Category: Machine Learning

One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Debt Collection

By on July 25th, 2025 in Customer Experience, Machine Learning, Product and Technology
The blog title with a picture of a cat sitting in a box that's too small.

What if there was an ice cream shop that only sold vanilla? Just one flavor, offered in one size without any extra options. How much business do you think this shop would get? We know that it’s probably not a profitable business model because it contradicts one of the most important trends seen across countless industries – honoring customer preferences. 

In the debt collection industry, there’s a lot of businesses out there practicing the “single flavor” or one-size-fits-all approach. Customers only get sent notices through one or two communication channels and have a single type of payment option. 

Debt collection solutions shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. If you’re interested in learning how to improve the debt collection customer experience, it starts with finding ways to accommodate more preferences. 

Why Isn’t Personalization More Common in Debt Collection Solutions?

It’s no surprise that consumers have personal preferences that impact their engagement with businesses. One of the most important preferences is how they want to be contacted. While phone calls used to be the go-to method for debt collection, in today’s digital world any unknown number is usually automatically labeled as spam in a person’s mind. 

In the debt collection industry today, there’s no shortage of communication channels. So why do so many debt collection companies go for a one-size-fits-all approach through a more outdated method like phone calls or physical mail? There’s a few challenges that can help explain it: 

  • Content Library Creation: The process of building and managing an extensive digital content library for debt collection isn’t easy, especially given compliance requirements for all the different channels like email, text, self-serve portals. This process requires writers and content experts who understand debt collection solutions and the pain points consumers experience.
  • Lack of Resources: Many debt collection companies lack the resources to build out the strategy and operations for multiple or digital channels.  
  • Not Leveraging AI: Without AI and machine learning, it’s much more challenging to figure out what type of content and channel resonates with each individual and implement customized communications at scale

Just like the scenario we listed above, only offering “one flavor” usually leads to less effective debt collection solutions, lower performance and unsatisfied consumers. 

Improve the Debt Collection Customer Experience with Personalization

The main reason to take a personalized approach to debt collection solutions is to help more consumers repay debts and reach greater financial health. To do that, consumers need to engage with debt collection messages. For starters, 46% of consumers expect companies to reach out to their preferred channels. When this happens, companies see a 10% increase in payments from delinquent customers. But preferred channels aren’t the same for everyone.

With financial matters (including debt collection and bill notifications), people increasingly prefer digital communication channels. In fact, 59.5% of consumers list email as their first contact choice for communication from a company. When you meet someone’s expectations, payment reminders are more likely to be noticed and acted on. While honoring a consumer’s preferred channel is important, it’s not the only customization that can make an impact. 

*Curious to see how it’s possible for your internal collections strategy to achieve personalization at scale in digital channels? TrueAccord’s sister company Retain offers white-label debt collection software so you can spend less to recover more.

Customizing Content Gets Results

It’s common for debt collection companies to have a few sets of communication templates, but the content itself doesn’t change much. But with an eye toward data-driven changes and testing, there’s always an opportunity to adjust content to catch attention and better engage consumers. 

For example, TrueAccord had a client that wanted to improve the performance of debt notification emails. The TrueAccord team created emails that included animated GIFs, an idea supported by machine learning data. This strategy led to a 6% increase in click rates and a happy client that became excited about future tests.

The best debt collection solutions treat content as a living strategy. That means updating content templates on a regular basis and testing new ideas to keep up with shifts in customer preferences. One crucial element that makes this possible are AI tools that measure effectiveness and ensure the content is compliant. 

Personalization is Better with an Omnichannel Approach

An omnichannel approach to debt collection solutions means leveraging a combination of communication channels for consumers to engage with. Every channel like email, text, self-serve portals and more are integrated into a consumer-centric approach. These channels work together to uncover the best option for each individual. 

Beyond simply adding digital channels, companies need to adopt a customized omnichannel debt collection approach to engage consumers through preferred channels. At TrueAccord, this is achieved through a patented machine learning engine called Heartbeat. Consumer engagement with Heartbeat is automated and optimized by data-driven algorithms that decide what timing, message and channel will be most effective for each individual person. 

By finding the right timing, message and channel, your debt collection solutions won’t just help more consumers engage in debt repayment, but you’ll recoup more in a cost-effective way. 

See What TrueAccord’s Debt Collection Technology Can Do

Does your business want to collect more from happier customers? At TrueAccord, we use AI tools to offer a personalized and self-serve experience that honors consumer preferences. To learn more about our industry-leading results, connect with our team today!

Have Consumer Expectations Changed in Debt Collection?

By on July 18th, 2025 in Customer Experience, Industry Insights, Machine Learning
The blog title in front of a person looking at their smart phone.

As recently as 15 years ago, consumer expectations about the debt collection experience looked starkly different than they do today. Back then, people expected debt collection communications to come as a piece of physical mail, and consumers were more likely to answer the phone for an unknown number before spam calls and call labeling and blocking became the norm. Companies who were looking to collect on a debt often used aggressive tactics, and customer satisfaction wasn’t a priority as long as some of the money owed was recovered. 

Now, consumers want empathy, understanding and convenience from the companies they interact with, especially in financial services. These shifts in consumer expectations continue to spark changes in debt collection trends and have led to more businesses investing in digital strategies to better engage with consumers. Join us as we take a more in-depth look at how consumer expectations in debt collection have changed and what it means for your business. 

