B2B payment practices trends, CEE 2024

Payment Practices Barometer

  • Bulgaria,
  • Czech Republic,
  • Hungary,
  • Poland,
  • Romania,
  • Slovakia,
  • Slovenia,
  • Turkey
  • Agriculture,
  • Food,
  • Consumer Durables,
  • Construction,
  • Chemicals/Pharma,
  • Automotive/Transport,
  • Steel,
  • Metals

Economic strain shapes customer credit risk landscape across the CEE region. 60% of companies anticipate a rise in insolvencies.

Key takeaways from the report for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 

The 2024 Payment Practices Barometer survey for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was conducted between the end of Q1 and the beginning of Q2 2024. The findings should therefore be viewed with this in mind.

Economic strain shapes customer credit risk landscape across the CEE region

  • Companies in our survey of Central and Eastern Europe say they are open to the idea of trading on credit, but in practice an average 47% of all B2B sales are currently being transacted on credit. Slovakian businesses are the most inclined to do so, and among sectors the consumer durables industry is most enthusiastic.
     
  • The majority of businesses across the region (55%) tell us there is no significant change in the payment terms they are offering to B2B customers. Among the rest most are extending longer payment terms. Overall, the average term is 60 days from invoicing, but this rises to more than 90 days in the agri-food and steel-metals sectors.

CEE companies anticipate a rise in insolvencies 

  • A compelling message which emerges from our survey of companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is widespread concern about a rising risk of insolvencies during the year ahead. This is expected to have clear implications about potential financial distress ahead.
     
  • Only 37% of companies expect a rise in profits in the upcoming months, and most anticipate no change or even a negative trend. The consumer durables industry is most pessimistic. Where such negativity is found about insolvency risk and profitability, this reflects the major concern expressed by CEE companies when looking ahead. This primary worry is about the impact of economic conditions on business operations and investment, which is felt in both the short-term and long-term.

The Atradius Payment Practices Barometer is an annual survey of business-to-business (B2B) payment practices in markets across the world. Its findings can give valuable insights into the current dynamics of corporate payment behaviour in B2B trade. It can also help companies doing business, or planning to do so, in the markets polled to identify emerging future trends in the payment practices of B2B customers. 

Interested in finding out more? 

For a complete overview of the 2024 survey results for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, please download the full reports available in the related documents section below.

Markets surveyed: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. 

All content on this page is subject to our Disclaimer, available here

Disclaimer, no warranties and exclusion of liability

Atradius disclaims any representations or warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose of (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO) any information contained on or provided via this Web Site and/or any service described or promoted on this Web Site, including warranties with respect to infringement of any patent, copyright, or other rights of third parties. Atradius shall not be liable for any injury, loss, damage or expense arising out of any access to or use of this Web Site or any site linked to or from this Web Site, including, without limitation, any loss of profit, indirect, incidental or consequential loss. Atradius furthermore shall not be liable for persons, property damage or especially direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, immediate or subsequent (pecuniary) loss. While Atradius has used reasonable efforts in maintaining a virus-free Web Site, it declines any liability for persons, property damage or especially direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, immediate or subsequent (pecuniary) loss which may result from transmission or downloading of computer viruses. Atradius cannot be held liable for hardware damage, loss of data, alteration of data, or downtime.