Singapore firms’ payment delays worsen for third straight quarter in Q3: SCCB

[SINGAPORE] Payment delays among Singapore companies increased for the third consecutive quarter in the third quarter of 2026, driven by rising slow payments in the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.

Data released on Tuesday (Oct 6) by the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) showed that slow payments, which refer to when less than 50 per cent of total bills are paid within the agreed terms, accounted for 44.47 per cent of total payment transactions in Q3.

This represents a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.02 percentage point from the second quarter, and a 0.01 percentage point increase year on year.

SCCB, a subsidiary of Credit Bureau Asia, compiles its quarterly data by monitoring more than 2.4 million payment transactions from local companies.

Prompt payments, defined as 90 per cent or more of total bills paid within agreed terms, edged up by 0.01 percentage point quarter on quarter, to 41.05 per cent in Q3.

Partial payments, when between 50 and 90 per cent of total bills are paid within the agreed payment terms, fell by 0.03 percentage point over the same period to 14.48 per cent.

SCCB CEO Audrey Chia said that the ongoing trends highlight financial strain on local businesses. “While overall payment performance showed marginal shifts this quarter, the continuous rise in payment delays for three consecutive quarters, particularly within manufacturing and construction, underscores the lingering cash-flow pressures faced by local companies,” she added.

Three of five sectors with higher slow payments

A sectoral analysis showed that three of five sectors tracked experienced higher quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year slow payments.

The construction sector recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of rising payment delays, remaining the sector with the highest proportion of slow payments at 55.88 per cent, up 0.04 percentage point from Q2.

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This increase was largely due to payment delays in the building and heavy construction segments, as well as by special trade contractors.

The manufacturing sector also had slow payments increase for a fourth consecutive quarter, rising 0.05 percentage point quarter on quarter to 39.99 per cent, driven by delays from manufacturers of metals, transportation equipment, petroleum and coal products.

Payment delays in the retail sector climbed 0.04 percentage point from Q2 to 43.36 per cent, marking a third consecutive quarter of increases.

This was attributed mostly to an increase in slow payments by retailers of furniture and home furnishings, building materials, garden supplies and automotive products.

Conversely, the services sector recorded a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.02 percentage point in slow payments, to 42.68 per cent, fuelled by fewer delays in business services, educational and legal services.

Wholesale trade also registered a 0.03 percentage point drop on the quarter in slow payments to 40.42 per cent. The decline was due to a decrease in slow payments by wholesalers of both durable and non-durable goods.

“As businesses navigate ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, maintaining robust credit risk assessment and proactive receivables management will be critical in ensuring long-term viability,” noted Chia.