International trends in e-invoicing
In today’s dynamic global economy, more and more countries are moving forward in their adoption of e-invoicing systems as they feel the pressure to drive digitization to support businesses. With global issues like trade deal renegotiations, fluctuations in currency exchange, and so on, it makes sense that countries are investing in technology like e-invoicing to reduce some of the friction that occurs within global trade.
In fact, a recent research paper from Billentis forecasts growth in the use of electronic invoices in 2017 across most regions of the globe, with Latin America accounting for the highest projected growth rates. The study also provides the following insights related to adoption of e-invoicing and e-billing, divided by region.
North America
Direct exchange of e-invoices among trading partners is still a defining feature in the North American market. In addition, the volume of e-invoices in the B2B sector is expected to rise by 20% in 2017. The U.S. government will also drive adoption of e-invoicing as all businesses must use e-invoicing protocols with the federal government by 2018.
Latin America
Most governments within Latin America have already mandated the use of e-invoicing. This plays a significant role in their higher growth rates of e-invoices as compared to the rest of the world. The next step in reducing friction in invoice-related transactions in Latin America is the mandate to make all fiscal documents electronic-format only.
Europe
The projected growth rate of e-invoices for Europe is roughly on par with North America. EU directives are in place that mandate over 300,000 public administrations to become “e-invoicing and e-procurement ready” through 2018/2019.
Asia Pacific
Although there are many different initiatives in place to encourage frictionless e-invoicing adoption, the APAC region still lags behind the major world markets in its projected growth rates for the use of e-invoices. This region still lacks the type of widespread e-invoicing legislation seen in many other parts of the world.
