An email is less intrusive than a phone call, finds N.D. Illinois while granting TrueAccord’s motion to dismiss

By on April 12th, 2023 in Company News, Compliance, Customer Experience, Industry Insights, User Experience

By Katie Neill & Steve Zahn

A court victory by TrueAccord Corp. (TrueAccord) in the Northern District of Illinois continues to showcase the benefits of digital collection as the court found receiving an email about a debt is less intrusive to consumers than receiving a phone call. Messer Strickler Burnette represented TrueAccord and filed the briefing in the case.

In the Branham v. TrueAccord opinion, the court granted TrueAccord’s motion to dismiss finding that the alleged injuries claimed by the plaintiff—undue stress and anxiety, financial and monetary loss, uncertainty as to how to proceed about the debt, and a harm that “bears a close resemblance” to invasion of privacy—are insufficient to establish standing for a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim.

Plaintiff’s Allegations

Plaintiff alleged that TrueAccord violated the FDCPA by contacting her twice by email after having received notice that she was represented by an attorney. TrueAccord had no record of receiving a notice of attorney representation from the plaintiff. However, when deciding on a motion to dismiss like this, the court must rely solely on the facts and allegations in the complaint and consider them as true, whether or not they are.

In the complaint, the plaintiff included a laundry list of alleged injuries suffered as a result of receiving the two emails from TrueAccord. These injuries included:

  • “Actual” financial and monetary loss without any specifics
  • Confusion on how to proceed with TrueAccord’s debt collection attempts due to “misleading statements”
  • Undue stress and anxiety as well as wasted time, annoyance, emotional distress, and informational injuries
  • A harm that “bears close resemblance to” invasion of privacy

Plaintiff Did Not Allege a Concrete, Particularized Injury

In its decision, the court shot down each of these alleged harms and found that the plaintiff failed to properly plead a concrete, particularized injury as the U.S. Supreme Court required in Spokeo, Inc., v. Robins

Specifically, the court found:

  1. Unlike telephone calls, two unwanted emails are insufficient to confer standing and wouldn’t be “highly offensive” to the reasonable person.
  2. Alleged physiological harms (e.g., emotional distress, anxiety, and stress) are abstract harms and not concrete enough to support standing without a physical manifestation of such harms.
  3. Vague and conclusory statements that the plaintiff suffered financial harm without any allegations of facts to support that alleged harm are insufficient.
  4. Attorney fees for bringing suit on a matter cannot be the sole basis of standing to bring the matter; to do otherwise would permit any plaintiff without standing to create it by retaining counsel.
  5. “Wasted time” is not a sufficient harm for standing where no facts are alleged to support the claim.
  6. The risk of an invasion of privacy without an actual invasion of privacy is too speculative and not sufficient to confer standing.

Sophisticated Omnichannel Communication Strategies

This decision is another step forward for the use of email in debt collection as the consumer-friendly way. It also showcases the need for mindfulness when implementing an omnichannel communication strategy. Notably, while the court found a couple of emails are less intrusive than a phone call, it also stated that text messages, voicemail, and calls are different as they “are sufficiently intrusive on an individual’s peace and quiet” to support standing. Using a sophisticated omnichannel strategy helps debt collectors reach consumers at times that are right for the consumer and through the right communication channel, which ultimately creates a non-intrusive consumer experience.

Schedule a consultation to learn more about how email and an omnichannel approach can help their business’s collection efforts today»»

TrueAccord Joins the Visa Fintech Partner Connect Program

By on November 8th, 2022 in Company News

LENEXA, Kan., Nov. 8, 2022 — TrueAccord Corp, a debt collection company using machine learning-powered digital recovery solutions to improve consumer experience, today announced it joined the Visa Fintech Partner Connect program. 

Through Visa Fintech Partner Connect, TrueAccord is Visa Ready certified. This certification helps technology companies build and launch payment solutions that meet Visa’s global standards around security and functionality. This distinction signals that TrueAccord’s debt collection solutions meet Visa standards and broader payments regulations.

