Paying bills is taking longer

Most industries are taking between two and three weeks longer than the standard 30-day trading term to pay their bills, a survey shows.

Dun & Bradstreet's latest Trade Payments Analysis showed businesses took an average of 47.8 days to pay their bills in February, up from 45.2 days at the same time last year and well over the standard 30 days.

D&B New Zealand's managing director, John Scott, said the growing lag in bill payments could have serious repercussions for businesses.

"The increasing trend of extending payment periods needs to be addressed, otherwise it will continue to play havoc with the stability of the SME (small to medium enterprise) market and New Zealand's business market at large," Scott said.