Payment morale: Switzerland fast payer
The latest Euler Hermes study looks at payment behavior worldwide. In the study "Worldwide DSO - Paying the penalty for low growth", the credit insurer analyzes worldwide payment behavior in a total of 21 industries. Swiss companies are almost, but not quite, in first place in terms of payment behavior.
Payment practices in China continued to deteriorate in 2016 and the Middle Kingdom will bring up the rear among global late payers for the first time this year. Invoices are paid after an average of 92 days, compared with 88 days in 2015. This is the conclusion of the latest Euler Hermes study on global payment behavior, "Worldwide DSO - Paying the penalty for low growth".
The credit insurer analyzes payment behavior in 36 selected countries and 21 sectors. The benchmark here is the so-called "days of sales outstanding" (DSO), i.e. the period between invoicing and receipt of payment, of listed companies in the respective countries and sectors.
Traditional fast payer
Like many European countries, Switzerland remains one of the traditional fast payers. Invoices from listed companies were paid in Switzerland after an average of 48 days in both 2015 and 2016. This puts the Swiss among the top fast payers, just behind their Austrian neighbor (DSO 2015/2016: 44 days each) and ahead of Germany (53 days each). The ranking of fast payers also includes New Zealand (46 each), the Netherlands (47/46), South Africa (48/50) and Denmark (48 each), as well as the USA (49/50).
Payment behavior varies
"In Switzerland, however, payment behavior varies between the different industries. In the Swiss retail sector, payment is made after an average of just 15 days, and the transport sector, with 20 days, and the food industry, with 41 days, also settle invoices faster than average," said Stefan Ruf, CEO of Euler Hermes Switzerland. "However, in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, as well as in the paper industry and household goods, suppliers have to wait longer than average for their money."
Retail, food, transport industry
In industries close to the end consumer, companies worldwide generally pay their invoices very quickly. In the retail sector, listed companies took just 27 days between invoicing and payment - a quarter of companies even received their money in less than five days. In the food industry or in the transport sector, too, payment is made in less than 50 days, which is above average.
The details and analyses of the Euler Hermes study can be found at this Link
