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LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION REVOLUTIONIZES SKIP TRACING USING SCRIPTING TO PREVENT POTENTIAL LAW VIOLATIONS CollectTECH’19 SPEAKERS SOUND OFF ON THE NEW CFPB RULING AFFECTING TEXTING AND EMAILING SCOURING DOCUMENTS QUICKER WITH OCR MOST PROFOUND REVOLUTION IN FINANCIAL SERVICES SINCE FDIC

GAME CHANGERS from TOP TECH LEADERS July/August 2019

Vol. 19, No. 4

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TOP 3 WAYS GAMIFICATION IMPACTS YOUR CONTACT CENTER

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You’re Invited to the Technology Event of the Year Friends in Receivables & Collections, Receivables Advisor magazine and I are pleased to bring you the only receivables conference CollectTECH19 dedicated to technology. Credit and Collection experts will present innovative technology solutions to drive collections and compliance in the ideal environment for education, networking and entertainment. Whether networking with peers or participating in roundtable discussions, attendees will take away technology solutions to make work easier and more productive.

Beginning November 18th, Monday afternoon is dedicated to dealing with regulatory obstacles with technology. Tuesday is all about collection technology including banker and healthcare, executive presentations. Topics range from the latest in real-time speech analytics to mastering gamification to unlocking the power of artificial intelligence.

Between the presentations, attendees enjoy TopGolf, the most technologically advanced golf experience in the world. There is no pressure to have a good golf swing, score points or even play. It’s all about learning, having fun and networking.

The 2019 Receivables Advisor Awards ceremony will take place Tuesday evening with a celebration under the stars, honoring The Top Receivables Professional of the Year, Top Product of the Year, Most Innovative Agency, as well as the Top 50 in each category.

I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Your CollectTECH19 Keynote Speaker,

Gordon C. Beck III President and COO Valor Intelligent Processing

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR

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JULY/AUGUST 2019

Table of Contents

4

AGENCY ADVISOR

Staying Ahead of Change and Technology Gordon C. Beck III

GAME CHANGERS from TOP TECH LEADERS

M

astery of one’s tools is a vital step toward virtuosity. The following accounts receivable professionals have been selected by their peers as those who push the frontier in collection technology and set precedents as to what is possible for an accounts receivable entity. These Top Technology Leaders in Accounts Receivable reveal what you can do today that will improve your practices through technology and game changers for the industry.

What is a technology or technological practice every accounts receivable entity

SCOTT COLLINS Director, Information Technology Action Collection Agencies, Inc. Speech analytics for compliance and quality assurance.

ROB CERBELLI IT Director Debt Recovery Solutions Implementation of a scoring model to assist in and increase account receivables liquidity.

should implement?

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COMPLIANCE ADVISOR

Using Scripting to Prevent Potential Law Violations Debra Ciskey

GORDON C. BECK III President & COO Valor Intelligent Processing At the beginning of each year, based on current trends, agency needs and available opportunity, a great practice is to task the IT Team to bring two new technology projects to the table and see them through to completion. Whether it is a replacement to an existing and aging technology or a brand new technology or both, it is vital that the technology team is always working on the “next best thing.” By requiring this of your CIO it ensures that he or she is always on the look out and ready to take on new projects.

MARC A. CARTER President CBC, LLC A direct communications line to the collection plat form provider is vital to drive systemic up grades and top line results.

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LEGAL COLLECTION ADVISOR

Scouring Documents Quicker with Optical Character Recognition Michael L. Starzec

10

SKIP TRACING ADVISOR

License Plate Recognition Revolutionizes Skip Tracing Ron Brown

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TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR

Most Profound Revolution in Financial Services Since FDIC T. Steel Rose

ONLINE

MANAGEMENT ADVISOR

Voice Analytics Monitor Emotions Harry A. Strausser III

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MICHAEL T. GARDNER JR. Executive Director Credit Clearing House of America, Inc. Develop a database of litigious consumers that are flagged when clients place new accounts. This prevents contact with consumers who are associated with the well-known plaintiff attorneys in the industry.

