Faster Funds by Fiat: A Global Comparison of Payment Timing Regulations

Governments have become more activist about supplier payment timing, using policy to curb cash hoarding by large buyers and to reduce the damage that high interest rates and inflation can impose on smaller suppliers’ working capital. The report frames these interventions through five archetypes: invoice digitization mandates, statutory pricing of delay, fast-track dispute resolution, regulated receivables discounting platforms, and mandatory disclosure of payment practices. 

Readers will learn which design and implementation factors most often determine whether regimes produce measurable improvements in payment speed and adherence to terms, with multiple country examples within each archetype illustrating why approaches succeed or fall short. The report also clarifies where outcomes are typically mixed, including why digitization can standardize processes without reliably accelerating payment, why penalty-based schemes often depend on suppliers to press claims, and how public disclosure can create reputational pressure that shifts payer behavior.

Key questions discussed in this report: 

• Which policy approaches have been the most successful in improving supplier payment times?
• Why do statutory interest, penalties, and late-payment “pricing” often fail to change outcomes in practice, and what fixes improve effectiveness?
• What reporting and disclosure rules create genuine reputational pressure on large buyers?