Late payments on the increase in Europe
Research finds that governments are the worst payers
Billions of euros are being lost in the European economy as payment delays increased from 15.1days in 2004 to 16.8 days in 2006.
Research from credit management services firm Intrum Justitia revealed there is around €250bn worth of unpaid bills across Europe at one time, equal to the entire GDP of a country the size of Austria. Governments are some of the worst offenders when it comes to settling their debts.
According to the research around one billion invoices default in Europe and turn into debt collection cases. SMEs are the hardest hit by late payments, the report stated, being more vulnerable to variations in cash flow and relying on a smaller number of customers.
Leif Hallberg, public affairs director at Intrum Justitia Group said: “The size of the problem is awesome and calls for stronger action by companies themselves and by legislators.
“Late payments and long delays will not help the economy grow, on the contrary. Fact is that payment habits damage business and disrupts trade between the EU’s member states and therefore hinder economic growth,” he said.
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