RICK HAASS Chief Operating Officer, CISM, CISA Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP Data analytics. Examining data to draw conclusions, change processes and adjust to what is successful is crucial in the industry. Data analysis enables organizations to make better business decisions based on quantifiable metrics and increase collections. Relying on data analytics is as important as the actual technology you use.

Continued on page 20

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19

Welcome

Gordon C. Beck III

Operating On Your Healthcare Collection Software JOSHUA FLUEGEL

CollectTECH19 Speakers 11

Sound Off on the New CFPB

Ruling Affecting Texting and Emailing

Top 3 Ways Gamification 12 Impacts

Your Contact Center CollectTECH19 16

Speakers and Agenda Receivables Advisor 22

Business Directory CollectTECH19 28 Registration

Form Receivables Advisor Magazine 29 Awards

Nomination Form

July/August 2019

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Agency Advisor I Gordon C. Beck III

Staying Ahead of Change and Technology

I

remember the date like it was yesterday, June 1, 1998.

I was 19 years old and on my first day at my new job. There was no training, only “side by sides” and I remember being anxious to get in my cubicle and make my first call. My manager approached me with a black plastic 6-by9 Rolodex and as he handed me the box he looked me in the eye and said, “Your future is now.”

That was 20 years ago. I say that as if it was forever ago, but let’s face it, 20 years is nothing in this business. Look how far the industry has come. Look how complicated it is to get and stay licensed, compliant, efficient and competitive. Over the past two decades our industry was unintentionally molded by the agencies and the vendors that dared to brave the future of technology and the bill that followed.

The path was laid by cutting edge software companies that dared to look an agency owner in the eyes and somehow convince him/her that moving from that Rolodex box or that black and white DOS system and paying $500 or more for every single collector in a seat, was going to give that agency a huge competitive advantage.

This path was advanced by dialer companies, blind to the TCPA, that gave agencies a chance to maximize contacts without hiring themselves out of business and those same dialing companies years later that advanced their product to keep us all compliant with the laws of today. I remember specifically sitting in on client one-on-one monthly calls for performance and it was very clear what agencies were taking the chance on technology and which ones were not.

Although I stand firm by my belief that the foundation of this industry is and always will be the people, it is very obvious that in order to stay ahead of the curve and in order to create maximum value for your agencies, you must be digitized, tech enabled, cutting edge and unafraid. You must be willing to take risks that others do not and do so with an open mind while not stressing about an open wallet. It’s an investment, and with every investment comes risk. However, in those risks there is so much more to gain than there is to be lost.

Many ask me what I do to ensure technology does not pass me by and the answer is simple. Stay engaged. First and foremost, trust your industry publications and sign up to receive the daily newsletters and informational emails from sites InsideARM.com, AccountsRecovery.net, ReceivablesAdvisor. com and many more. Go to every conference you can and get involved. Go to the booths, ask questions and learn about what this industry has to offer. Last but not least, engage your competition. This industry is a tight knit group and almost everyone is willing to help and share what they have

President/COO Valor Intelligent Processing

learned that is new or right around the corner. But be sure to reciprocate and share what you know as well so we can all get better and be prepared.

Look out there at the technology we have at our fingertips: AI can reduce talk times for agencies handling non-monetary instances such as bankruptcy, fraud and deceased accounts while opening their agents to talk money all day, every day. Emotional analytics that can literally expose the tonality utilized by agents on the phones with their client’s customers and ensure that they are positive, friendly, happy and helpful at all times.

With the announcement the CFPB Director Kraninger made regarding the rulemaking and the willingness of the government to allow agencies to utilize modern communication methods, the big question is who is going to be the pioneer of text messaging, video chat, chat bots and dialer enhancements?

