the future and investing on development and sustainability. For an SME, being paid on time in the EU is still – unfortunately- hit or miss, as barely 50% of payments in commercial transactions are paid on time.
We are in a pivotal moment to change the late payments tide thanks to new technological developments that enable payment automation, the increased salience of the issue and the recent European
Commission proposal for a new regulation. However, the latest data shows that payment performance across the EU worsened in 2023. During this session, the 2024 Annual report of the EU Payment Observatory will be presented providing an overview of the status of late payments in the EU. It will be followed by a panel debate examining the consequences of delayed payments and discussing strategies for driving meaningful change that will make SMEs the drivers of EU competitiveness.
Can eInvoicing help to reduce late payments?
Report presentation
12 September 2024, 10:00-11:00 (CEST)
The shift from paper-based to electronic invoices is gaining momentum. Driven first by big enterprises in order to automate internal processes, eInvoicing is now being adopted by businesses of all sizes. This is, in part, the result of governments’ initiatives to reduce tax evasion, as shown by the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (VIDA) and Member States’ eInvoicing mandates.
A recent report by the EU Payment Observatory explores how an increasing uptake of eInvoicing could help in reducing late payments. Identified benefits stem mostly from efficiency gains, although electronic invoicing can also contribute to greater transparency and the offer of more attractive and cost-efficient supply chain solutions. However, eInvoicing seems to have little effect on payment behaviour and it also presents hurdles for SMEs, which are the companies most affected by late payments.
During this webinar the report will be presented, followed by a panel debate on the impact of eInvoicing on late payments. We will discuss how the positive effects can be maximised, and how implementation challenges can be overcome.
Mediation for Payment Disputes in the Construction Sector in Belgium
29 May 2024 13:30-14:30 (CET)
An informative webinar on mediation for resolving payment disputes in the construction sector, focusing on how mediation can help (construction) businesses amicably resolve payment disputes with their business partners and how contractual clauses can foster the recourse to mediation. The event will be hosted by Milieu Consulting SRL on 29 May, from 13:30 to 14:30 CET and held in English.
Webinar overview
The construction industry is notably prone to disputes affecting the payment of goods or services, which can significantly disrupt business operations. Our webinar focuses on the strategic use of mediation as an efficient alternative to traditional legal proceedings to obtain prompt payment.
This webinar is part of a pilot project of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Agency (EISMEA), carried out by Milieu Consulting, on using mediation to resolve payment disputes in the construction sector in Belgium. Standard mediation clauses were drafted and validated in this context.
Audience
This webinar is for Belgian SMEs in the construction sector, legal professionals, business owners, and anyone facing or interested in untangling payment disputes through mediation.
For more information about the project, please visit its website.
How to make late payers pay: Presentation of a report on enforcement measures
17 April 2024 10:00-11:00 (CET) Zoom
Enforcement measures are an important tool to combat late payments. By imposing financial or reputational penalties for non-compliance with agreed-upon payment terms, they help deter bad payment behaviour and promote a culture of financial responsibility and fairness. Additionally, they serve to compensate creditors for damage caused by late payments.
The Late Payments Directive allows creditors to claim interest and recovery costs when facing delayed payments. However, most of them do not exercise those rights out of fear of harming the relationship with their clients. This is particularly true of cases in which there is an unbalanced power relationship, with an SME providing a product or service to a larger company which is one of its principal clients. The process is also cumbersome in terms of time and resources, often involving a court case. As a result, most late payments in the EU go unpunished and companies delay their payments without fearing any consequences.
During this webinar, we will present a report which explores the ways in which Member States have implemented the Late Payment Directive, and showcases enforcement regimes that go beyond what is prescribed at EU level. A discussion will follow, focused on how to build an effective enforcement system to deter late payments.
Presentation of the 2023 Annual Report: The state of late payments in the EU
7 March 2024 16:00-17:00 (CET) Zoom
Late payments in B2B and G2B transactions have multiple damaging effects, particularly on SMEs. They can affect the liquidity of companies which can prevent investment and expansions, and they can hinder digital and environmental transformation initiatives. They can contribute to financial woes and may even lead to bankruptcies. In addition, late payments lead to more late payments as it might not be possible for companies to pay their suppliers until they themselves are paid, hence exacerbating a vicious cycle.
The European Payment Observatory of commercial transactions (EU Payment Observatory) was set up in 2023 at the initiative of the European Commission to monitor trends and developments on payment performance and behaviour in commercial transactions in the EU to combat late payments.
During this webinar the first annual report of the Observatory will be presented. The annual report provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends in payment behaviour in commercial transactions in the EU from 2019 to 2022, an analysis of the collected data, and an assessment of the various initiatives and documents put forward across the EU to combat late payments.
30 days (or pay) Policy Workshop : Building a EU prompt payment culture in commercial transactions
30 days (or pay) Policy Workshop : Building a EU prompt payment culture in commercial transactions
14 November 2023 15:30-16:30 (CET) Bilbao
EVERY SECOND at least 500 invoices are issued in the EU – half of them are paid late.
Late payments affect every sector and every EU Member State, disproportionately impacting SMEs. Each year across Europe, thousands of SMEs go bankrupt waiting to be paid, with jobs being lost. As a result, the whole EU Competitiveness is at stake.
On 12 September 2023, the Commission put forward a proposal for a Regulation that, once approved by the European Parliament and the Council, will replace the current “Late Payment Directive”. With this proposal, the EU is stepping up its fight against late payments in commercial transactions, for the benefit of SMEs and the overall economy.
During the session the first Annual Report of the EU Payment Observatory will be presented, together with information on its functioning and the ongoing work.
The session will focus on three key issues for the successful implementation of the new rules and, ultimately, for a progressive shift towards a culture of prompt payment: 1) how data can support effective monitoring and enforcement, 2) the role of business organisations , 3) the challenges and needs for some specific sectors: wholesale & retail and construction.
Monitoring payment behaviour in Europe: The launch of the EU Payment Observatory
Monitoring payment behaviour in Europe: The launch of the EU Payment Observatory
4 July 2023 15:00-16:15 (CET) Zoom
Late payments in commercial transactions have multiple damaging effects, particularly amongst SMEs, causing one out of four bankruptcies in the European Union. The Late Payment Directive, which is currently under review, aims to address this issue and improve B-2-B and B-2-G payment culture. One of the main issues identified since its adoption in 2011 is the lack of monitoring tools which hampers enforcement.
The new EU Observatory of Payments in Commercial Transactions (“EU Payment Observatory”) aims to fill that gap. It will monitor trends and developments on payment behaviour in commercial transactions in the EU and provide a repository of relevant initiatives and policy documents in the area of late payments. The Observatory will also be a place to exchange ideas, opinions, knowledge and best practices and to promote the importance of reducing late payments.
During this webinar the EU Payment Observatory will be presented as well as its first report on preventive measures. A discussion will follow on the need to develop monitoring tools that increase
our understanding of the factors underlying payment behavior, national experiences with Observatories and effective ways to promote greater transparency and accountability on payment
practices.