Customer Satisfaction is a Key Debt Collection Trend 

Consumers today want their problems in financial matters resolved sooner rather than later. A recent survey done by TCN on consumer expectations found that financial companies are seeing a decline in customer satisfaction. One of the main drivers of this trend is people reporting that customer service efforts aren’t solving their problems effectively. A key benchmark used in this survey looked at how often financial service businesses were able to solve customer problems on first contact.

Only 13% of survey respondents said that their problem is always solved the first time they reach out. The more someone is forced to call back or wait for a follow up, the less likely they’ll be to engage with the company moving forward. For debt collection, that means fewer payments the longer a consumer has to wait. These survey findings stem from the debt collection trend of consumers wanting to fix problems on the spot. This notion is part of the reason why self-service portals and mobile apps have become the preferred method of resolving financial matters. 

One key digital debt collection strategy is offering your customers more options that are easily accessible to them. In fact, 59% of consumers in debt want more flexible payment options. If your business is trying to improve its debt collection performance, giving your customers more options will often lead to higher levels of satisfaction. The proof of this digital debt collection trend can be seen with TrueAccord. Roughly 98% of TrueAccord customers resolve their debts with self-serve options and don’t ever interact with a human in the process. 

Preferred Communication Channels for Bill and Debt Notifications Have Changed

Today, there’s no shortage of ways to send customers bills and debt notifications. For many companies out there, these notifications are sent through channels that are convenient and/or familiar to them, which doesn’t always align with consumer preferences. The more in-tune businesses are with consumer preferences, the more likely their communications will be engaged with. For businesses looking to recover debt, that means better collections performance and happier customers. 

Let’s walk through an example. According to the same TCN survey, 47% of consumers prefer to be contacted by email for bill and debt notifications. Around 25% of Gen Z and 22% of Millennial customers prefer to be notified by push notifications through mobile apps. Your digital debt collection strategies need to take these expectations into account to maximize engagement. Even though email was the most desired communication method, every consumer is an individual with their own preferences. 

Some of the best digital debt collection strategies leverage AI and machine learning to test and uncover the best channel for every individual. TrueAccord uses its patented machine learning engine Heartbeat that learns from every customer interaction to determine the best step to take with each consumer. It’s a personalized approach to debt collection where consumer expectations and preferences are at the core of every communication. The result is collecting more from happier people. 

Convenience is King in Digital Debt Collection Strategies

In financial industries like banking and debt collection, convenience has emerged as one of the most important consumer preferences. With how critical messages in these industries often are, consumers want ways to be able to easily address them so the problem doesn’t linger and cause prolonged stress. For further proof of this trend, a recent survey by the American Bankers Association showed that 55% of consumers prefer mobile banking. Only 8% of people surveyed go to a physical branch for their banking needs. 

The consumer trend of wanting more convenience through self-serve options is carried through into the debt collection industry. TrueAccord, for example, has been able to honor this consumer trend with its self-service portal. It’s a low friction way consumers use to pay off debt and should be a key strategy leveraged for digital debt collection. 

Based on research done by McKinsey, consumers who digitally self-serve resolve their debts at higher rates and are much more likely to pay off the debt in full. Plus, the customer satisfaction is much higher with self-service portals compared to making a payment over the phone. These trends emphasize the importance of convenience. But just don’t take it from us, here’s what a real TrueAccord customer had to say: 

“Thank you for being patient and for having a portal that makes it easy to make the payment without filling out a bunch of stuff and having to make an account or something.”

Stay On Top of Consumer Expectations in Debt Collection with TrueAccord

It can be challenging to stay on top of consumer expectations in debt collection. But with the right partner, your business can improve debt collection performance while increasing customer satisfaction. 

TrueAccord is a leading digital debt collection agency that’s powered by machine learning to provide a consumer-friendly experience that honors their preferences. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about how our platform can handle your delinquency needs. 

Beyond the Word “STOP”: Why Businesses Need to Expand How Consumers Can Opt-Out of Communications

By on April 2nd, 2025 in Industry Insights, Compliance, Customer Experience, Machine Learning, Product and Technology, User Experience
TAC Blog Beyond the Word STOP

In today’s digital communication landscape, businesses—especially those that use digital outreach to engage delinquent consumers to collect debts—are facing increasing pressure to ensure they respect consumers opting out of communications from a particular channel.

While the word “STOP” has been a widely recognized method for consumers to unsubscribe from text messages, the reality is that consumers may express their desire to opt out in various ways. And with the advent of accepting MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) replies that allow for multimedia content like images, videos, and audio, along with longer text messages, consumers are bound to get creative.

On top of consumer preferences, new and upcoming regulations from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are making it crucial for businesses to go beyond just the word “STOP” and ensure they have a comprehensive system in place to honor opt-out requests promptly and accurately.

Keeping Up with the Evolving Regulatory Landscape

The FCC is currently revising its rules as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, particularly those that affect automated communications like debt collection calls and texts—a shift in policy could influence how businesses, especially those in debt collection, approach consumer opt-out requests.
Two FCC orders in particular have direct consequences for companies that rely on automated communications, including debt collectors:

1. The 2024 FCC Order:

  • Consumers can revoke consent for robocalls or robotexts in “any reasonable manner,” making it vital for businesses to broaden their opt-out options beyond a single keyword like “STOP.”
  • The revocation applies not only to the channel through which the request was made but also to any other forms of communication at that phone number.
  • Businesses must process these requests promptly, no later than 10 business days.

