Coface sees reasons for cautious optimism in Germany

(CONNECT) Payment behavior in Germany has deteriorated slightly since the previous year. In the ninth edition of its Germany Corporate Payment Survey 2025, which covers payment practices in Switzerland’s neighboring country, the global credit insurer and risk manager Coface has observed a significant increase in demand for longer payment terms against the backdrop of increasing political uncertainty and geopolitical risks.

A “remarkable” 84 percent of the 847 German companies surveyed between May and June are granting more generous payment deadlines to their suppliers, which represents the highest figure since 2016. Companies operating both domestically and in export business received requests of this kind on a particularly frequent basis. The share here has risen from 81 to 93 percent since the previous year.

The proportion of companies experiencing payment delays has grown from 59 percent in 2021 to 81 percent in 2025, whereby the sharpest increase was recorded in financial advisory services (+10.3 days). Conversely, the most significant fall in this regard was registered in the transportation sector (-4.5 days). The average duration of payment delays increased by one day to 31.8 days. While payment practices have deteriorated, the value here remains significantly below the pre-pandemic average of 39.7 days and still represents the lowest value among all countries surveyed by Coface.

In 2025, a total of 12 percent of the companies surveyed reported that payment arrears accounted for more than 2 percent of their annual turnover. The construction sector was the most affected in this regard, with 24 percent of companies attesting to this. From Coface’s perspective, it must be considered alarming that, for 2 percent of all respondents, overdue receivables accounted for more than 10 percent of their annual turnover. However, there is some good news as well, with the financial risk having fallen in 8 out of 12 industries.

Since 2025, the construction industry has again been the sector with the shortest payment terms, with 81 percent of companies in this sector demanding that invoices are settled within 30 days. The finance and consulting sector recorded the sharpest decline here, at -13.3 days on average. Deadlines were actually extended by the wood industry (+8.1 days) and the metal sector (+4.1 days). Taking all the various indicators into account, the construction sector, which has been in recession since the beginning of 2021, is the industry confronted by the worst payment behavior.

Overall, Coface sees grounds for cautious optimism: While 48 percent of respondents last year expected their business situation to deteriorate, with just 9 percent anticipating an improvement (-39 points), the balance improved to -17 points in 2025. Looking ahead to 2026, this value even jumps into positive territory (+16 points). The most dramatic turnaround can be seen in the transport sector: In 2025, it ranks among the most pessimistic sectors (-47 points), but actually leads the way in terms of optimism, just ahead of the metals sector, for 2026. It is only the paper and packaging industry that remains predominantly pessimistic.

Given the increasing political uncertainty around the world, Germany is now more frequently being highlighted as the most promising market. In this way, the country could stand to benefit from a moderate “safe haven effect”. According to Coface, it seems that this trend is also beginning to be extended to the EFTA countries of Switzerland, Iceland and Norway, which are increasingly being seen as stable alternatives. The USA, which was cited as the most promising market by just 9 percent of respondents, can be considered as the biggest loser in this year’s popularity ranking.

Coface has been supporting Swiss companies in their international development since 1995 and operates locations in both Zurich and Lausanne. ce/mm