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The PYMNTS Intelligence Working Capital Efficiency Index fell 6% to 51.6 in its 2026 North American edition, its first decline in the series. Early customer payments dropped sharply, and companies increasingly used credit to manage cash timing rather than fund planned growth. The report says top performers maintained more predictable financing needs and were more willing to let AI make treasury decisions.
Working capital efficiency fell for the first time in the PYMNTS Intelligence index, dropping 6% to 51.6 in its 2026 edition as North American firms received fewer early customer payments and turned more often to credit. The findings suggest that many companies have shifted from using working capital to support planned growth toward managing uncertainty about when cash will arrive.
The fourth edition of the Working Capital Efficiency Index surveyed CFOs and treasurers at North American companies with annual revenue of $50 million to $1 billion. PYMNTS Intelligence said the series now covers nearly 1,000 finance leaders over four years. The index score fell 6% from the prior edition to 51.6, reversing three years of gains, according to the report.
Customer payment timing was the sharpest change. The share of receivables arriving early fell to 12%, from 35% in the previous edition. Two-thirds of receivables now arrive on the due date, while late payments changed little. Seven in 10 firms said uncertainty about when customer money would arrive was a consequence of payment behavior, up from 46% in the prior edition.
Supplier payments and borrowing patterns also shifted. Early payments fell to 17% of payables from 37%, and planned growth as a reason for borrowing declined to 28% from 33%. Meanwhile, firms reporting unpredictable financing needs more than tripled. Use of external working capital solutions reached 83%, a series high, with 61% of firms using at least two. Bank credit lines rose to 69% of solution users, while working capital loans fell. The report said supplier integration was the only one of the four index behaviors to improve.
Cash Timing Reshapes CFO Decisions
The reported shift matters because it changes the role working capital plays in company planning. When early customer receipts become less dependable, businesses may have less room to pay suppliers ahead of schedule, capture early-payment discounts or commit cash to expansion. The index data connect that change in receipts with a drop in early supplier payments, though the report does not establish that one change alone caused the other.
Companies are using more external financing even as the report says policy rates are lower than when the index began. That pattern points to cash availability and timing as a more immediate concern than the cost of borrowing, according to PYMNTS Intelligence. Lines of credit and cards can provide access to funds as needs arise; the report describes their increased use as consistent with companies bridging timing gaps. It does not provide company-level borrowing costs or show how the added financing affected profits.
The figures also distinguish firms by how well they can anticipate financing needs. PYMNTS Intelligence reported that 70% of top performers had financing needs that stayed constant through the year, compared with 3% of bottom performers. Their cash conversion cycle averaged 39 days, compared with 63 days for bottom performers. Those gaps suggest that forecasting and operating predictability may matter alongside access to financing tools.
Early Receipts Anchored the Index
The first three editions described middle-market companies using working capital to support growth. In the report’s account, firms paid suppliers early, captured discounts, integrated suppliers into payment systems and borrowed to fund plans already in motion. The 2026 results mark a reversal in several of those measures: early receipts and early supplier payments declined, and fewer firms cited planned growth as a reason to borrow.
The report links the change to customer payment habits: customers generally continued paying, but more paid on the due date instead of ahead of it. PYMNTS Intelligence said that for three editions, the share of payables paid early tracked the share of receivables received early within three percentage points. That historical pattern is context for the new results, not proof that the same relationship explains every company’s decisions in 2026.
Other pressures appear in the survey. Tariffs doubled as a reason to replace a supplier, and one in six suppliers was replaced in the 12 months covered, a series high. The report also notes that policy rates were lower than when the index series began, while borrowing increased. These figures provide context for the survey’s findings; they do not isolate the effect of tariffs, interest rates or any single factor on working capital decisions.
““The binding constraint is the timing of cash, and the price of it is secondary.””
— PYMNTS Intelligence, in the 2026 Working Capital Efficiency Index
Forecasts and AI Results Remain Open
The index describes survey responses and reported company practices; it does not establish that reduced early payments caused the full decline in the score. The material provided does not specify the exact field dates, respondent count for this edition, survey weighting or margins of error. It also does not break out results by industry, company size or country within North America, limiting what can be inferred about particular firms.
The report says every top performer and 97% of bottom performers use artificial intelligence in treasury, at similar depth. It reports clear returns on AI at scale for 26% of top performers and 14% of bottom performers, but the supplied material gives no definition of “clear returns,” measurement period or method for attributing results to AI. The figures show reported differences, not evidence that AI use itself produced stronger working capital performance.
How durable the 2026 shift will be is also unknown. The report frames the next edition as a way to assess whether this year’s decline was a pause or a new baseline. Until then, the survey cannot show whether customer payment timing will change again or whether firms will continue using credit primarily for cash flow management.
Next Index Will Test the Shift
PYMNTS Intelligence says a fifth edition of the index is expected to provide the next comparison. It should show whether the decline continues, stabilizes or reverses, and whether early receipts and supplier payments move together again. The supplied report material does not give a publication date for that edition.
For finance leaders, the report identifies predictability as a possible route to making early supplier payments affordable even when customers pay on the due date. It says top performers were more likely to let AI forecast shortfalls: 93%, compared with 69% of bottom performers. Nearly six in 10 top performers said they would allow AI to decide when to draw on a credit line, and one in five would allow it to execute a transaction above $100,000. No bottom performers said they would permit that level of transaction authority.
Those figures describe reported willingness, not evidence that automated decisions have already improved results across the market. The report also says CFOs ranked an advisory relationship above any specific product when asked what they want from banks. Whether banks respond with more forecasting support, and whether companies adopt greater automation, remain developments to watch alongside the next index results.
Key Questions
What happened to the Working Capital Efficiency Index?
PYMNTS Intelligence reported that the index fell 6% to 51.6 in its 2026 edition, its first decline in the series.
Why did the report say working capital became harder to manage?
The share of receivables arriving early fell to 12% from 35%. More companies said uncertainty about the timing of customer payments affected them, while early supplier payments also declined.
How are firms financing cash flow needs?
External working capital solutions were used by 83% of firms surveyed, a series high. The report said bank credit lines rose among solution users, while working capital loans fell.
What separated top-performing firms in the survey?
PYMNTS Intelligence reported more stable financing needs and shorter cash conversion cycles among top performers. It also found they were more willing than bottom performers to let AI forecast shortfalls and make treasury decisions.
When will it be clear whether the decline will continue?
The report says a fifth edition will provide another comparison, but the supplied material does not state when it will be published. The 2026 findings alone do not establish whether the decline will persist.
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