International debt collection: how to collect from a business customer abroad

Who does what in each phase

Every cross-border claim moves through the same three phases. Most undisputed business invoices are settled in the first one.

How long it takes depends on the country, the debtor and whether the case goes to court. Pre-legal collection is usually counted in weeks; a court case abroad, in months. On Debitura, European cases have a median of 33 days to first payment and 44 days to close.

What international debt collection is

International debt collection is getting an unpaid invoice paid when the customer that owes it is in another country. The claim is usually worked by a collection agency or law firm in the debtor's country, in the debtor's language and under local law: first with letters, calls and payment plans, and only if that fails, through the local courts.

The basics are the same as at home. A debt is due, the debtor has not paid, and you need to prove it. What changes is everything around it: which law applies, which court can rule, how a judgment is enforced, how long you have before the claim expires, and how a debtor expects to be contacted. All of that depends on the country where the debtor and its assets are.

This guide is for businesses collecting from business customers abroad (B2B). New to the topic? Start with what B2B debt collection is and how it works. Collecting from consumers follows stricter rules in most countries; if you have a larger portfolio of consumer claims, contact us.

Domestic vs international debt collection

From unpaid invoice to payment: the route, step by step

Collecting from a customer abroad is a sequence of decisions. Each row names the question you have at that point and the guide that answers it in depth.

The rest of this page gives the short version of each step, so you can see the whole route before you go deeper.

How international debt collection works, step by step

Most cross-border claims follow the same five steps. The first three are pre-legal (also called amicable) collection, and this is where most undisputed invoices get settled. Steps four and five involve courts and cost more, so they are a decision you make, not an automatic next step.

1. Check the claim and collect your evidence. Confirm the amount is due and undisputed, find the debtor's full legal name and registration number, and gather the invoice, contract or order confirmation, proof of delivery and your reminders. Use the checklist in the next section.
2. Send a final demand. A short, firm letter that states the amount, the original due date, the late payment interest you are entitled to and a new deadline. Writing it in the debtor's language helps. Our demand letter templates give you a starting point.
3. Hand the claim to a collector in the debtor's country. A local agency or law firm contacts the debtor by letter, phone and email, in the local language and during local business hours. It negotiates, and can agree a payment plan with your approval. A demand from a licensed local collector often gets a different reaction than a reminder from a foreign supplier.
4. Escalate to court if needed. If the debtor neither pays nor responds, the collector can recommend legal action: a local payment order (a fast, mostly written procedure for undisputed claims), an EU procedure for cross-border claims such as the European payment order, or a full lawsuit if the debtor disputes the debt.
5. Enforce the judgment. A court order only becomes money when it is enforced against the debtor's assets, such as bank accounts, receivables or goods. Enforcement happens where the assets are, through local enforcement officers. If the judgment comes from another country, it may first need to be recognized there: see enforcing a judgment abroad.

What to prepare before you hand over a claim

A collector abroad can only work with what you send. Missing evidence is the most common reason a simple claim turns into a slow one. Have these ready:

• Debtor details: full legal name, company registration or VAT number, address, phone, email and the names of the people you dealt with.
• The invoices with issue and due dates, and any credit notes or part payments.
• The contract, order confirmation or accepted quote, plus your terms and conditions. Payment terms, governing law and jurisdiction clauses matter most.
• Proof of delivery or performance: delivery notes, signed receipts, timesheets, or emails confirming the work was done.
• Correspondence: the reminders you sent, any reply, any promise to pay and any complaint.

If the debtor has complained about quality or delivery, say so up front. A disputed claim is handled differently and usually needs a lawyer's assessment before anyone contacts the debtor. The steps before a claim goes to a collector are in what to do with an unpaid invoice.

Cross-border legal tools inside the EU

Inside the European Union, creditors have procedures that do not exist between most other countries. They use standard forms and can be started without going through a full national lawsuit. Our European payment order guide covers the most used one step by step.

Your rights when an EU business customer pays late

The EU Late Payment Directive gives every business creditor the same baseline (European Commission, Your Europe):

• Businesses have to pay invoices within 60 days, unless they expressly agree otherwise and the terms are not grossly unfair. Public authorities have to pay within 30 days.
• If no payment period was agreed, interest becomes payable 30 calendar days after the customer receives your invoice.
• Statutory interest is at least 8 percentage points above the reference rate, which for euro countries is the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate. For July to December 2026 that gives, for example, 10.52% in Germany, 12.40% in France and 10.40% in Spain and Italy. See late payment interest by country for the full table and a calculator.
• You can claim a flat EUR 40 as compensation for recovery costs, and more in some countries.