“Joining the Visa Fintech Partner Connect program allows TrueAccord to build on its value with existing and potential clients and partners,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord. “With Visa Ready certification, businesses working with TrueAccord benefit from the reliability and credibility that come with Visa Ready’s seal of approval.”

Visa Fintech Partner Connect provides companies like TrueAccord the ability to connect with digital-first, next-generation payments and banking platforms and solutions and open up new possibilities. In a rapidly and constantly evolving landscape of new and compelling financial services providers, connecting with Visa’s curated fintech partners can facilitate collaboration between emerging technologies to enhance digital innovation efforts.

“TrueAccord focuses on delivering better, digital-first experiences for consumers facing financial challenges, which is an important consideration for companies providing financial services, and especially for fintechs,” added Ravanesi. “When a company has invested so much in customer acquisition, retaining those customers when they encounter a more difficult time and maintaining positive customer relationships is key to success. Our solutions enable companies to do that at scale with machine learning.”

Powered by TrueAccord’s tech stack, the product suite includes Retain, a client-branded early-stage consumer engagement platform for managing pre-charge off debt, and Recover, a full-service debt collection solution. Key benefits of both products include a simple, intuitive and effortless-to-use digital platform leading to great user experience, constant A/B testing and optimization to reduce friction and boost conversion rate, infinite scalability, and second-to-none channel deliverability. 

To learn more about TrueAccord and its digital-first collection solutions, visit www.TrueAccord.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 20 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. 

District Court Rules In Favor of TrueAccord

By on September 12th, 2022 in Company News, Compliance, Industry Insights

A reply email with notice of attorney representation applies only to the individual account

A new District Court opinion weighs in on digital debt collection efforts, making clear that a notice of attorney representation provided in reply to an email about an account only applies to that specific account. In Tamika Gilbert v. TrueAccord Corp., Case No.: 1:21-cv-00486, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois, dismissed the case in favor of TrueAccord. This is another in a small line of cases relating to digital collection of debt. See, for example, the case of Greene v. TrueAccord, in which the court upheld TrueAccord’s use of email for the initial notification, also codified in Regulation F.

The Case

Ms. Gilbert sued TrueAccord alleging (1) TrueAccord made a false or misleading statement when it failed to inform her that an account was past the statute of limitations and (2) TrueAccord had contacted her after being informed that she was represented by counsel. After conducting discovery, both Gilbert and TrueAccord filed motions seeking summary judgment – a decision by the court without the need for trial that will be granted only if there are undisputed facts that permit a judgment under the law.

The parties agreed that:

  • TrueAccord emailed Gilbert on January 10, 2021 regarding Creditor A’s account;
  • TrueAccord emailed Gilbert by email on January 19, 2021 regarding Creditor B’s Account;
  • Gilbert’s attorney forwarded to TrueAccord a copy of the collection email regarding Creditor B’s account, stating, “I am representing this consumer. Do not contact her again.”
  • TrueAccord emailed Gilbert on January 24, 2021 regarding Creditor A’s account.

The Ruling

The court ruled in TrueAccord’s favor on two grounds.

First, the court found that Gilbert did experience harm when she said that the emails caused her to “shake with rage.” The Court ruled that these allegations of physical manifestations of harm were sufficient harm to confer standing to bring the lawsuit. While annoyance, stress, or anger are not sufficient harms without more, an alleged physical reaction to the emotion is sufficient harm for Gilbert to have standing to pursue the second claim.

On the merits of the communication-after-notice of attorney representation claim, the Court ruled in favor of TrueAccord and dismissed the claim. The Court found that Section 1692c(a) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits a collector from communicating with a consumer whom it knows to be represented by counsel with respect to such debt. The Court noted that the communication by Gilbert’s attorney was regarding the specific Creditor B account. Absent an express intent to represent a consumer regarding all accounts or a list of specific accounts, TrueAccord’s knowledge was limited to her representation with regard to the Creditor B account only. As the subsequent communication was regarding another account owed to a different creditor where TrueAccord had no knowledge of attorney representation, no violation occurred. TrueAccord did not send any further communications with respect to Creditor B’s account on which TrueAccord knew Gilbert to have counsel.

