Prompt payments tumbled to record low in Q1 as cash-strapped firms dodge shrewd creditors

More than half of payment transactions were delayed.

Local firms turned in an unprecedentedly low payment performance in the first quarter of 2015, the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB)’s latest payment statistics showed today.

The latest figures showed that less than two-fifths of payment transactions were prompt while payment delays made up slightly more than half of the payment transactions in Q1 2015.

The weaker showing stands in contrast to Q4 2014 when prompt payments accounted for nearly 50% of the payment transactions and slow payments less than 40% of payment transactions.

The SCCB noted that today’s print ended hopes of further improvement from a slightly better payment performance in Q4 2014 as overall payment promptness took a dive into a near double-dip last quarter. 

“The latest payment performance for Q1 is certainly one of the worst quarters we have seen since Q2 2012 when slow payments were at a historical high of 53.80 per cent. With prompt and partial payments on the decline last quarter, the overall weak payment performance marks a difficult time for cash-strapped local firms in fulfilling their debt obligations with their creditors." commented Audrey Chia, D&B Singapore’s Chief Executive Officer.