Claiming interest and the EUR 40 is not only about the money. Adding them to a demand shows the debtor you know your rights.

Collecting outside the EU: treaties, arbitration and local courts

Between most other countries there is no shared procedure. A few agreements help:

• The Lugano Convention 2007 covers jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between the EU, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Source
• The 2019 Hague Judgments Convention has applied since 1 September 2023 in the EU and Ukraine, since 1 October 2024 in Uruguay and since 1 July 2025 in the United Kingdom. The United States has signed it, but it is not in force there. Source
• The 1958 New York Convention on arbitral awards has 172 parties. If your contracts send disputes to arbitration, an award is often easier to enforce abroad than a court judgment. Source

Without a treaty, a judgment from your own courts has to pass through the debtor's country's own rules on foreign judgments before it can be enforced there. That is one reason most creditors pursue the debtor where the debtor is: the claim is handled under the rules local courts already apply, and the result is enforceable where the assets are. Each route, including the UK after Brexit and the United States, is explained in enforcing a judgment abroad.

For the United States, Mexico, China and other markets outside the EU, the practical route is the same: a collector in the debtor's country first, local courts second. See the United States, Mexico and China pages, or the full list of countries we cover.

Why business debts follow different rules

Most countries protect consumers more than businesses. For a claim on a business customer that usually means fewer formal steps before court, statutory interest and compensation in the EU and the UK, and consumer collection laws that do not apply. The examples below show where the line runs.

• United States. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) covers obligations of a consumer from transactions primarily for personal, family or household purposes (15 U.S.C. 1692a). It does not cover business-to-business debts. For consumer debts, a call is presumed convenient only after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time at the consumer's location (15 U.S.C. 1692c).
• England and Wales. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies when a business claims from an individual, including a sole trader. The debtor gets 30 days to reply to the letter of claim before court proceedings start (Ministry of Justice).
• European Union. The statutory interest and EUR 40 compensation from the Late Payment Directive apply to business-to-business transactions and to public authorities, not to consumers (Your Europe).
• Personal data. When the debtor is a person or a sole trader, their data is personal data. Your collector should process it under a data processing agreement.

Sole traders sit in between: in England and Wales the Pre-Action Protocol treats them like individuals. Our guide to B2B debt collection sets out the differences side by side. Larger portfolios of consumer claims are run as a project with the local partners: contact us.

Invoices in a foreign currency

Claims abroad are often invoiced in euros, dollars or the customer's own currency. Three practical points:

• Claim in the invoice currency. State the amount in the currency you invoiced in the demand, in any payment plan and in any court claim, so there is no argument about the exchange rate.
• Statutory compensation is set in local terms. The EU minimum is EUR 40 per invoice and the UK fixed sums are GBP 40, 70 or 100; other countries set their own amounts. See late payment interest and compensation by country.
• Ask about conversion and bank costs. When money is recovered in another currency, ask which exchange rate is applied and which bank costs are deducted before you are paid.

On Debitura, the partner's remittance statement for each payout shows the amount and currency recovered, the exchange rate applied, the success fee and any bank, processing or currency exchange costs deducted, as set out in the Standard Debt Collection Agreement.

What international debt collection costs

There are three common pricing models, and many providers combine them: a success fee for the pre-legal phase and separate legal costs if the case goes to court. Our guide to debt collection cost covers fee models, what drives the percentage and a worked example.

Rates vary with the country, the claim size and the claim's age, so compare quotes for your actual claim rather than headline percentages. Ask three questions: is anything payable if nothing is collected, who pays court fees if the case escalates, and will legal action start only with your written approval?

Part of the cost can often be passed to the debtor. In the EU you can claim a flat EUR 40 for recovery costs plus statutory interest. In the UK you can claim fixed sums of GBP 40, 70 or 100, depending on the size of the debt, plus statutory interest (GOV.UK). Whether agency fees beyond that can be recovered depends on local law.

On Debitura there is $0 upfront. You pay a success fee only when money is recovered: from 6% in Europe and 7.5% elsewhere, depending on claim size and the debtor's country. The fee is shown before you submit. Claims older than 12 months cost more, and that uplift is also shown before you submit. Legal action is optional, quoted separately and starts only when you accept. See pricing to check the fee for a specific claim.