I can tell you, unequivocally, that if you look back on those that made decisions based on advancing technology in their respective agencies, you will be hard pressed to find anyone that regrets it. This is a day and age in our industry where we need all hands-on deck, working together and helping one another advance the technology at our disposal and working as one to make it more affordable, efficient and beneficial. As I mentioned before, get involved! The programs, partnerships, events and groups are endless. While they have a cost associated with it, affording to get involved is an easy choice when you realize that none of us can afford not to stay ahead of the technological curve. It is bigger than any one agency; it is about an embattled industry that is making unbelievable strides in our stereotype and our scrutiny and is now at a precipice of available technology that can allow us the time and the means to focus on the future and to put our industry a step ahead and a head above.

There are very few industries that have gone through what we have, and it has made us stronger than ever. We are equipped to take on the future, but unlike compliance, technology is fun. It is not a forced-investment, it drives the money and the results that our clients are looking for while opening the door for margins we have not seen in 20 years, when those Rolodexes were basically free.

In the end, you can have the newest and best technology, a beautiful call center and an amazing strategy, but without your people, you have nothing.

Hear more from Gordon C. Beck III at

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Compliance Advisor I Debra Ciskey

Using Scripting to Prevent Potential Law Violations

T

he CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual is a 1,697-page tome containing examination procedures and templates for the use of CFPB supervisory examiners. It is organized into sections related to each type of entity for which the Bureau has supervisory authority. Available on the bureaus website ( https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/ documents/cfpb_supervision-and-examination-manual.pdf ) anyone can download the entire manual or only the sections applicable to their entity.

In the FDCPA section, examiners are directed to obtain and review scripts for employee use. While it doesn’t specify which sections of the manual might require scripting for debt collectors, scripts provide expectations for consistent presentation of offers which can reduce the potential for discriminatory practices on the part of individuals when making discount offers, for example.

Having scripts for required and desired disclosures can provide evidence that shows that any violation in regulated practices was not intentional and was the result of a bona fide error that arose despite procedures reasonably designed to avoid such errors.

A walk through the FDCPA section of the examination manual reveals many opportunities to provide scripting for collection staff. Equally important is a policy requiring that any script must be provided verbatim, focused and specific training related to the use of the scripts, a process for evaluating the delivery of the scripts, either through manual evaluation of phone calls or recordings, or the use of a speech analytics tool, and formal feedback to staff related to their success or failure with proper use of the scripts. Technology based job aids, either incorporated into your account management system or accessed on demand by staff when a script is needed, will be key supports to the implementation of scripting.

While we aspire to hire and train people that can use their best judgment about how to convey information properly to consumers, people also have the capacity to make mistakes.

Communication is affected by emotion, memory lapses, attitude, lack of understanding and sometimes just plain laziness. Providing scripting related to key areas of compliance may help combat the human frailties of staff. Following is my list of conversation points that can be more closely controlled with proper scripting.

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Executive Vice President Collections Coach, LLC

1. Disclosing the debt collector’s identity and the purpose/

nature of the communication when: a. Leaving a live message, an answering machine/ voice mail message, or when speaking directly with a consumer.

b. Seeking permission or acknowledging permission to call a cell phone, at a place of employment, or at an unusual time or place.

c. Acknowledging or receiving instructions not to call at any specific time or place.

2. Clarify the character, amount or legal status of a debt, such as when asked by a consumer:

a. If I can’t pay this will my wages be garnished?

b. Are you going to sue me? Have you sued me?

c. Is this going on my credit report?

3. Assist staff in responding to angry or abusive consumers.

4. Seek and obtain location information for a consumer from a third party, and, in that conversation:

a. Identify the company name to a third party who requests to know it, without indicating that the consumer owes a debt.

b. Follow up script to handle inquisitive requests.