2. The 2025 FCC Order:

  • This order strengthens rules regarding call blocking, which may affect legitimate debt collection communications. It mandates that service providers block calls they deem “highly likely to be illegal,” based on their internal Do Not Originate (DNO) lists.
  • The risk is that legitimate calls could get mistakenly blocked, disrupting lawful debt collection efforts.

Going Beyond “STOP”: Why It’s Essential for Businesses

As these new FCC orders take effect, why else do businesses need to expand their opt-out processes? Let’s start by looking at existing regulations and requirements along with other factors that can impact an organization’s ability to engage consumers, collect debt, and ultimately their bottom line.

  • Compliance and Legal Risk: By honoring only “STOP,” companies may miss other legitimate opt-out expressions, risking violations of regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Failure to comply can lead to legal consequences and damage to a business’s reputation.
  • Efficiency: In industries like debt collection, where high volumes of communication are involved, a flexible, automated opt-out process can ensure that no consumer request is overlooked. Implementing technology to track and process these requests quickly is key to maintaining a streamlined, efficient operation.
  • Technology and Innovation: The digital age demands businesses use advanced technology to manage consumer interactions effectively. Automating the opt-out process ensures that all channels are updated in real time, avoiding mistakes and minimizing delays.
  • Consumer Trust: Consumers are more likely to engage with a company that respects their preferences and responds to opt-out requests quickly. Offering various opt-out methods and honoring them promptly can significantly improve customer experience.

TrueAccord Leads the Way in Opt-Out Efficacy and Efficiency with RPA Bots

At TrueAccord, we understand that consumer opt-out preferences must be managed with the utmost care. Using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence to automate back-office operations helps ensure compliance, improved customer experience, and a more cost-effective way to engage and collect.

  • Automated Opt-Out Recognition: While many companies recognize the word “STOP” as an opt-out request, TrueAccord’s system goes further. We use AI tools to scan incoming messages for not just “STOP,” but also for variations like “revoke,” “quit,” “cancel,” and even unusual or colorful expressions of dissatisfaction. If a message contains any of these keywords, the bot automatically processes the opt-out request by unsubscribing the consumer from the SMS channel.
  • Real-Time Compliance: Our system, powered by HeartBeat—TrueAccord’s patented machine learning engine—ensures that consumer preferences are respected. If a consumer opts out of one communication channel, we ensure that all future communications to that particular channel are paused, preventing any further contact that could lead to complaints or violations.
  • RPA Efficiency: Thanks to our RPA bots, tasks that once took hours or even days for human employees to manage are now completed in a matter of minutes. For example, our bots can process large volumes of responses, automatically unsubscribing consumers or flagging accounts for further review, reducing the time needed to comply with opt-out requests and ensuring that no request goes unnoticed.
  • Advanced Reporting and Monitoring: We don’t just automate the opt-out process—we also track and report on all consumer interactions. This allows us to maintain a detailed audit trail for compliance purposes, ensuring that all opt-out requests are processed promptly and accurately.

TrueAccord is committed to staying ahead of regulatory changes and technological advancements. As the FCC’s rules continue to evolve, we are constantly refining our processes to ensure we are not only compliant but also providing an exceptional consumer experience.

What Does This Fish Mean to You? Navigating Opt-Outs Through MMS

When it comes to consumers opting out of receiving TrueAccord communications through MMS, consumers can truly get creative: photos, memes, emojis, songs, selfies, and more. While text-based responses can be scanned and filtered, MMS is trickier.

For MMS, the reviews need that human set of eyes. Why? Let’s use this actual consumer reply to a text message from TrueAccord that included the standard “STOP to opt-out” language:

Screenshot 2025 04 01 at 10.38.47 AM

What does this fish mean to you? Specifically in the context of debt collection communications with a business, what action do you think the consumer is trying to invoke?

While there are plenty of words and phrases you can program into a filter or scanner, this fish is not as easy to decipher the meaning. Automation takes the burden of basic reviewing off the shoulders of agents and allows bandwidth for examining the more creative responses and handling them appropriately.

So if your debt collection partner is only using a rudimentary scanner for opt-outs, it’s likely that unique opt-out requests are falling through the cracks—and that’s if that partner even has an automated process to manage replies and responses in the first place.

For businesses looking for a debt collection partner, this is a differentiator between choosing TrueAccord versus a competitor—our system is built on code-based compliance which allows us to communicate with consumers at a scale that’s unimaginable from traditional call-and-collect or DIY collection programs. The more traditional operations that do not have these automated processes are also unable to keep up with the variety of replies consumers send to opt-out. Even if they have automation to send out mass volumes of emails or text messages, do they have automation to handle the volume of replies within regulatory timelines? Do they actually offer efficiency and scalability—or are they opening you up new compliance risks around opt-outs?

Opt-In to a More Efficient and Effective Debt Collection and Consumer Communication Process

In the ever-evolving landscape of consumer protection and compliance, businesses must be proactive in managing opt-out requests. It’s no longer enough to rely on a single keyword like “STOP.” As consumer expectations and regulatory requirements evolve, so too must the tools and technologies used to manage opt-outs. TrueAccord’s cutting-edge automation and machine learning technology leads the way in ensuring that consumer preferences are respected, compliance is maintained, and operations remain efficient.

By embracing a more comprehensive, technology-driven approach to managing opt-outs, businesses can build trust with their customers, reduce legal risks, and stay ahead of the regulatory curve.

