// definition
Payment arrears
Overdue payment obligations
Short definition
Amounts due that remain unpaid after the applicable deadline. For public procurement, delivery, invoice validation, the due date and settlement are separate stages. A claim awaiting validation cannot automatically be counted as recognised arrears.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Intuition
Once the payment deadline passes, the supplier’s cash finances its customer’s delay.
Primary sources
- Flynn and Pessoa, IMF, 2014Definitions and arrears-clearance strategies.