In regards to the upcoming union budget, a recent KredX report has advised the Government of India that there are many different elements that need to be considered in the growth of B2B payments; with the country’s increasing digitalisation being one of the major factors.
KredX, an integrated financial solutions provider, has released an analytical report that reveals the true impact of the pandemic on B2B payments. The report is based on the company’s own real-time research and analysis.
In its report, KredX recommends that the government may need to approach this sector differently in order to inject it with liquidity in the soon-expected union budget.
Its analysis has been categorised broadly under eight industry segments: Offline-Retail, Manufacturing, FMCG, Infrastructure, Online-Retail, Logistics, IT Manpower (White Collar), and Automobiles (Two Wheeler OEMs).
While highlighting the challenges of the industry, Manish Kumar, CEO, KredX comments: “Every sector has a different liquidity problem, and the pandemic escalated those challenges in some industries more than others. Therefore, considering that there are now various payment scenarios in every industry, the Government might have to look at the sectors differently while coming up with financing or other schemes to infuse liquidity in them.”
One clear trend that stands out from the analysis is that payment terms have deteriorated significantly, except for two segments. The most significantly impacted segment was the Offline-Retail where the payment terms increased from 66 days prepandemic, to around 149 days postpandemic.
As the report states: “With India moving towards a cashless economy, the cash-driven MSMEs need to understand the significance of digitalisation and adopt tech-driven solutions to manage their payment terms. Digital transformation has touched every inch of the supply chain, and payment terms are no exception.”