Second, with respect to the claim that Gilbert was confused by the notice stating that the account had passed the statute of limitations for the purpose of filing a lawsuit (a requirement of law), the court found that Gilbert had not alleged sufficient harm to have standing to bring the first claim. The court noted that Gilbert’s damages were the time lost allegedly contacting an attorney regarding the Out Of Statute (OOS) language. While lost time can be an injury that supports a claim, here the time allegedly lost was time was solely time spent consulting an attorney as doing so would permit anyone to create standing by retaining counsel.

Key Takeaways

This case is important because it reaffirms that attorney representation must be clear to be account specific, not consumer specific. It also adds another in a line of cases finding that a plaintiff must have sufficient harm to have the standing to bring a claim in federal court.

These key takeaways from the ruling help further clarify the parameters of digital debt collection communication for both creditors, collectors, and consumers. This wasn’t just a win for TrueAccord, but for the industry as well.

Want to learn more about the different facets of compliance in collections? Join us Thursday September 29th at 1pm ET for our interactive webinar, The Future of Collections & Compliance, hosted by TrueAccord Associate General Counsel Lauren Valenzuela and Director User Experience Shannon Brown.

Reserve your space now for an interactive discussion on:

  • Cutting edge digital collection compliance
  • The role of the legal team in creating a digital collection strategy
  • How cutting edge compliance drives collection revenue
  • The future of digital compliance

Register now for the upcoming webinar»»

*Steve Zahn serves as TrueAccord’s Associate General Counsel. This blog is not legal advice. Legal advice must be tailored to the particular facts and circumstances of each unique matter.

TrueAccord Digitally Serves 20 Million Consumers on Path to Financial Health

By on July 12th, 2022 in Company News, Customer Experience, Machine Learning, Product and Technology

With more than 20 million consumer accounts serviced through intelligent, digital-first collections products, results show better repayment and happier customers than “call to collect” agencies

LENEXA, Kan., July 12, 2022 — TrueAccord Corp, a debt collection company using machine learning-powered digital recovery solutions, today announced that it has served more than 20 million customers in debt with a digital-first experience. TrueAccord’s customer-centric approach and commitment to creating a positive consumer experience is reflected in its 4.7 Google customer satisfaction rating, customer feedback, and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

TrueAccord’s collection solutions harness machine learning and digital-first communications to deliver a personalized, consumer-friendly experience for those in debt. As is the nature of machine learning, the system dynamically analyzes and refines the approach used for each customer based on their interactions combined with years of previous engagement data in order to deliver the most effective communication treatment. The patented system, HeartBeat, which is now 20 million customer engagement interactions strong since its 2013 inception, continues to optimize with each new customer interaction.

“Machine learning is only as good as its data sources, and with more than 20 million accounts’ worth of engagement data that informs the HeartBeat system, we’re confident that the experiences being delivered are as streamlined and as aligned to consumer preferences as possible,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord Corp. “As a mission-driven company, we prioritize creating better experiences for consumers in debt, and based on our high customer satisfaction and repayment rates, it looks like we’re making significant progress.”

Powered by TrueAccord’s industry-leading tech stack, the product suite includes Retain, a client-branded early-stage consumer engagement platform for managing pre-charge off debt, and Recover, a full-service debt collection solution. Key benefits of both products include a simple, intuitive and effortless-to-use digital platform leading to great user experience, constant A/B testing and optimization to reduce friction and boost conversion rate, infinite scalability, and second-to-none channel deliverability. 

While holding customer experience as a priority, TrueAccord products continue to prove more effective than competitors, as evidenced by client case studies showing 25-35% better performance on accounts using Recover when compared to those placed with traditional agencies, and recovering $17 million in delinquent bills with a 44% paid in full rate using Retain.

To learn more about TrueAccord and its digital-first recovery solutions, visit www.TrueAccord.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 20 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. The TrueAccord product suite includes Retain, an early-stage recovery solution, and Recover, a full-service debt collection platform.

