Business payments, falling times but rising delays
According to Cerved, the average payment times of Italian companies will fall in 2025: large from 76.71 to 73.21 days, medium from 65.11 to 63.20, small from 60.04 to 56.85, micro from 52.26 to 50.20. But compared to 2024, delays are increasing for micro, small and large enterprises, while they are only decreasing for medium-sized ones
Key points
- Large enterprises: average times down, but still the longest
- Medium enterprises: time drops and delays improve
- Small enterprises: faster payments, but growing delays
- Microenterprises: lowest times ever, but punctuality worsens
- Worsening sectors: agriculture, fashion and chemical-pharmaceutical
- Improving sectors: transport, logistics and the housing system
- Geography of delays: Centre worse, North West better
In 2025, Italian companies will pay on average in less time than two years earlier, but they will not become more punctual. This is the picture that emerges from Cerved's latest Payment Observatory, which analysed the payment habits of companies throughout 2025, comparing them with the two previous years and with a specific focus on the fourth quarter of 2025.
The main finding is twofold. On the one hand, overall average payment times are decreasing in all size classes. On the other hand, the improvement does not automatically translate into greater punctuality: compared to 2024, the number of days of delay increases for micro, small and large enterprises in 2025. Only medium-sized companies show a decrease in delays.
Large enterprises: average times down, but still the longest
Large companies continue to be the ones that pay in the longest average time. According to Cerved, in 2023 the average was 76.71 days, while in 2025 it drops to 73.21 days. The figure thus indicates an improvement over the period considered, but also confirms that as the size of the company increases, the overall payment period increases.
Medium-sized enterprises: delays are falling and improving
Among medium-sized companies, average payment times decrease from 65.11 days in 2023 to 63.20 days in 2025. This is the only size class that not only shows a reduction in overall time, but also a decrease in delays compared to 2024.
Small enterprises: faster payments, but growing delays
For small enterprises, the average payment time drops from 60.04 days in 2023 to 56.85 days in 2025. Again, however, the improvement in overall time does not coincide with greater punctuality: in the comparison with 2024, the number of delayed days is increasing.
