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How Technology Is Simplifying Collections

8/18/2021

Like virtually every other enterprise on the planet, the collections industry has benefitted from the latest technological advancements...

How Technology Is Simplifying Collections

Advanced Tools Generate
More Productive Contacts

Like virtually every other enterprise on the planet, the collections industry has benefitted from the latest technological advancements.

Today’s collection agents can contact more consumers and recover more receivables than ever dreamed possible just a few decades ago. Improved analytics, better communications and consumer access systems, enhanced security features, and more robust compliance solutions have all been added to the modern debt collector’s technical resources.

These tools streamline the entire process, making debt recovery simpler and easier.

Let’s Talk (or Not)

With the latest communication technology debt collectors can contact large numbers of patients or other consumers in a fraction of the time, and in an unintrusive manner. Here are a few examples:

Voicemail drops send ringless messages to a consumer’s phone, allowing him to respond on his own timetable.
Automated contact processes reflect a patient’s preferred mode of communication.
Artificial intelligence provides agents with real-time analysis to help them steer a telephone conversation in the right direction, improving the consumer relationship and potentially expediting the payment process.
Consumers who prefer not to speak with an agent at all have the option of online payment portals and mobile apps. In fact, some portals even allow patients to defer payments or adjust their payment terms.

Regulation F
A revision to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), known as Regulation F, focuses on debt collection communications. It is currently scheduled to become effective in November 2021. However, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has proposed extending the effective date of this new regulation to January 29, 2022.

A component of the new federal rule addresses the use of more modern communication channels (e.g., email, texting) and requires that debt collectors capture their consumers’ communication preferences, whether they be traditional or electronic. (See box at right, “Text Me.”)

What’s in Your Data?

Improved data analytics allow collection agencies to learn more about consumers and their payment behaviors. These analytics are based on machine-learning algorithms that can process large amounts of data, including call times, call effectiveness, language preferences, and collection rates.

"Text Me"

About 70% of U.S. consumers prefer that businesses contact them via text rather than phone calls, according to a 2019 survey. In addition, almost two-thirds of the survey respondents indicated they’d switch to a company that offered text messaging as a communication channel.

Among the types of texts that consumers prefer are appointment and payment reminders.

Other surveys have revealed that text messages are opened nearly 100% of the time, and almost 90% of recipients open and read a text within 30 minutes of receiving it.

Source: PR Newswire

Analytics tools help streamline the collections process, enhancing both effectiveness and efficiency. For example:

Identifying the best time of day to contact individual consumers improves overall efficiency.
Determining the time of month when a given consumer is most likely (or most able) to make a payment results in more productive calls.

Debt collectors also use predictive analytics to identify and flag high-risk individuals based on their profile or credit history. They can then create customized incentives as a means of preventing delinquency on those accounts. In addition, some sophisticated analytics programs allow agencies to classify consumers into “microsegments,” for which they can then design more targeted and effective interventions.

Navigating the Compliance Minefield

The regulatory environment for collection—particularly, medical collection--is complex and ever-changing. For the untrained or inexperienced, it can quickly become a minefield.

Medical debt collectors have access to both patient records and sensitive financial data. Relying on advanced technologies can help ensure strict compliance with HIPAA, the FDCPA, and all other federal and state regulations.

Compliance platforms offer code-driven solutions that can range from supporting collection agents to operating virtually without agent intervention. Agencies can quickly identify, investigate and resolve any potential compliance issues. These technologies also automatically generate reports to help reconcile compliance with other aspects of consumer regulations.

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Robust Security Systems

In addition to improved compliance technologies and data analytics, debt collectors use powerful security controls to deter cybercriminal activity and protect consumer data. Cybercrime is becoming increasingly sophisticated; fortunately, security technology has advanced right along with it.

Internet of Things (IoT) security, cloud computing and even artificial intelligence are some of the technology platforms that collection agencies employ to keep information secure and provide their clients with both legal protection and peace of mind. Additional security controls often include end-to-end data encryption and daily backups using redundant virtual computer servers.

At CSC

As “The Accounts Receivable Professionals,” we at CSC know the importance of pairing empathetic collectors with the right technological tools.

Our proprietary data analytics tools allow us to examine consumer payment behaviors, and optimize our recovery strategies.
Every CSC account is scored according to its collectability, ensuring maximum results for our clients.
All CSC data is scrubbed for bankruptcies, deceased consumers and overly litigious individuals.
Our contact systems are connected directly with the USPS, so we know our consumer addresses and phone numbers are current and accurate.
We use a custom-built compliance management system, allowing us to respond proactively to the ever-changing regulatory environment.
Our security controls incorporate cutting-edge firewall technology to safely store sensitive consumer data.