B2B payment practices trends in Greece 2025

Why are businesses in Greece concerned about liquidity?

Businesses face liquidity pressure amid worry over poor payment behaviour 

Trade credit continues to play a key role for companies in Greece. Half of the firms in our survey say they have become more likely to offer credit to B2B customers in recent months, reflecting a clear effort to maintain customer relationships and keep sales flowing. Despite this most companies have kept payment terms unchanged, typically between 30 to 60 days from invoicing. 

Customer payment behaviour remains a challenge. Delayed payments are largely attributed to customer liquidity issues, with payments often collected more than a month past the due date. Where delays in supplier payments occur, Greek businesses typically find short-term solutions to bridge liquidity gaps. Supplier credit plays a key role, with 60% of companies relying on this to ease financial pressure. To mitigate the risks of late payments and defaults, 63% of firms use a mix of internal credit controls and outsourced credit risk management. This is a proactive strategy to maintain financial stability and ensure long-term resilience in a turbulent economic climate.

What are the concerns for Greek businesses in the coming months?

Widespread concern about rising insolvency risk in volatile trading conditions 

Our survey finds that companies in Greece are braced for ongoing financial challenges in the months ahead. More than 80% of firms expect insolvency risks to either increase or remain at current levels, which reflects growing concern about cash flow and liquidity amid unsettled trading conditions and the uncertain outlook for B2B customer payment behaviour in the months ahead. Against this backdrop, nearly half of businesses expect their Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) to remain consistent. This suggests stable, though not necessarily improving, payment cycles. 

Looking ahead, businesses in Greece identify several major challenges they expect to face. These include responding quickly to sudden economic changes, navigating increasingly complex regulations, and adapting to technological advancements like Artificial Intelligence. While the trading landscape remains full of unknowns, companies say they aim to remain flexible and strategic, trying to align customer payment risk management to the ever evolving market conditions.

Industry insights

Construction industry

60% of B2B sales have been made on credit during recent months in the construction sector. Nearly half of companies did not change their trade credit policies, but many increased the credit extended to customers to support trade relationships. Payment terms for B2B customers remain largely unchanged, averaging two months from invoicing. Around two-thirds of B2B sales on credit are overdue, with customer liquidity constraints the main reason for delayed payments. 63% of companies say customer payment behaviour remains sluggish, and more than one-third of companies report a worsening in recent months. Bad debts account for 6% of B2B invoices. 

Key industry figures and charts are provided in the report available for download below on this page.

Consumer durables industry

The consumer durables sector increasingly relies on trade credit, with 56% of B2B customer sales now made on credit and more than half of companies further extending credit to customers. Payment terms remain largely unchanged, averaging nearly 50 days from invoicing. Liquidity constraints are the most cited reason for delayed payments, which impact more than half of B2B invoices. Many companies say customer payment behaviour continues as usual, with some observing a slowdown in payments and an increase in receivables aging, raising the likelihood of defaults. Bad debts now account for 5% of B2B invoices.

Key industry figures and charts are provided in the report available for download below on this page.

Steel and metals industry 

Nearly three in five companies extended more credit to customers, while 52% of B2B customer sales are currently made on credit. Payment terms remain consistent, averaging just over 40 days from invoicing. Companies are split between those who relaxed terms and those who tightened them. Overdue invoices affect 52% of the industry's B2B transactions. Liquidity constraints and internal payment process issues were the most frequent reasons cited for delayed cash inflows. Most companies report consistent Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), although a few have seen improvement. Receivables aging remains an issue, contributing to bad debts, which now account for 8% of B2B invoices. 

Key industry figures and charts are provided in the report available for download below on this page.

Interested in finding out more?

For a complete overview of the 2025 survey results for Greece, download the full report available in the related documents section below.

To explore more on how these insights can strengthen your own credit risk strategy, speak with us at Atradius to see how we can help you stay ahead.