Ready to opt-in to a more efficient and effective debt collection and consumer communication process? Schedule a consultation today»»

Using Letters in Omnichannel Debt Collection—Keeping Up with Compliance

By on February 18th, 2025 in Industry Insights, Compliance, Customer Experience, Machine Learning, Product and Technology, User Experience
Using Letters in Omnichannel Debt Collection—Keeping Up with Compliance 1 scaled

Direct mail is the old-school method for reaching consumers regarding their debt, but over time several factors have reduced the effectiveness of letters in collection communications—consumer preference and cost being the most prevalent. But specific state compliance regulations and other use cases prove that “snail mail” still has its place in the omnichannel mix.

When are Letters Necessary in Collection Communications?

While the cost of physically mailing letters may be a deterrent to snail mail, businesses benefit when direct mail is used to meet compliance requirements. We’ll go into more detail around regulations in the next section.

Another benefit of mailing letters is most apparent when the delinquent account does not have a valid email address or phone number on file. Letters ensure that these individuals still receive crucial notifications regarding their accounts, preventing any potential oversight, and provide essential information related to their debt in a clear and organized manner.

Additionally, the formality of letters can be necessary to help raise awareness of outstanding debt for consumers that may not be as trusting of digital communications and choose to ignore phone calls. This is especially true for those who may not be as computer savvy or familiar with online financial transactions.

And just like with all other communication channels in debt collection, consumer preference also plays a role but in an even greater way with traditional letters: if a consumer clearly states that they only want to be contacted through physical mail (either to them directly or to their legal representation), businesses and collectors must abide. These types of requests lead to the main use case for letters…

The Main Use Case for Snail Mail: Compliance

The primary use case for using the direct mail channel is for compliance. Several laws, regulations, and governing bodies—including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Regulation F, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), among others—define how, when, and what needs to be included in consumer communications around debt collection, and letters were the original initial compliant consumer communication.

Yet the prevalence of digital has forced these regulations to evolve, and today there is no federal law requiring consent to communicate via email vs direct mail.

But there are some exceptions to this general rule:

  • Some states/jurisdictions require consent to communicate via email and text, which must be obtained through physical letters and documentation.
  • In some instances, consent to send legally required notices electronically must also be obtained through physical mail.
  • Some states require certain legally required notices to be mailed.

See Success and Real World Results with TrueAccord

Understanding the nuances of compliance and when communications fall under certain laws can be challenging without legal experts keeping a finger on the pulse of these evolving regulations—but TrueAccord ensures success with code-based compliance so all our engagement channels meet the requirements for each unique account’s circumstance and know when letters are the right choice for outreach.

While our omnichannel strategy is digital-first, we understand that digital isn’t always the best or most viable option to connect with some consumers. Knowing when, where, and why a letter might be the ideal choice for consumer communication helps TrueAccord and our clients remain compliant and cost-effective. Depending on a consumer’s location and contact information, a letter may be the best bet to garner engagement.

With advanced code-based compliance and scrubbing capabilities, TrueAccord’s omnichannel approach proves even snail mail can still be effective in collections.

Want to know more about how the omnichannel approach and how each channel influences the effectiveness of a business’s overall collection strategy? Download our new eBook, Omnichannel Communication in Debt Collection: An In-Depth Look at Advanced Engagement Strategy by Channel now»»

The TrueAccord Difference for a Better Self-Serve Consumer Experience

By on October 18th, 2024 in Customer Experience, Industry Insights, Machine Learning, Product and Technology, User Experience
The TrueAccord Difference for a Better Self Serve Consumer Experience scaled

While many financial service institutions can offer basic payment portals, these are often limited when it comes to collecting on delinquent accounts. TrueAccord delivers a robust difference.

Self-serve options should be a key part of any collections operation. In fact, research from McKinsey found that consumers who digitally self-serve resolve their debts at higher rates, are significantly more likely to pay in full, and report higher levels of customer satisfaction than consumers who pay via a collection call.

At TrueAccord, we provide more than a basic payment portal—the power of our self-serve solutions gives your business and your customers better control over the repayment process. TrueAccord’s self-serve portal delivers less friction for delinquent consumers ready to manage their debt, while your organization determines the extent of account details to display, what flexible payment options you’d like to provide, and more.

Let’s look at how TrueAccord provides a superior consumer experience and better bottom-line results for your business through our self-serve portal and solutions.

Why Offer Self-Serve Options on Top of Traditional Collection Methods?

Two of the most prominent use cases for deploying self-serve channels are consumer preference and compliance—and both are success stories for TrueAccord.

The numbers cannot be ignored: 98% of delinquent consumers serviced by TrueAccord resolve their debt without any human interaction, which in turn saves time, resources, and headcount. When asked why they pay bills online, three in 10 consumer survey respondents said they like the flexibility to pay whenever and wherever they want—a convenience traditional call-and-collect methods cannot extend to consumers due to FDCPA’s “Inconvenient Times” rule under Regulation F.

The “Inconvenient Times” rule prohibits calls to consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the consumer’s local time zone, because calls made during those times are presumed inconvenient. But self-serve options put the power in the consumer’s hand 24/7. At TrueAccord, 29% of online payments are made outside of traditional FDCPA hours.

Self-Serve Success with Advanced Machine Learning and Omnichannel Engagement

Does your digital debt collection outreach strategy extend beyond email or SMS? A true omnichannel approach goes further to interweave self-serve options—and TrueAccord delivers.

