A survey published by Atradius in July 2026 points to a sharp rise in payment stress across Asian B2B trade. More than 80% of suppliers surveyed reported being paid late by business customers at some point in the past year, a level significant enough to put real pressure on day-to-day operations for many firms.
The strain isn’t evenly distributed. Smaller companies — with thinner cash reserves and less room to absorb delayed receivables — are feeling it most acutely, and the construction and trade sectors in particular are reporting the sharpest impact. Both sectors depend heavily on predictable cash flow to fund the next order, shipment, or project milestone, which makes late payment less of an inconvenience and more of an operational risk.
The underlying causes track closely with broader liquidity pressure and ongoing supply chain disruption: buyers stretching payment terms to manage their own cash position, and knock-on effects rippling through multi-tier supplier networks.
For businesses trading into or across Asia, the takeaway is straightforward — payment terms and counterparty payment behavior deserve at least as much attention as price when structuring a deal. Calibrating payment methods and terms upfront, rather than renegotiating after a shipment has already gone out, remains one of the more effective ways to keep exposure manageable.