This paper provides a detailed empirical study on the use of advance payments by firms. It establishes that some trade credit theories can also be applied to prepayment. The results, obtained from a large panel dataset, suggest that a series of factors affect prepayments. First, financially stronger customers finance the production of their financially weaker suppliers. Second, advance payments also occur as a response to transaction risk in both domestic and international transactions. Finally, besides financial and warranty reasons, the trading partners' relative bargaining power influences payment terms as well.