Electronic invoicing is still lagging in Asia, says a report from financial research and consulting firm Celent.

Electronic invoicing is designed to be a low-cost transaction processing system, that uses IT to transform a manual and paper-oriented billing process into a faster and more efficient electronic version of data messaging and record keeping.

But electronic invoicing in Asia is at "a very nascent stage", says Celent. This is due to a number of reasons, including few regulatory frameworks, a lack of established standards, tax impediments, few government initiatives, and no understanding of the overall system among participants in the trading chain.

The report says the main volumes of electronic invoices exchanged in Asia come from the business-to-consumer segment, and business-to-business invoices electronically exchanged are just beginning to emerge.

According to estimates, North America and Europe account for 35% and 56% of the e-invoice market respectively, while Asia accounts for only 7%.