5. Convey discount offers, along with when such scripts should be used.

6. Request attorney’s name and address upon being informed that the consumer is represented by an attorney.

7. To obtain permission to speak with a third party.

8. To clarify for consumers the nature of the summons and complaint without providing legal advice.

9. To solicit post-dated checks and/or recurring EFT payments, and confirm the payment schedule.

10. Confirm Payment by credit card/debit card.

11. Solicit instructions from consumer for application of payment when multiple accounts exist.

12. Just as you have your collection letters reviewed by

counsel, have your scripts and the policies and procedures underlying them reviewed by counsel as well.

Hear more from Debra Ciskey at

COLLECT TECH19 July/August 2019

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

Operating On Your Healthcare Collection Software

C

ollecting on accounts is only one side of the healthcare accounts receivable coin.

The other is fine tuning the software involved to make sure it is conducive to your operation’s processes, compliance requirements and clients. Receivables Advisor spoke with technology experts Brett Adams, Network Administrator for Alliance Collection Service and John Brown, Co-Founder, CFO and CTO of Creditor Advocates to discuss what they do to calibrate their tools to meet their accounts receivable needs.

What is a helpful tip about using technology to make maintaining HIPAA compliance easier?

Adams: Have your network as secure as

possible, and have a plan in place for any sort of breach. Protecting PHI [protected health information] is first and foremost the number one goal, but you have to know what to do if a breach does occur. Build

to be impenetrable, but realize every armor has chinks in it. The beefiest domain controller with the highest level of proxy can be figured out by the right person or team of people.

Brett Adams Just be prepared if it ever does happen. We have to know the laws and the safeguards, and be ready to notify the consumer of any mishaps.

Brown: With our data it’s access control. Your system has to have the ability to restrict information based on the user’s role and responsibilities. This not only includes the users John Brown within your office but also users you might have at your client’s location or vendors.

On top of that you have to have audit

BY JOSHUA FLUEGEL controls in place to track information flows and ensure information integrity. We also use a lot of this same information during key aspects of periodic risk assessment reviews.

We do use a bit of technology on our training as far as tests, videos and a web course. We find it’s easier if you use a couple different techniques throughout the training. It increases their retention of information and, if implemented correctly, can also decrease your cost. We also use ACA [International]’s training product. They have a web course for HIPAA compliance.

What specific training do you recommend for A/R professionals using healthcare collection software/ technology?

Adams: Again, know what to do. Mistakes

happen. We are human. No technology can prevent everything. Someone coded it so

Continued on page 9

Legal Collection Advisor I Michael L. Starzec

Scouring Documents Quicker with Optical Character Recognition

I

Partner Blitt and Gaines, P.C Vice-president Illinois Creditors Bar

f you were to ask me, a court-going litigator, to discuss tech breakthroughs, this would be a dull article. I would extol e-filing, as it allows me those final, final, final edits well after 5:00 p.m. Next, I would mention remote access allowing me to work, as I am now, while waiting for court.

Finally, I treasure the ease of converting Word documents to PDF (and vice-versa). As it turns out, that last function is the heart of a revolution in efficiency.

Make Many Documents Few

reviewing and coding on each individual file. This also allows us to check results. If we go to court with 25 files and postcourt we run a report and find we only have 23 orders, we can easily determine which are missing and what happened.

At the same time, once the OCR has determined an alias needs to issue, it creates the PDF form, telling the system to pull the previously filed complaint to accompany the alias.

Then, it combines it with other cases set in the same county on the same date, depositing them in a file folder for review and approval by E-filing is simple and easy, attorneys. Gone is manual data entry and physical printing of pleadings. but in its broader applications, Yes, manual reviews by staff and final it makes possible text-to-speech approval by attorneys takes place, but the heavy lifting of printing, collating and text mining. That sounds and matching documents is largely gone.

