European Parliament highlights the importance of tackling late payments

The European Parliament has published a new report on Late Payments. The report, drafted by Member of the European Parliament Lara Comi, is based on statistics from European credit management specialist Intrum’s European Payment Report 2018, and takes into account important findings of the yearly study.

In response to the new report Intrum has said that it supports MP Lara Comi’s approach, namely to improve sound B2B payment behaviours in the EU through a combination of legal and voluntary measures. In particular, as expressed in the Parliament’s report, Intrum believes it is important:

• That the existing Directive is properly enforced;
• That transparency of payment practices is encouraged;
• That good business behaviour is rewarded – e.g. through “Name and fame” schemes – since paying on time is a smart business strategy;
• That more efforts are directed towards Financial education and that EU Member States give more information and training to entrepreneurs about credit and invoice management;
• That countries keep the late payment issues at the centre of the political agenda.

The Parliament also makes a link between prompt payment and Corporate Social Responsibility, something which Intrum has advocated for years.

Mikael Ericson, President and CEO Intrum said “Intrum has highlighted the gravity of late payments and long payment terms to EU decision makers for many years. This is a significant problem in many business sectors, which is costly, increases financial risk and affects job growth in Europe, in particular among SMEs. Our next European Payment Report is due in June and we will make sure that it is shared with those who decide on the future EU policy in this area.”