Whether via email, text message, or even physical letters, there are several ways TrueAccord reaches consumers in debt collection and empower them to take charge of their repayment journey through the self-serve portal.

And even if the first engagement attempt is unsuccessful, HeartBeat—TrueAccord’s patented machine learning decision-engine—will adjust communication cadence, content, and even channel dynamically.

Studies show that 54% of consumers expect their financial provider to leverage the data they have about them to personalize their experience, so HeartBeat looks at individual account characteristics—like debt type, creditor, balance size, age of debt, etc.—and selects a message (written by experienced debt collection content creators) based on previous interactions with consumers that have similar characteristics. Thanks to our 35 million consumer interactions collected, HeartBeat drives both the optimal engagement and repayment rates while working within both our client’s guidelines and regulatory requirements.

Want to take an even deeper dive into the consumer experience-side of TrueAccord’s self-serve portal? Download our free eBook for more details and a visual walkthrough of the consumer experience when using our portal here»»

What Do TrueAccord Consumers Have to Say?

Don’t take our word for it—read testimonials and feedback from real consumers who have resolved their delinquent accounts through TrueAccord’s self-serve portal:

  • “This was a great experience for me. The portal was so easy to operate quickly and easily. Thank you.”
  • “Easiest to work with, never had to speak with a representative, was able to fully manage and pay off the account via their online portal.”
  • “I appreciated the zero harassment, easy portal interface. I have been stressed about this for a while, hardship came up, but you made it easy and less stressful to take care of.”
  • “Thank you for being patient and for having a portal that makes it easy to make the payment without filling out a bunch of stuff and having to make an account.”
  • “I appreciate you notifying me via email and having a great online payment portal. It made the process really easy.”

Ready to Get Started?

Empower consumers with a self-serve experience—and collect faster from happier people. Schedule a consultation and get set for a live demo of the TrueAccord self-serve portal»»

Sources:

Consumers Prefer Self-Serve Options for Debt Repayment—and Businesses Cannot Afford to Ignore Consumer Preferences

By on October 17th, 2024 in User Experience, Customer Experience, Machine Learning, Product and Technology
Consumers Prefer Self Serve Options for Debt Repayment—and Businesses Cannot Afford to Ignore Consumer Preferences 1 scaled

Self-service portals are an empowering way to get consumers back on track. In fact, research from McKinsey found that consumers who digitally self-serve resolve their debts at higher rates and are significantly more likely to pay in full. Just take into consideration that surveys have found that four in 10 have used an online portal supplied by a financial institution for bill pay, while only a quarter have paid by phone, mailing a check, or in person.

But along with helping your bottom line, consumers just prefer these kinds of self-serve methods for payments.

Let’s dive even deeper into consumer behavior and preferences when it comes to handling payments and account management via self-service—and why organizations cannot ignore the numbers.

Self-Serve Preferences by the Numbers

The numbers don’t lie—more consumers want and use self-serve online portals for bill pay:

  • 60% of consumers prefer self-service options
  • 54% of surveyed consumers have used an online portal supplied by a biller
  • 47% prefer self-serve portals because of the convenience and flexibility

And businesses cannot afford to ignore these preferences:

  • 81% of customers want more self-serve options
  • 14% of bill-payers who prioritize at least one bill over others identified the ease of making payments as a key factor in that decision-making process
  • According to one study performed by McKinsey, a bank saw a 15% increase of cured accounts after implementing a self-service option
  • 70% of customers expect a company’s website to include a self-service application

Despite this data, a 2023 Transunion report shows that 64% of collections agencies don’t have self-serve capabilities, and simply increasing customer calling won’t improve contact and recovery rates.

But don’t worry—TrueAccord’s self-serve portal has proven to be a win for both businesses and their customers, with 98% of delinquent consumers serviced by TrueAccord resolving their debt without any human interaction.

TrueAccord’s Machine Learning Engine Powers a Better, Compliant Self-Serve Experience

At TrueAccord, we know that every consumer’s delinquency situation is unique and so are their repayment and engagement preferences. So from our initial outreach, we tailor our consumer communications using our patented machine learning engine, HeartBeat, to determine the right message, right channel, and right time to engage.

HeartBeat uses a machine learning model that looks at account properties and chooses a communication (written by experienced debt collection content creators) based on previous interactions with consumers that have similar characteristics.

This is important since studies show that 53% of consumers expect their financial provider to leverage the data they have about them to personalize their experience. From messaging that resonates to flexible payment options within our self-serve portal, TrueAccord uses advanced machine learning to drive the optimal engagement and repayment rates while working within both our client’s guidelines and regulatory requirements.

Our self-serve portal meets collections compliance rules while also meeting a consumer preference at the same time. When asked why they pay bills online, three in 10 survey respondents said they like the flexibility to pay whenever and wherever they want—a convenience traditional call-and-collect methods cannot extend to consumers due to FDCPA’s “Inconvenient Times” rule under Regulation F. The “Inconvenient Times” rule prohibits calls to consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the consumer’s local time zone, because calls made during those times are presumed inconvenient. But self-serve options put the power in the consumer’s hand 24/7. At TrueAccord, 29% of online payments are made outside of traditional FDCPA hours.

By following all compliance regulations and your business’s guidelines, our consumer outreach aims to drive the most engagement and commitment to repayment through the self-serve portal.

