Launched in 2023 by the European Commission, the EU Payment Observatory monitors trends and developments on payment performance and behaviour on payments in the EU. With its next Annual Report to be unveiled at the SME Assembly in Budapest, Hungary (18-20 November 2024), find out more about how the Observatory strives to protect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and foster a better payment culture in the EU by watching this informative video. 

The Observatory aims to combat late payments. Late payments in commercial transactions disrupt the vital cash flow to SMEs resulting in thousands of SMEs going bankrupt each year. In 2022, 43% of enterprises in the EU faced difficulties due to late payments, including workforce cuts, and administrative & financial burdens. The negative consequences of late payments impact the entire European economy by causing job losses, stifling entrepreneurship, reducing investment, and hampering cross-border trade. 

To protect European businesses, and in particular SMEs, against late payments, the EU adopted the Late Payments Directive (2011/7/EU) in 2011. Despite outlining key rules which combat late payments, the directive suffered from an implementation deficit due to the lack of monitoring tools and demand for greater transparency. As a result, the EU Payments Observatory was launched to fill that gap, increasing information on late payments practices and initiatives to establish well-informed solutions.

Ahead of the EU Payments Observatory’s 2024 Annual Report, to be presented at the SME Assembly in Budapest, Hungary (18-20 November, 2024), check out this informative video discover how and why the Observatory is backing European SMEs and protecting job losses!