TrueAccord Rolls Out Web Chat in Time for Tax Season

By on March 23rd, 2022 in Company News, User Experience

TrueAccord is an intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that uses the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 16 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience in real-time. Our team takes innovation seriously and works tirelessly to provide product and service features that deliver outstanding results for clients and customers. Here’s what’s new from TrueAccord.

Feature Update: Web Chat

Tax season is upon us and in the debt collection industry that means consumers have access to refunds. According to the National Retail Federation, of the 59% of consumers who are expecting a tax refund this year, 33% plan to spend their refund on paying down debt. For this reason, mid-February through May is considered the most productive time of the year for debt collection with many consumers receiving tax refund money and opting to use this extra cash to catch up on their finances. During tax season, it is important to manage the large volume of inbound requests while also maintaining the quality of customer interactions. 

As a digital-first company, TrueAccord invests heavily in strategic communication with consumers where and when they want it and doesn’t rely on a large call center operation. With an expected increase in inbound communications during tax season, the TrueAccord team determined that a digital-first live chat feature would align with customer contact preferences and enable better customer service during peak times.  

To solve for this, TrueAccord launched a custom web chat interface in advance of tax season, which is visible to customers as a chat “bubble” on the consumer-facing web pages. The solution offers myriad benefits to both customers and customer service agents including reducing call volume, improving agent capacity to handle multiple consumers, assisting in managing tax season volume and providing a consumer-friendly self-service option for most commonly asked questions.

The result?

We’ll monitor and analyze how the new web chat feature performs during this year’s tax season, but consumer surveys have shown that web chat is preferred by 41% of consumers over phone, email and social media support, so we anticipate high customer utilization. The expected outcomes of web chat implementation for tax season are:

  • Improved user experience by offering a preferred method of communication
  • Reduced in in-bound call volume 
  • Increased accounts closed rate
  • Managed tax season volume and 
  • Improved quality service levels across all operations communication channels with self service options for most commonly asked questions and inquiries now via web chat

Building a World-Class Recovery & Collection Strategy: The Complete Starter Kit

By on March 7th, 2022 in Company News, Industry Insights
TrueAccord Blog

Delinquencies are a predictable reality for any business that handles payments, but the most efficient and effective way to recover delinquent funds isn’t always as predictable.

A recovery team could theoretically chase down every last delinquent dollar. But it would soon reach the point at which the operational cost of the effort – and the associated legal and reputational risk – would cut into profitability.

With so many factors involved, it can be difficult to even know where to start…

The planning process should start with an in-depth understanding of what makes a world-class recovery strategy in today’s digital-first age, a look at the big picture for your specific industry all the way down to your detailed metrics, and KPIs that should be steering your strategy. Consumers expect a seamless, personalized experience in every financial transaction, and your recovery operations can continue to deliver that all the way through the customer journey when you have the right strategy in place.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to debt recovery and collection, but getting started doesn’t have to be daunting when you have the right resources to get you going.  

Beyond Best Practices and into Actionable Tactics 

Go beyond general best practices and start plugging in your own data with the tools inside our new Recovery & Collection Starter Kit. We have assembled guides, calculators, cheat sheets, and more to provide the frameworks and metrics for your organization to get started architecting the right recovery strategy for the long run. 

Each starter kit includes:

  • World-Class Recovery Guide pick your industry edition!
    • Manage delinquencies without sacrificing consumer experience
    • Balance performance with operation metrics and consumer-focused KPIs
    • Compare, contrast, and evaluate in-house vs partner collection strategies
  • Cheat Sheet: Top KPIs for Your Recovery Operations 
    • Differences between traditional debt collection metrics, digital engagement tracking, operational KPIs, and more
    • New consumer-centric KPIs for today’s most effective recovery strategy 
    • How to calculate profitability of a collection operation using operational metrics
  • Interactive Recovery & Collection Calculator
    • Enter your business’s KPIs to measure the profitability of your recovery
    • Discover opportunities to improve the reach, resolution funnel, and cost effectiveness of your recovery operation
    • Scenario plan how much in additional revenue and cost savings the shift to an intelligent, digital strategy can drive for your business
  • Choosing a Recovery Partner: Top 6 Questions to Ask
    • Detailed questions on communication, technology, risks, and more
    • Why each question matters for both profitability and consumer-experience 
    • Based on each question, what to look for in a potential partner’s responses 

Download your Recovery & Collection Starter Kit now>>

These tools will teach you how to maximize profitability by efficiently recovering money lent to customers or members—while simultaneously maintaining consumer loyalty. Now is the time for businesses across verticals to embrace a disruptive, obsessively consumer-centric mindset for recovery and collection, and experience the results of this new approach. 

