Sidetrade Data Reveals Nearly 40% of Payments Delayed Globally
Analysis from Sidetrade's Data Lake shows 37% of B2B payment cycles are now delayed beyond due dates. The findings cover over 42 million companies and $8 trillion in transactions.
Sidetrade, an Order-to-Cash AI company, released global payment data in February 2026 indicating that late payments now constitute 37% of the payment cycle. These findings are derived from the Sidetrade Data Lake, which analyzes anonymized payment behaviors from over 42 million buying companies involved in more than $8 trillion in B2B transactions.
The data reveals that contractual payment terms alone do not reliably accelerate cash generation for businesses. Globally, companies took an average of 51 days to get paid in 2025. This average is composed of 32 days of contractual payment terms and 19 days of actual payment delays beyond the due date. Sidetrade reports that this shift increases uncertainty in supplier cash-flow forecasting and complicates working capital management.
Significant regional disparities exist. The Netherlands benchmarks globally with an average 40-day payment cycle, including only 12 days of delay. In contrast, India averages 77 days to pay, with 43 days of delay beyond agreed terms. The United States shows an average delay of 25 days, but specific sectors like Financial Services, Insurance, and Real Estate experience delays averaging 27 days.
Europe generally outperforms the United States regarding payment discipline, with an average delay of 18 days compared to the US's 29 days. However, internal EU consistency varies, with the Netherlands and Nordic countries leading, while parts of Southern and Eastern Europe lag. Mark Sheldon, CTO at Sidetrade, stated that late payments are a structural issue reflecting underlying economic pressures and internal order-to-cash processes. Renegotiating terms only addresses the symptoms, he noted.