Burgenland residents in particular are setting a positive example: a comparison of the different states reveals that Burgenland has the fewest citizens with outstanding debt. Residents of Tirol and Lower Austria also have an especially strong payment history, while Vienna lags behind at the bottom of the state rankings.
As in the previous year, the residents of Burgenland top the table when it comes to the payment of outstanding invoices. To put this into perspective, the proportion of the population with outstanding debt is twice as a high in Vienna as it is in Burgenland. Tirol was able to edge Lower Austria into second place in the state rankings.
Fig.1: Ranking of Austrian states according to the share of the population with outstanding debts.
“Despite these turbulent economic times, it is wonderful to see that the Austrian population exhibits excellent payment practices on the whole. This has a positive effect on the business activities of domestic companies,” explained Boris Recsey, CEO of CRIF Austria. “Nevertheless, every business transaction implies several risks for the company in question, especially if the customer does not know its customers personally and delivers its goods on open account. As a credit reference agency, we believe our primary responsibility is to support the risk management efforts of retail and e-commerce businesses, banks and insurance companies by providing them with relevant credit information.”
Higher outstanding payments among men
“Our study suggests that women are the more reliable customers for Austrian businesses as they generally carry far less outstanding debt than men,” observed Mr. Recsey.
In fact, the average accounts receivable is just under one-third higher for men at approximately EUR 405 than it is for women at EUR 304. Overall, receivables owed by male consumers have remained consistent with the previous year (2014 study: EUR 400), while for women the rate has fallen by 6 percent from EUR 323 to EUR 304.
One particularly positive conclusion to take from the study is that in Tirol average accounts receivable among women has actually decreased by 12 percent. A comparison of the different states shows that both men and women in Tirol have the fewest outstanding invoices in Austria. Conversely, male and female residents of Vienna have the most at EUR 363 and EUR 432, respectively.
Older people demonstrate better payment practices
A breakdown of the study results according to age group reveals the following: the older the consumer, the fewer outstanding invoices they have. Just 0.53 percent of consumers aged between 60 and 84 have outstanding bills. By way of comparison, 12 times as many people are in arrears between the ages of 25 and 29 as those in the 80 to 84 age bracket.
A state-by-state comparison reveals that while in 2014 Vienna residents in the 20 to 24 age range topped the list for overdue repayment of debts, this year the somewhat dubious honor goes to residents of Carinthia between the ages of 20 and 29.
“It is hardly surprising that young people in particular have a poor payment history. This age group has a comparably low income with conversely high consumption requirements,” stated Mr. Recsey in response to the findings.