No, we’re not talking about the first impression you make when you walk in the room. Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is simply the electronic conversion of typed or printed text into machine coded like techno-babble and it is text. This, in its most basic sense, is but OCR has changed the most what Adobe or other PDF conversion Payment Processing Enhanced programs do. However, this is OCR’s The same system affected our important aspects of a collection most basic function. OCR use has payment processing. OCR changed firm: court filings, compliance not only made e-filing simple and how we look up, present, and process easy, but in its broader applications, payments. By reducing manual data and payment processing. it makes possible text-to-speech and entry, we sped up payment processing text mining. That sounds like technoand increased accuracy. We also utilize babble and it is but OCR has changed the most important the inverse of OCR for monitoring compliance in our aspects of a collection firm: court filings, compliance and phone conversations with consumers. Speech-to-text call payment processing. auditing allows for control reporting to ensure compliance Our firm undertook a major effort to “tag” documents, with legal and client standards for better call experiences having our OCR technology recognize key words in forms and reduced audit findings. In addition, it catches items not and court orders to trigger later events. For example, once an coded properly – the consumer claimed fraud but we coded order is scanned, we can run a search by county and specific as a dispute – One requires an affidavit and investigation, order type (judgment/alias) and tell the system to undertake the other requires validation. a certain task – have an alias summons printed for attorney However, for any system of data automation to work, approval, you have oversight and controls. The key to this process prepare a is control reporting. Our internal audit process verifies report for the everything that should have printed and every payment client of all the received is properly credited. Hence a robust internal judgments from compliance procedure and team is key to ensuring an OCR Washington based system works.

County, etc.

In effect, for lawyers, words now serve two different Staff time is purposes. On the one hand to persuade and on the other to saved from provide a mechanical framework to ease the workload on manually your office.

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July/August 2019

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

Needed: A Bot to Handle Easy Customer Service Calls Continued from page 7 someone else can absolutely decode it. In the modern age of collections, most businesses rely on the software to handle most of the privacy laws, but if we ensure our employees are highly trained on what exactly is a breach in HIPAA, they are more likely to spot irregularities in information and not make mistakes themselves.

Brown: We mainly do a lot of classroom and one-on-one training.

Have you customized any of your software? If so, how?

Adams: Well, our collection software,

specifically, is built on SQLs [structured query language]. We can run any report or build any list based on the basic language of the SQLs we put together. Our software essentially changes every day. I, admittedly, have a beef with how simple certain aspects of our software seems to me, but at the end of the day I realize just how flexible it really is, which is a good thing.

Brown: We use InterProse’s WebAR solution which my partner describes as kind of a box of Legos. You kind of build it yourself.

They give you all the building blocks that go along with it. It pretty much has an endless number of ways we can customize forms, reporting, along with automation within their software.

We also have some automation software that we use internally. If there’s a task or a group of tasks that WebAR cannot do we use an internal automation software program to write custom scripts for us to accomplish what we’re trying to do.

What do you think has been one of the greatest recent advancements in healthcare collection technology?

Adams: Google has proven it time and time

again. The more data you can collect, the more specific you can become. The better organized the data, the more personable you are, the greater chance you have of reaching your target.

On the collections side of things, we strive for our account representatives to build a rapport with the consumer. How else do you do that except with information? Know who you’re talking to, and understand the situation. Having a giant vault of info requires more safeguards, but that also leads to better compliance, as well,

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

July/August 2019

because you have to be well organized. Long answer short, data collection.

Brown: When it comes to servicing healthcare accounts I think it’s probably more integration with our clients. It’s always a struggle getting information from clients because they’re busy and that kind of thing. We try to minimize our impact on their business office when they allow us access to their billing systems or work with their IT to integrate our systems. That allows us to have not only greater service to the healthcare providers themselves but also the patients that we service.

What improvement or enhancement would you like to see in healthcare collection technology?

Adams: Billing and coding systems in general.

Miscoding and misinformation problems seem to be an issue, and lead to some of the biggest complaints, specifically insurance issues. I know we can streamline that process, but it would take all parties getting on board

and coming to the table to make something happen. The technology is already out there.

Brown: We do have a pretty good ability for integration but I would always like to increase the integration of capabilities between our systems. Right now we use a combination of scripts. Every script with every one of our clients is custom made. Onboarding a new client can be kind of a challenge.

