B2B payment practices trend, Austria 2023

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 inthe payment practices of B2B customers. 

The 2023 Payment Practices Barometer survey for Austria was conducted between the end of Q1 and the beginning of Q2 2023. Its findings should therefore be viewed with this in mind.

Key takeaways from the report for Austria

Trading on credit down amid concern about B2B payment defaults

• Our survey found a rising trend in the level of payment delays suffered by Austrian companies. These increased to an average of 44% of all invoiced B2B sales, with the transport sector reporting above average delays.
• A range of measures were used by companies polled in Austria to help maintain liquidity during this period of heightened perception of customer credit risk. Many businesses told us they requested trade credit as a means to get short-term liquidity.

Climate change risks and high inflation among variety of concerns

• Fears about high inflation continuing to be a burden on B2B trade is the main concern looking ahead for companies in Austria across all sectors polled. The steel-metals industry reported several areas of worry for the coming months, with particular concern about climate change risks and the need to develop clean energy storage. Lack of availability of skilled staff and experienced managers was a concern reported by the chemicals sector.
• Despite these varying range of concerns for 2023 among Austrian companies, our survey showed widespread optimism about prospects for the year ahead. 64% of businesses polled said they anticipate increase in demand during the coming months

Interested in finding out more?

Please download the full report for a complete overview of the 2023 survey findings of the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer for Austria. 

For a complete overview of the survey results for Western Europe, please download the full report available in the Related documents section below. The Statistical Appendix to the regional report is also available for download in the section below.

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