Chart of the Day: Prompt payments slide 7.6pp to 50.07% in 2014

Despite a rebound after 3 consecutive quarters of decline.

Business may be getting back on their feet, but not quite yet as compared to 2013’s performance.

According to Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB), payment performance rebounded for the first time after three consecutive quarters of sustained decline. Approximately half of the payment transactions were made on time as the proportion of prompt payments sprung back to the 50 per cent mark since Q4 2013, when prompt payments hit an all-time peak of 57.73 per cent.

However, year-on-year (y-o-y) prompt payments moved in the opposite direction as they declined by 7.66 percentage points, from 57.73 per cent in Q4 2013 to 50.07 per cent in Q4 2014.

The proportion of payment delays also fell below the 40 per cent mark in Q4 2014, as compared to Q3 2014 when more than two-fifths of payment transactions were overdue.

The statistics also showed that overall prompt payments jumped by 4.10 percentage points from 45.97 per cent in Q3 2014 to 50.07 per cent Q4 2014. The improvement in overall prompt payments marked a reverse in downtrend which was seen since Q1 2014. H

Slow payments have also taken a turn for the better as it slipped moderately by 3.03 percentage points from 41.92 per cent in Q3 2014 to 38.89 per cent in Q4 2014. This also marks the first time that the uptrend in payment delays has been overturned since Q4 2013. However, SCCB notes a deterioration in y-o-y slow payments as it climbed by 6.05 percentage points from 32.84 per cent in Q4 2013 to 38.89 per cent in Q4 2014.

Meanwhile, partial payments decreased for the first time after eight consecutive quarters of increase, slipping marginally by 0.73 percentage points from 12.11 per cent in Q3 2014 to 11.03 per cent in Q4 2014. On a y-o-y basis, partial payments edged upwards by 1.60 percentage points from 9.43 per cent in Q4 2013 to 11.03 per cent in Q4 2014.