Payment delays in Greece are trending in an increasingly unfavorable direction, driven by adverse geopolitical conditions, high energy costs, fragile demand, and elevated interest rates. Nearly two-thirds of B2B sales are conducted on credit, and roughly one-third of all B2B invoices end up overdue, compared to one-quarter in Western Europe.

These findings come from Atradius’ latest B2B Payment Practices Barometer for Greece in 2026, which also highlights that fewer businesses are collecting payments within a month of invoicing, more are waiting up to two months, and one in two companies reports that the risk of non-payment from customers is squeezing their available cash for day-to-day operations.

Furthermore, more Greek businesses are reporting write-offs of up to 1% of their B2B invoices, a rate higher than Western Europe. The majority do not expect any meaningful improvement in B2B payment behavior in the near term, as trading conditions remain challenging — a sentiment that broadly mirrors the mood across Western Europe as well.

High interest rates and fragile demand are slowing down payment speeds, while significantly more businesses in Greece, compared to Western Europe, expect an increase in customer insolvency risk in the coming months. This difference points to a weaker payment environment in Greece, with more acute liquidity pressures on businesses.

According to Gerasimos Tzeis, Managing Director of Atradius Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Romania, Greece remains particularly exposed to any slowdown in global trade and to geopolitical disruptions. While these risks are also a concern in Western Europe, the anxiety is more pronounced in Greece due to limited liquidity and a greater sensitivity to shifts in economic activity. The structural weaknesses of the domestic market, combined with the risk of prolonged disruptions to international trade and Greece’s heavy dependence on crude oil imports, are expected to make the B2B payment environment in the country more fragile and less predictable as the year progresses.

What the Barometer Revealed

Data collection for the Barometer took place between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter of 2026, remaining open for a few days after the onset of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The main findings for Greece are as follows.

The primary causes of B2B payment delays in Greece are customer liquidity problems (66%), delays stemming from banking transactions (26%), internal approval bottlenecks (12%), and issues with e-invoicing and payment platforms (12%).

In terms of bad debt frequency among B2B customers, 70% of respondents experienced bad debt on less than 1% of transactions, 16% on 1% to 2% of transactions, 9% on 2% to 5%, and 5% on more than 5% of transactions.

Regarding exposure to overdue invoices over a 12-month period, 19% of respondents collected overdue payments on 61% to 100% of their invoices, 23% on 31% to 60%, 36% on 1% to 30%, and only 23% reported zero overdue collections.

On the duration of payment delays, 66% of businesses experienced delays of under 30 days, 20% faced delays of 31 to 60 days, 10% of 61 to 90 days, and 4% of more than 90 days.

As for the operational impact of payment delays, 51% of respondents reported a tighter liquidity margin, 25% saw reduced investment activity, 20% had difficulty managing cash flow, and 16% experienced delays in paying their own suppliers.

The three biggest risks expected to affect B2B payments in Greece over the next 12 months are economic slowdown, mounting pressure on operating costs, and rising borrowing costs.

Finally, 42% of Greek businesses see insolvency risk prospects for the next 12 months remaining at elevated levels, 45% expect the situation to worsen, and 13% say the business environment is unclear.