Sila Offers Customers Digital Debt Collection Services through New TrueAccord Partnership

By on February 7th, 2022 in Company News, Product and Technology
TrueAccord Blog

PORTLAND, Ore., (February 7, 2022) – Sila Inc., a fintech software platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service, today announced that it partnered with TrueAccord, the leading debt collection company offering intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery solutions, to make it easier for Sila’s customers to use TrueAccord’s products and services. How to deal with delinquent and defaulted accounts is a key element that fintechs need to have in place as part of their overall management of funds. Using a patented machine learning engine and engagement data from millions of customers, TrueAccord delivers a personalized, self-serve experience that drives consumer engagement and industry-leading results. Meeting consumer preference for digital-first services and to cut through the noise and empower customer self-service and inbound communication, TrueAccord uses a range of channels including email, SMS, voicemail drop, and more.

Since its inception, Sila has been laser-focused on providing industry-leading API solutions. As importantly, Sila has been steadily growing its partner network to augment its offering by anticipating additional functionality that Sila customers will need to successfully build their businesses. With the recent addition of TrueAccord, Sila is on path to have agreements with over 40 specialist service providers signed by the end of this quarter.

“Sila is proud to welcome TrueAccord as a partner. We know that our customers will benefit from this key addition to our partner network and from a closer relationship between our two organizations,” said Shamir Karkal, CEO and co-founder, Sila Inc. “Like many of our fintech customers, TrueAccord was founded by an individual who had a sub-optimal experience with a traditional financial institution and decided to do something about it. That’s a mindset that is very close to our own because we started Sila around the idea to provide payment services that allow entrepreneurs to build the new financial world they have in mind.”

“We have worked with more than 16 million consumers on their journey to pay off their debts, and we use that data and feedback to understand how and when to best engage consumers to facilitate repayment. By allowing consumers to create flexible payment plans and by offering modern, digital-first communication channels, we are changing the landscape of debt collection from hostile and harassing to empathetic and helpful,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord Corp. “We are looking forward to bringing to bear our significant expertise for the benefit of Sila’s customers and consumers.”

About Sila

Sila is a fintech software platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service, a business-critical element for all companies that need to integrate with the US banking system and blockchain quickly, securely, and in compliance with applicable US regulation. Sila offers Banking, Digital Wallet & ACH Payments APIs for Software Teams. The firm was recognized as a ‘2021 best place to work in financial technology’. Sila is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information go to www.silamoney.com

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 16 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. The TrueAccord product suite includes Retain, an early-stage recovery solution, and Recover, a full-service debt collection platform.To learn more, go to http://www.trueaccord.com.

TrueAccord Announces Results Confirming Effectiveness of Digital-First Retain Product for Early-Stage Delinquencies

By on January 25th, 2022 in Company News, Machine Learning, Product and Technology

With more than 1 million consumer accounts now managed through the intelligent, client-branded product, results show 40% more effective than leading “call and collect” vendors

LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 25, 2022 — TrueAccord Corporation, a debt collection company offering machine learning-powered digital recovery solutions, today announced results following the September 2021 rollout of Retain, the client-branded product that addresses early-stage recovery challenges for organizations with customers with delinquent accounts. TrueAccord Retain is now being used by creditors to manage more than 1 million consumer accounts and has shown to be 40 percent more effective at repayment than traditional “call and collect” debt collection vendors. 

