The regional landscape reflects a difficult balancing act between cash sales and credit terms. While 54% of transactions occur at the point of sale, the remaining 46% rely on credit, leaving companies vulnerable to customer liquidity issues. Silvia Ungaro, Senior Advisor on B2B payment trends at Atradius, notes that sticky inflation and compressed margins are actively eroding the financial stability of firms across the region.

This strain on working capital manifests in four critical ways: reduced liquidity headroom, unpredictable cash flow planning, increased reliance on external financing, and a stall in long-term investment. Businesses are increasingly forced to borrow to cover operational gaps, but rising interest rates threaten to turn this stopgap into a structural liability. As customer credit quality weakens, the feedback loop between delayed payments and higher borrowing costs risks trapping firms in a prolonged period of financial exhaustion.