What Consumers Have to Say About TrueAccord’s Self-Serve Portal

We’ve looked at a lot of statistics supporting consumers’ preference for self-serve options, but let’s hear from real consumers that have used TrueAccord’s portal:

  • “This was a great experience for me. The portal was so easy to operate quickly and easily. Thank you.”
  • “Easiest to work with, never had to speak with a representative, was able to fully manage and pay off the account via their online portal.”

“I appreciated the zero harassment, easy portal interface. I have been stressed about this for a while, hardship came up, but you made it easy and less stressful to take care of.”

  • “Thank you for being patient and for having a portal that makes it easy to make the payment without filling out a bunch of stuff and having to make an account.”
  • “I appreciate you notifying me via email and having a great online payment portal. It made the process really easy.”

And put quite simply, our consumers “love this online payment portal.”

Want to take a peek at TrueAccord’s Self-Serve Portal? Download our free eBook for more details and a visual walkthrough of the consumer experience when using our portal here»»

Ready to see a demo in action and learn more about all of TrueAccord’s omnichannel, machine-learning powered collections? Schedule a consultation today»»

Sources:

The Low Friction Way For Consumers to Repay: Self-Serve Options for Debt Collection

By on October 7th, 2024 in Product and Technology, Compliance, Customer Experience, Industry Insights, Machine Learning, User Experience
The Low Friction Way For Consumers to Repay Self Serve Options for Debt Collection scaled

After months of inflation woes, both economists and consumers are starting to see a glimpse of optimism.In the first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, the Federal Reserve announced in September 2024 that it is slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates. So it’s not surprising that Americans are getting more confident that inflation is cooling off, but optimism for the U.S. economy doesn’t extend to personal finances—consumer expectations for going delinquent on their debt in the next three months hit their highest level since the start of the pandemic.

And the share of severely delinquent credit card debt rose to 10.7% during the first quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, compared to just 8.2% of credit card debt more than 90 days overdue in 2023.

But better customer engagement strategies can help businesses recover more debt—and self-serve portals are an empowering way to get consumers back on track.

What is a “self-serve portal” in financial services and collections?

In the financial services sector, a self-service or self-serve portal is a secure online platform or application designed to empower consumers to make payments and, ideally, allow them to manage their accounts and payment terms independently (although not all portals offer the same functionality). Self-serve portals aim to grant customers the ability to manage their finances without the help of a service representative.

For both businesses and consumers, reducing the need to engage directly with human agents to make payments or access account information saves time and resources. Overall, these self-service solutions represent a shift towards greater consumer control over their financial health, providing an efficient way for individuals to address and manage their finances—and debts specifically—on their own terms.

What are the benefits of offering self-service options in debt collection?

Similar to any other financial institution or ecommerce business, self-service portals in collections intend to foster a sense of autonomy for the delinquent consumer to manage their debt without the pressure or inconvenience of interacting with a call center agent. Besides creating a more preferred experience for the consumer, organizations needing to recoup funds will reap several benefits by providing self-serve options as well:

Cost Savings:
In today’s digital world, call centers or full-time employees (FTEs) dedicated to late-stage collections have proven to be an expensive and less effective path for debt recovery. Employees often spend a significant amount of time arranging repayment plans, providing account details, and processing payments—and that’s if the consumer actually answers the collector’s call. So when it comes to cost savings, just consider this: the average cost of a contact center call is $8.01, which is 80x more expensive than a self-service interaction.

Scalability:
Unlike human agents who can physically only make a certain number of calls per day and are legally only allowed to call consumers during convenient hours (as defined by Regulation F), self-serve portals are available to consumers 24/7. These platforms can handle any number of collection cases at any time of day without compromising user experience, making it easy to scale your capacity as delinquency volumes rise—no additional headcount required.

Compliance:
Non-compliance can be costly in the collection landscape heavily regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Whether partnering with a third party or training FTEs, the risk of human error resulting in compliance violations is easily mitigated with digital self-serve solutions that have compliance controls built in—but this does require due diligence on the business or lenders’ part to ask and verify that the solution is keeping up with all necessary regulation and industry security standards.

Frictionless Consumer Experience:
Surveys have found that consumers both prefer and want more self-serve options to repay, but that is just the tip of the iceberg of what consumer preferences can mean for your recovery and resolution rates. Research from McKinsey found consumers who digitally self-serve (versus consumers who pay via a collection call):

  • Resolve their debts at higher rates 
  • Significantly more likely to pay in full 
  • Report higher levels of customer satisfaction

Proven Success with TrueAccord’s Self-Serve Portal

While many financial service institutions already offer basic payment portals, these are often limited when it comes to collecting on delinquent accounts. And traditional call centers typically cannot provide self-serve options, even if they can offer other digital options like email or SMS for consumer outreach.

But TrueAccord provides more than a simple payment portal—the power of our self-serve solutions gives your business and your consumers better control over the repayment process for better results.

TrueAccord delivers less friction and frustration for delinquent consumers ready to manage their debt, while your organization determines the extent of account details to display, what flexible payment options you’d like to provide, and more.

In fact, 98% of delinquent consumers serviced by TrueAccord resolve their debt without any human interaction, with 29% of online payments made outside of traditional FDCPA hours—saving time, resources, and headcount while meeting consumer preferences compliantly under Reg F’s inconvenient time rule and beyond.