TrueAccord Retain, which harnesses digital technology and machine learning to deliver a personalized, effective early-stage recovery strategy, significantly outperformed three traditional “call and collect” agencies across several of an anonymous client’s portfolios. Relative to the best-performing “call and collect” vendor for each product portfolio, TrueAccord Retain drove a 24 percent improvement in roll rate, a 28 percent improvement in early-stage gross flow through rate and a 40 percent improvement in late-stage gross flow through rate*.  

“With more than 1 million consumer accounts now being managed through Retain, we’re able to see the robust results of the product on improving early-stage delinquencies for our clients,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord Corp. “The results of our client’s evaluation were unambiguous: Retain’s machine learning-powered, digital-first approach resonated with consumers and drove significant growth for the early-stage recovery business. With a lingering worker shortage, especially in the call center space, we expect these performance numbers to continue to grow as more consumers are brought into the Retain ecosystem in 2022.”

Powered by TrueAccord’s industry-leading tech stack, key benefits of Retain include a simple, intuitive and effortless-to-use digital platform leading to great user experience, constant A/B testing and optimization to reduce friction and boost conversion rate, infinite scalability, and second-to-none channel deliverability. Retain implements e-commerce-based innovations like the focus on digital experience and outreach, machine learning-based personalization, and deliverability at massive scale for early-stage use. 

To learn more about TrueAccord and its digital-first recovery solutions, visit www.TrueAccord.com and follow @TrueAccord on Twitter and LinkedIn.

*This data comes from an anonymous client’s evaluation of performance of different delinquency  approaches  side-by-side. The client randomly assigned credit and retail card accounts to TrueAccord Retain and the other vendors. Key success metrics included roll rate, or the percentage of dollars that became progressively delinquent, and gross flow through rate, or the percentage of dollars that flowed from one delinquency category across multiple subsequent categories.

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 16 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. The TrueAccord product suite includes Retain, an early-stage recovery solution, and Recover, a full-service debt collection platform.

TrueAccord Brings Collections to the Synapse Fintech Ecosystem

By on January 5th, 2022 in Company News
TrueAccord Blog

Collections-as-a-Service offering is seamlessly integrated to service customer debt accounts while delivering consumer-friendly, digital-first experiences

LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 5, 2022 — TrueAccord Corporation, a debt collection company offering ML-powered digital recovery solutions, today announced a partnership with Synapse as an expansion of its Collections-as-a-Service offering. The partnership will bring the best-in-class collection and recovery capabilities of TrueAccord to Synapse’s fintech partners and customer base, integrating collections into the customer-centric fintech ecosystem.

Given the rapid growth in fintech lending and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and the steady rise in delinquencies, consumers are expected to fall behind on their payments and require assistance to repay their debts. Synapse, a BaaS platform that provides the infrastructure and leverages APIs to enable companies to quickly build and launch best-in-class financial services, selected TrueAccord to join their growing tech stack of fintech partners with similar approaches to financial services and customer experience to address the need for debt collection when it arises. 

“We chose to partner with TrueAccord to add debt repayment services to Synapse’s BaaS ecosystem, because it aligns with consumer preference for a frictionless, digital-first financial services experience, especially when they fall behind,” said Sankaet Pathak, Founder & CEO of Synapse. “We want to ensure our customers have a good experience across all aspects of their financial journey, and providing that in collections is just as important for customer retention as it is in origination and servicing.”

Through an API integration, TrueAccord’s Recover debt collection solution will service charged-off debt accrued through Synapse’s lending platform. This will expand the Synapse fintech suite to follow a customer from loan origination to application and all the way through to collections, if needed. Additionally, TrueAccord’s Retain solution for early-stage delinquencies will be available on a referral-basis to the fintech partners in the Synapse ecosystem as an option to help get customers back on track with payments before being sent to collections.

“As a fintech company itself, TrueAccord knows the fintech business and customer better than most, especially in debt collection,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord Corp. “We speak the fintech language of consumer communication preferences, data and machine learning-driven technology, and no credit bureau reporting, offering customers a streamlined and hassle-free way to settle their debts and get back on track with their finances.”

