In its latest Germany Corporate Payment Survey 2025, Coface identifies clear signals of pressure on payment behavior, but also the first signs of a shift in business sentiment. In a context marked by rising geopolitical uncertainty, Germany and the EFTA countries are increasingly being viewed as safe havens by businesses and investors.
More German companies grant extended payment terms
Payment practices in Germany have deteriorated slightly compared to the previous year. In the ninth edition of the survey, conducted between May and June 2025 and covering 847 German companies, Coface observes a strong increase in requests for longer payment terms. This shift is largely driven by political instability and growing geopolitical risks.
A remarkable 84% of respondents are now granting more generous deadlines to their suppliers — the highest figure since 2016. The change is particularly significant among companies operating in both domestic and export markets, where the proportion granting longer terms rose from 81% to 93% over the past year.
Payment delays are rising, though still below pre-pandemic levels
The proportion of companies experiencing payment delays has risen sharply: from 59% in 2021 to 81% in 2025. The financial advisory sector recorded the steepest increase in delays, with an average of +10.3 days.
Conversely, the transportation sector showed improvement, posting the largest decline in delay duration at –4.5 days. Overall, the average length of payment delays rose slightly to 31.8 days — up by one day from the previous year. Despite this, it remains well below the pre-COVID average of 39.7 days, and is still the lowest among all countries surveyed by Coface.
Financial exposure remains a concern in key sectors
In 2025, 12% of surveyed companies reported that overdue receivables represented more than 2% of their annual turnover. This issue is most pronounced in the construction sector, where the proportion reaches 24%.
Even more concerning, 2% of all respondents stated that payment arrears amounted to over 10% of their turnover. This level of exposure represents a clear warning sign, especially in the current economic environment. Nevertheless, there is some relief: financial risk has decreased in 8 out of 12 sectors covered by the survey.
Sector analysis: construction under pressure, terms widen elsewhere
Since the beginning of 2025, the construction industry has returned as the sector with the shortest average payment terms. 81% of construction firms require that invoices be settled within 30 days.
On the other hand, payment terms were extended in several other sectors:
- In the wood industry, deadlines increased by +8.1 days
- In the metal sector, they rose by +4.1 days
In contrast, the finance and consulting sector recorded the sharpest reduction, with terms shortened by –13.3 days on average.
When combining all indicators — overdue receivables, payment terms, and delay durations — the construction sector, in recession since early 2021, remains the industry facing the worst payment behavior in Germany.
Business sentiment is improving after a low in 2024
Despite challenges in payment behavior, Coface notes a clear shift in business sentiment. In 2024, 48% of respondents expected their situation to worsen, while only 9% anticipated an improvement — a negative balance of –39 points.
In 2025, the balance improves to –17 points. Looking ahead to 2026, expectations become positive, with a net balance of +16 points.
The transport sector shows the most dramatic change: after ranking among the most pessimistic sectors in 2025 (–47 points), it now leads in optimism for 2026, closely followed by the metals sector. Only the paper and packaging industry continues to express a mostly negative outlook.
Germany and the EFTA states: regaining safe haven status
As global political uncertainty intensifies, German companies are reassessing their international priorities. Germany is now more frequently cited as the most promising market for growth. Coface sees evidence that this renewed confidence also extends to EFTA countries — including Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland — increasingly seen as stable and reliable markets.
At the same time, the United States appears to be losing ground. In 2025, only 9% of companies surveyed consider it a promising market, making it the least cited country in this year’s ranking — a clear reversal from previous editions.
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