Want to take a peek at TrueAccord’s Self-Serve Portal? Download our free eBook for more details and a visual walkthrough of the consumer experience when using our portal here»»

Ready to see a demo in action and learn more about all of TrueAccord’s omnichannel, machine-learning powered collections? Schedule a consultation today»»

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Understanding the Consumer Spending Split and How to Recover More Across the Divide

By on July 24th, 2024 in Industry Insights, Customer Experience, Machine Learning, User Experience
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It’s becoming a familiar headline: US household debt keeps climbing and delinquency rates keep rising. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, household debt rose to $17.69 trillion in the first quarter of 2024. The report showed 6.9% of credit card debt transitioned to serious delinquency in the first quarter, with approximately 4.8% of consumers holding some debt in third-party collections.

Overall, 77% of American households have at least some type of debt, but that debt isn’t evenly distributed—and consumer spending habits can vary just as much depending on income level.

Understanding the split in consumer spending and its impact on household debt—and in turn, collections—is critical for today’s debt recovery strategies. While across the board debt may be climbing and delinquencies rising, your consumer engagement approach and communications to secure repayment cannot be one-size-fits-all for all consumers.

What is the Consumer Spending Divide?

Spending divide. Split-spending patterns. A tale of two consumers. Two-speed economy…all of these naming conventions describe the widening gap between income levels, spending habits, and inevitably types of debt accumulated.

While the last few years showed consistent spending rates across all income groups as a result of pandemic-era benefits, savings surplus, and wage growth, this is no longer the case. More recent data has revealed that as pandemic savings declined at the same time as both inflation and interest rates increased, lower-income households are becoming more financially strained while higher-income households are mostly unaffected.

Today, we see more affluent consumers continue to spend at consistent rates, while more middle- and lower-income consumers’ personal disposable income has not kept pace with rising prices and as a result, these households have become more indebted.

Even when there is a spending uptick in the lower-income sector, as seen in April 2024, what these consumers are spending on and how they are paying for it is still quite different from their higher-income counterparts. These spending patterns show that lower-earning consumers are putting more everyday bills on credit cards—and in turn, credit card delinquencies and charge-offs for these consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic levels faster than other groups.

Not surprisingly, the ripple effect of this deepening income-level divide impacts consumer sentiment along with spending. While surveys from June 2023 had shown similar levels of consumer sentiment between bottom-third earners and top-level earners, today higher-income households report a much more positive outlook compared to many lower earners who report feeling less confident in their own household finances.

And yet, 40% of consumers (across the divide) have expressed an intent to splurge over the summer months—so what different variations of delinquencies can we expect between the split of spenders? And how can businesses differentiate their approach to collections to more effectively recover debt faster?

How Does the Divide Impact Delinquencies?

Let’s start with the first question: what different types of debt are each income sector accumulating today?

Higher-income consumers: non-essentials and luxuries like travel, vacations, hotels, resorts, amusement parks
Surveys show that higher-income households are more optimistic about their ability to take trips and spend on luxuries like full-service hotels and resorts—in fact, 74% of respondents with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more plan to take a summer vacation and, across income levels, 36% anticipate taking on debt to pay for it.

We can even put a microscope to this ‘YOLO’ attitude towards spending on experiences by looking at Disney amusement parks. Surveys find:

  • 45% of parents take on debt for Disney vacations
  • $1,983 is the average amount of debt for those parents
  • 75% report that their Disney trip did or would take six months or less to pay off
  • Total respondents who went into debt during a Disney trip also increased 33% from a 2022 survey

Lower-income consumers: essentials like rent, utilities, everyday necessities
Conversely, the delinquencies for lower-income households start at home: 25% of low-income renters (defined by a Community Solutions survey as those with an annual income of less than $50,000) are 4-7 months behind on rent. And the New York Fed reported 57% of households are rent burdened in low-income areas, where they pay more than 30% of their monthly income on rent.

Even with wage gains over the last several years, 40% of consumers say they earn insufficient incomes and struggle to keep up with inflation and interest rates. And with approximately 75% of low-income households reporting living paycheck-to-paycheck, to bridge the gap there is an increasing reliance on credit cards to cover bills, so it is not surprising these consumers are falling behind on their credit card payments.

The spending divide leads to a divide on what consumers are going into delinquency for—so what’s the best way to engage and secure repayment when consumers’ financial situations and outlooks are so split?

How Can You Recover More Across Each Side of the Divide?

Regardless of where your customers fall in the divide, businesses must face facts: overall delinquent balances increased by 3.46% in June 2024 and then again in July by 0.51%. This paired with the fact that 1.11% of consumer accounts rolled into higher stages of delinquency marks an uptick in the roll rate in June compared to the improvement (decreases) seen in the past several months.

But with delinquency rates continuing to rise, it’s important to tailor your recovery approach to each consumer you seek to collect from with customized, omnichannel engagement.

A successful collections strategy goes beyond the simplified “tale of two consumers” and actually engages with individuals uniquely with the right message delivered through the right channel at the right time for them.

While getting payment reminders is beneficial for consumers across the divide, hovering between roughly 40% to 50% from the under $50,000 cohort all the way to the $100,000 and above bracket, the preference for how these reminders are sent varies across all consumers:

  • 36% prefer text
  • 32% prefer email
  • 4% prefer a paper letter mailed
  • 1% prefer receiving a phone call

But for most businesses, executing an advanced outreach strategy can be a major undertaking, especially for those used to relying on traditional call-and-collect methods. Partnering with TrueAccord can alleviate the potential strain on resources and simultaneously help you collect more faster.