With open banking on the rise, more companies will look for ways to incorporate collections into their service offerings. TrueAccord’s industry-leading Collections-as-a-Service product will enable  fintech innovators to scale their businesses and offer best-in-class recovery with a customer-centric approach.

To learn more about TrueAccord, its API and built-in collections solutions, click here and follow @TrueAccord on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 16 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. The TrueAccord product suite includes Retain, an early-stage recovery solution, and Recover, a full-service debt collection platform.

TrueAccord Names Kelly Knepper-Stephens as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel

By on October 27th, 2021 in Company News, Compliance
TrueAccord Blog

Lenexa, KS – Oct. 27, 2021 – TrueAccord Corporation, a debt collection company offering AI-powered digital recovery solutions, is proud to announce the appointment of Kelly Knepper-Stephens as chief compliance officer and general counsel. TrueAccord started in 2013 as a digital-first collection agency built to fundamentally change collections into a recovery and reconciliation process. TrueAccord was the first to offer digital solutions to the sector and continuously proves itself to be a trailblazer in an industry still dominated by traditional call-and-collect agencies. Knepper-Stephens’ appointment further confirms the company’s consumer-focused mission by tapping into one of the industry’s most sought-after counsel and compliance leaders.

“​​Compliance is at the forefront of TrueAccord’s mission, and Kelly guided the development of our robust digital collection compliance systems,” said Mark Ravanesi, CEO of TrueAccord. “TrueAccord’s investment in compliance is a win-win all around: it protects TrueAccord, it protects our clients, and—most importantly—it allows us to do right by consumers.”

An expert in debt collection law, Knepper-Stephens joined TrueAccord in 2018 as vice president of legal and compliance, where she has focused on civil litigation, government regulation, and compliance.  During her tenure, TrueAccord secured federal court victories showcasing TrueAccord’s legal compliance in two of the main FDCPA court decisions involving the use of email in debt collection: Green v. TrueAccord and Zuniga v. TrueAccord.

“As demonstrated in Regulation F, TrueAccord is the industry leader in email compliance,” Knepper-Stephens said, “I’m excited to join the mission-driven executive leadership team as TrueAccord continues to lead best practices for digital collections and beyond—empowering consumers to resolve their accounts according to their preferences.” 

Knepper-Stephens started her career in the collection space in 2011. Collections Advisor Magazine named her as one of the top 25 Women in Collections in 2016 and top 20 in 2018. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for RMAI, on the Steering Committee for the Consumer Relations Consortium, and as an ACA-certified instructor. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the George Washington University Law School and is currently barred in California, the District of Columbia, Illinois and Maryland.

A key benefit of TrueAccord is the scalability provided by the flexibility of code-based compliance, overseen by Knepper-Stephens and her team to ensure its programming is adjusted to new laws, regulations, and court decisions. The company’s patented machine-learning algorithm, HeartBeat, is augmented by its compliance checker software, mitigating risk by ensuring regulatory requirements are met before sending communications. 

Knepper-Stephens is a Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) certified receivables compliance professional and has earned the Credit & Collection Compliance Officer designation from the American Collectors Association (ACA). Prior to joining the industry, she worked as a Visiting Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School, teaching the Criminal Appellate Clinic, and as a San Diego Public Defender. Her long-standing dedication to helping others plays an integral part in her success.  

To learn more about TrueAccord’s mission and digital debt collection solutions, visit www.TrueAccord.com and follow @TrueAccord on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TrueAccord

TrueAccord is the intelligent, digital-first collection and recovery company that leaders across industries trust to drive breakthrough results while delivering a superior consumer experience. TrueAccord pioneered the industry’s only adaptive intelligence: a patented machine learning engine, powered by engagement data from over 16 million consumer journeys, that dynamically personalizes every facet of the consumer experience – from channel to message to plan type and more – in real-time. Combined with code-based compliance and a self-serve digital experience, TrueAccord delivers liquidation and recovery rates 50-80% higher than industry benchmarks. The TrueAccord product suite includes Retain, an early-stage collection solution, and Recover, a full-service post-charge off recovery platform.