How to choose a collection partner abroad

A business with an unpaid invoice abroad usually has four options: find and contract a collection agency in the debtor's country, use an agency at home or an international network that passes the case to a local correspondent, sue in its own courts and then enforce abroad, or write the debt off. Whichever route you take, check these points:

• Who works the case locally. Ask which agency or law firm will contact your debtor, and whether it is licensed or registered where the debtor is.
• Language and time zone. The debtor should hear from someone who speaks their language, during their business hours.
• Fees before you commit, including what happens if the case goes to court.
• Your control over escalation. No legal action and no settlement below the full amount without your approval.
• Visibility. You should see case status, messages and payments without chasing updates by email.
• Data protection. A data processing agreement that covers the debtor's personal data.
• Contracts. With debtors in several countries, a separate agreement with each local agency multiplies the admin. One agreement that covers every country keeps it simple.

Red flags: large upfront fees for pre-legal work, promises of a specific result, reluctance to say who works the case locally, and no written agreement.

For a side-by-side view of the providers that collect abroad, with sources, see our comparison of international debt collection providers. What a commercial collection agency does for a business debt is explained separately.

How to prevent unpaid invoices abroad

Late payment is getting more common. Intrum's European Payment Report 2026 surveyed 8,385 businesses across 20 European countries and found that the average share of revenue received late rose from 11.33% in 2025 to 12.13% in 2026. In the same research, 62% said late payments had caused them to fall behind on paying their own suppliers, and the share of businesses requiring customers to prepay grew from 31% in 2020 to 50% in 2026 (Intrum).

• Check new customers before you give credit: company registry, credit report and payment history.
• Put it in writing. Agree payment terms, governing law and jurisdiction (or arbitration) in the contract and get them accepted. Our payment terms guide has sample wording.
• Ask for security from new or high-risk customers: prepayment, a deposit or a letter of credit.
• Keep title to goods until you are paid. A retention of title clause can let you reclaim unpaid goods where local law recognizes it, and a late payment clause makes interest and compensation easier to claim.
• Invoice promptly and correctly, with the right legal entity, and in the customer's language and currency where that helps.
• Remind on a schedule and call before the claim gets old. See our accounts receivable guide for a reminder workflow.
• Know your deadline. Limitation periods run from 3 to 10 years in the countries above, and the clock can start earlier than you expect. See limitation periods for commercial debt.
• Hand over undisputed claims early. Older claims are harder to collect and usually cost more.

How to measure your collection performance

Five numbers show whether your receivables process works, at home and abroad. Track them per country to see where customers pay slowly.

If you collect at volume, debt collection software can track these for you and hand overdue invoices to collection automatically.

How Debitura handles international debt collection

Debitura gets unpaid B2B invoices paid across borders, in 180 countries. You do not have to find an international debt collection agency yourself: we match your case to a vetted local collection agency or law firm in the debtor's country, based on the type of debtor, the claim and how partners perform on our platform, and the partner collects under local law. The standard agreement covers undisputed unpaid invoices and loan repayments in the pre-legal phase.

• One agreement. You sign the Standard Debt Collection Agreement once, and it applies to every country.
• One platform. Every case, message and payment is in one place, and you talk to the partner working your claim directly in the case chat.
• Partner checks. Before a partner joins, we check their license and registration and verify who they are. After that, we follow their results on our platform: how much they collect, how fast they respond and how clients rate them. Partners must resolve open tasks and respond to client inquiries within 48 business hours.
• No Cure, No Pay. $0 upfront. You pay a success fee only when money is recovered: from 6% in Europe and 7.5% elsewhere, depending on claim size and the debtor's country. See pricing.
• Connects to your systems. Submit by CSV import, accounting integrations, Zapier, the REST API with webhooks, or the MCP server for AI assistants.
• Data protection. Debitura acts as your processor, the DPA is signed self-service, and data is hosted on Microsoft Azure in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest.

Domestic claims are welcome on the same terms. Have a larger portfolio of consumer claims? Contact us: we run it as a project, and the local partners agree the terms before any case is uploaded.

More than 5,000 businesses have registered. On European cases, the median time to first payment is 33 days and the median time to close is 44 days. See how it works, step by step.

Key debt collection terms

The terms you will meet most often when collecting abroad.