Although 64% of surveyed companies experienced payment delays in 2025, the average payment term itself lengthened from 46.2 days in 2024 to 54.1 days. These are the conclusions of the 10th edition of the payment survey conducted by Coface in January 2026, based on responses from 326 Polish companies. What explains these seemingly contradictory findings, which sectors faced the most difficult payment conditions, and how do businesses view the future?
Poland’s GDP grew by 3.6% in 2025. The Polish economy remained one of the fastest-growing large economies in Europe. Strong domestic demand continued to support overall economic growth, even despite the weaker performance of Germany, Poland’s main trading partner. In addition, thanks to improving macroeconomic conditions, Coface upgraded Poland’s risk assessment to A3, indicating a more stable and favorable business environment. At the same time, however, many companies in 2025 continued to struggle with numerous challenges, including pressure on margins caused by rapid growth in unit labor costs and still-elevated interest rates. Competition from Chinese companies flooding the European market also remained a significant issue for Polish businesses. These factors had a major impact on payment behavior in 2025.
Payment terms are becoming increasingly flexible
In 2025, short payment terms, meaning those below 30 days, remained the dominant practice, used by 35% of surveyed companies. However, more and more businesses were willing to allow longer repayment periods. The average payment term reached 54.1 days in 2025, the highest result ever recorded in the history of the Coface Payment Survey. This suggests that Polish companies are characterized by very strong financial liquidity.
“A similar trend can be observed in Germany,” says Dr. Mateusz Dadej, Chief Economist at Coface for Poland and the Central and Eastern Europe region. “Given the strong trade ties between the Polish and German economies, it is reasonable to expect payment behavior in both markets to influence each other. As a result, it is not surprising that ‘market practice’ became the most frequently cited reason for offering longer payment terms, selected by 29% of respondents compared with 20% in the previous edition of the survey. At the same time, ‘market competition’ is no longer among the main factors influencing decisions on payment terms,” the expert adds.
The longest payment terms were offered by companies in the metals sector (72 days), ICT (63 days), and construction (59 days). By contrast, two sectors – textiles and clothing (45 days) and transport (55 days) – shortened their payment terms compared with 2024.
Payment delays
Coface experts point to a deterioration in payment discipline. This means that despite the extension of offered payment terms, the share of companies encountering delays stood at 64%. The average delay period, meanwhile, was 53 days. This is the highest level since 2021, when the average delay reached 56 days.
Why are payment delays becoming more severe despite clear economic progress? The reason lies in wages, which continue to rise year after year. They are growing faster than productivity, putting pressure on margins and on the overall financial condition of Polish companies. The Coface survey shows that the largest delays occurred in the metals sector (65 days), agribusiness and food (62 days), and construction (59 days).
Competition from China and the payment habits of Polish companies
Imports from China to Poland rose by 11.4% in 2025, while Poland’s exports to China fell by 7.5%. For Polish businesses, growing competition from Chinese firms most often means shrinking margins and, consequently, increasing liquidity constraints. Businesses frequently respond to such pressures by extending the time they take to settle their liabilities. As the survey shows, every second company in Poland already notices the growing presence of Chinese competitors in its market, while among Polish exporters the figure reaches 57%. Another consequence of the rising number of Chinese firms in the European market is the weakening of less efficient Polish companies, which over time may face financial liquidity problems.
“The results of this year’s survey, in which we included questions about competition from Chinese firms for the first time, show that many Polish companies are feeling pressure related to this issue,” says Dr. Mateusz Dadej. “It should be emphasized, however, that the scale of this pressure varies depending on the sector, and some industries remain resistant to it. Still, the ‘China Shock 2.0’ trend may intensify, especially in the context of persistent oversupply in the Chinese economy,” he explains.
Normalization of risks and growing optimism
Although Polish entrepreneurs are looking ahead with optimism – 48% of surveyed companies expect their business activity to improve – they also see challenges that may negatively affect their operations.
“Intensifying competition has become the most important barrier to doing business, cited by nearly half of the surveyed companies. This represents an increase compared with the previous edition of the survey and signals growing price pressure and market saturation,” says Dr. Mateusz Dadej. “At the same time, the perception of domestic uncertainty has declined. Currently, 34% of companies regard it as a barrier, compared with 43% in 2024. After years of strong macroeconomic volatility linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, companies appear to be gradually experiencing a normalization of business conditions. Geopolitical factors are also playing only a marginal role, which may be due to the relatively limited exposure of Polish firms to trade with the United States,” the expert concludes.
The higher level of optimism among Polish businesses appears justified. Coface already forecasts that Poland’s GDP growth will accelerate to 3.8% in 2026. This growth is expected to be supported by delayed absorption of EU funds, more accommodative monetary conditions, and a favorable external environment. It is worth noting, however, that the survey was conducted before the escalation of the conflict between Iran and the United States, which may affect the current expectations and concerns of businesses.
