Thirteen of 56 countries that have mandated electronic invoicing are located in Asia Pacific, with Singapore the next to make the transition.

Asia, like Latin America, has moved towards e-invoicing in response to government. initiatives. In North America and Europe, the movement was led by the private sector. It explains partly the differences in adoption rates.

More and more Asia Pacific government are making positive steps towards B2G e-invoicing by digitising trade documents, creating governmental/public e-procurement portals and allowing third parties to add value by storing and or providing early payments on e-invoices.

A spotlight on Singapore

Singapore is one of the few nations in the Asia Pacific region to have mandated the practice of e-invoicing. Since May 2008, e-invoicing has been mandated by the government for their suppliers. Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority recognises that businesses can store e-invoices for the purpose of record keeping.

E-procurement for the private sector came into being in 1994. Called SESAMi, the firm was established in 1999, and is now the largest of its kind in South East Asia, hosting 15,000 suppliers and 5,000 large buyers.