Turkey: cash sales and credit insurance protect books

Introduction

Turkey’s economy is expected to grow by 9% by end of 2021, supported by the global  economic recovery, strong domestic production growth and strong exports. For our survey on corporate payment practices, we polled businesses in the Turkey's chemicals, consumer durables and steel/metals industries. We found that although late payments and write-offs feature on the books of all three industries, businesses were largely able to keep late payments under control by either avoiding credit altogether (and asking for  payment in cash) or by using credit insurance. As the global economy rebounds further next year, business activity in Turkey and across the world is likely to pick up. However, downside risks remain, and the post-crisis insolvency risk is still high.

Key takeaways from the report

• Businesses polled across Turkey told us they offered trade credit for 51% of their B2B
  sales, up from last year’s 46%. Businesses offering trade credit did so in order to stimulate sales growth and encourage repeat orders.
• As survey results reveal, late payments affect 54% of the total value of B2B invoices and write-offs represent 7%. These volumes have largely held steady over the past two years and have the potential to impact the liquidity levels of businesses.
• In order to minimise cash flow pressures, many of the businesses polled in Turkey told us they spent more time and resources on chasing overdue invoices and sought external financing. 56% of businesses reported deterioration of their DSO (Days Sales Outstanding).
• For a large number of businesses, reliance on their own credit management resources proved costly. Businesses reported incurring increased administrative, capital and collections costs.
• Looking ahead, the vast majority of the businesses we spoke to across Turkey expressed optimism and anticipate growth in 2022 (76%). On a less positive note, a significant number of businesses expect to see a degree of deterioration in customer payment practices, which many plan to mitigate with requests for payment guarantees and trade credit insurance.
• When asked whether the pandemic had permanently influenced their business operations, 62% of businesses polled in Turkey that told us they have permanently integrated some digital innovations, particularly in the areas of home working and
  e-commerce

Interested in getting to know more?

The Payment Practices Barometer report for Turkey gives insights into B2B payment practices and businesses' approach to the management of customer credit risk in the following local industries:

• Chemicals
• Consumer durables
• Steel/Metals

For a complete overview, please download the full country report available in the Related documents section below. The Statistical Appendix and regional Payment Practices Barometer survey results are also available free to download.

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