TrueAccord not only engages your delinquent customers through this proven effective omnichannel approach, but also leverages our patented machine learning engine, HeartBeat, to effectively ​​reach out to every account placed with a goal of getting them to repay on their own terms when they are ready. HeartBeat dynamically optimizes the next best touchpoint for every consumer in real-time, including the content, timing, and channel for each customer.

No matter where your customers fall in the consumer spending divide, TrueAccord has the right message, right channel, and right timing to recover more across the board.

Ready to get started? Schedule a consultation today»»

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Developing with Empathy: TrueAccord’s Mission-Driven Approach

By on December 21st, 2022 in Customer Experience, Industry Insights, Machine Learning, Product and Technology, User Experience
Developing with Empathy

When most people think of debt collection, the word “empathy” rarely comes to mind. As a mission-driven company, we at TrueAccord, are trying to change that. We know life happens and financial anxiety has become more common than ever—especially when it comes to dealing with debt. By understanding and anticipating a customer’s needs, TrueAccord takes an empathetic approach which enables us to tailor our message and help the consumer’s journey back to financial health. With this in mind, it’s crucial for us to understand how a consumer might feel when they fall into debt.

Understanding and Engaging with the Customer

Life happens and so do delinquencies. So far, most fintechs have been good at focusing on customer experience by investing in user research and making sure that their products resonate with their target audience. However, a customer’s situation can change at the drop of a hat and with it their financial status, priorities, and motivations. When a customer, whom you thought you knew well, has an account that goes delinquent, they essentially become a stranger. Now a whole new approach is required in order to engage with this consumer. 

In order to adopt the right approach to engage a delinquent account, the first thing we have to figure out is who the customer is. What are their needs? What problems do they have? Do they have special circumstances? Not only is every customer different, but every interaction you may have with that customer could be different depending on what life situation they find themselves in. So it is very important to have a broad communication strategy and be ready to meet the customer when and where they are ready to engage. This means don’t limit communication channels and have options that consumers can explore, evaluate, and select on their own time.

Leveraging Digital-First Channels

Most consumers prefer using digital channels over talking on the phone with research showing 94% of unidentified calls going unanswered. Digital channels allow people to choose when to respond without being put on the spot. 

But starting a digital-first approach is not easy—it’s not just about sending emails or SMS messages to consumers. At TrueAccord we try to find the right communication channel to use for a specific consumer. We might start with a combination of email and SMS but once we get more engagement with one or the other, we’ll primarily focus on using the channel the customer engaged in. 

We make sure that they’re aware of their debt and their options from obtaining more information, disputing, or evaluating payment plans all through a portal where the consumer is in control.. 

For consumers who do choose to set up a payment plan, we work to make sure that they have everything they need to be successful in their plan – whether that means changing the plan, the payment date, or amount, we monitor and provide content so that the consumer can effectively stay in control of their plan through successful completion – putting the consumer back in control of their own financial health while at the same time recovering for the creditor.

Using Data for a Personalized, Empathetic Experience

To truly engage consumers a successful digital strategy should go beyond a simple campaign that pushes out emails to all of your consumers at the same time every week or every other week with a generic message. Not only do you have to overcome the inboxing challenge to avoid spam filters, you need to deliver the communication at the optimal time for the consumer to open the message. And you have to have the right message, a personalized message that causes the consumer to act – to communicate back to you their intentions related to the account (dispute, full payment, payment plan, hardship, etc.). 

But how do you personalize? 

This is where it’s vital to leverage an understanding of your consumers. This can be done with experimentation in A/B testing consumer research, and machine learning. A/B testing and consumer research help identify what resonates with consumers and what does not. Machine learning allows personalization at scale. At TrueAccord, we rely on machine learning to continuously improve our models. We can see what digital channels, timing, and messaging each individual consumer responds best to and tailor those specific preferences to the individual journey for each consumer. We also make sure that compliance is included from the start as it needs to be regulated throughout. 

For example, the best payment option is different for everyone. We provide a lot of flexibility, but we also know that showing them that flexibility up front, something that they can actually afford, will engage the customer to take the next step. Depending on the size and the age of the debt, we may show a couple of payment plans that we believe will be the most attractive to that customer along with the option to build their own payment plan. Once a customer sets up their payment plan, we send reminders when payment is due. We also have models that predict if a consumer is likely to break their payment plan based on past behavior and offer options to help keep them on track, like pushing the payment if they’re unable to pay on that date (because we understand that life happens, just like delinquencies). And as they make their payments, we celebrate their progress with them and acknowledge that they are making an effort to improve their financial situation!

The End-Product:

TrueAccord has worked with over 20 million consumers and sends over one million communications per day. For each of those communications, we’re making decisions on what to send, how to send it, and when to send it all in accordance with the legal and regulatory compliance obligations. We then use that data to continuously optimize and improve our communication method for each consumer. We’ve learned that if you’re building for the downtimes, it’s critical to realize that debt collection is a part of a consumer financial service. While our creditors are our clients, if we do what is right for the consumer (our clients’ customers), they are more likely to pay back to those creditors. A better consumer experience leads to better outcomes for all. 

By incorporating an empathetic approach to debt collections, TrueAccord is able to collect more money while helping consumers with their financial situation.

Want to learn more about how your business can integrate more empathy into your collections communications? Schedule a consultation today!

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
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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.