Also, having some sort of automated IVR or bot to handle some of those easy customer service calls. We have a bot that’s made with IBM technology but we may be switching over to Amazon’s system. They do have a pretty good system for handling those types of calls. If your system has the capability to export information on demand or through an API [application programming interface] that integrates directly into Amazon’s system then you could easily build a system that would handle those types of inbound-type calls, even outbound as well if you wanted to.

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Skip Tracing Advisor I Ron Brown

License Plate Recognition Revolutionizes Skip Tracing

I

n this issue we are going to look at one of the newest and, what many consider, the most invasive form of cyber tracing: license plate recognition, or LPR. In an industry already beset with an array of privacy issues, this medium of cybertracking is a vast and virtually unknown network of surveillance, rapidly expanding through municipal/law enforcement cameras and private sector cameras.

Research into the subject indicates Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) was invented in 1976 at the Police Scientific Development Branch in the United Kingdom and came into wide use with new developments in cheaper software during the 1990s. The collection of ANPR data for future use was documented in the early 2000s. The first documented case of ANPR being used to help solve a murder occurred in November 2005, in Bradford, UK. In this instance ANPR played a vital role in locating and subsequently convicting killers of Sharon Beshenivsky.

In the United States, ANPR systems are more commonly referred to as Automatic License Plate Reader/Recognition (ALPR) technology, due to differences in language. “Number Plates” are referred to as “License Plates” in the United States.

ALPR, widespread among law enforcement agencies at the city, county, state and federal level, has become a major component in intelligence gathering, as well as for recovery of stolen vehicles, identification of wanted felons and monitoring for Amber Alerts.

Pioneers in the U.S.’s LPR industry envisioned an application in the automobile repossession industry. Almost overnight recovery agency tow trucks were installing cameras and building a history of tag locations.

Three major companies emerged: Digital Recognition Network (DRN), Plate Locate and MVTRAC. As the technology improved so did the strategies for obtaining tag histories. Agencies began to place their cameras on smaller automobiles which used much less fuel, had access to more locations and were not as conspicuous as a tow truck.

The data which was once sold only to the repossession agencies began to find other markets which included investigation agencies, lenders and skip trace companies. One of the companies’ websites states “… vehicle location data and analytics to guide your collections strategy. Mitigate repossessions by making right party contact and curing loans where possible or accelerate repossession treatment for faster recovery.”

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Member National Association of Fraud Investigators Author “MANHUNT: The Book” Contact rbrown2150@aol.com

It goes on to say, “Transform your recovery process, reduce days to recovery by 50%, prevent charge-offs and ensure compliance. Direct agents to the correct address the first time and stage for live, on the spot recovery with a … Provider,” and “Recover smarter with the … Recovery Network that gives you access to thousands of LPR cameras nationwide working to pickup your assignments, 24/7. It’s fast, efficient and fully compliant.”

Today we do not even notice the small vehicles that prowl up and down the aisles of a shopping mall parking lot or through the labyrinth of apartment complex parking areas, searching for cars to repossess. Four high-speed, license plate reading cameras are attached to the hood of these vehicles, scanning cars in every direction, scooping up license plate data and snapping tens of thousands of photographs. This grows the database exponentially, now containing billions of plate numbers and their static location.

This innovative form of cybertracking has revolutionized the skip-tracing, collection and repossession business and I am informed by many purchasers of the data that using this type of cybertracking technology has doubled and tripled their production.

Two questions then surface: 1) who can purchase the equipment to use this technology and what is the cost, 2) who can purchase the data and what is the cost?

To answer the first question is just about anyone who can afford the initial cost of cameras would be able to purchase and run the cameras, including but not limited to repossession agencies, towing companies, security companies, private investigation agencies and even private individuals. As to the cost, I spoke with one of the members of Eagle Group USA, Stephanie Findley of IR Services in Houston, Texas, recognized as a subject matter expert. Used cameras could be purchased in the $5,000 to $7,000 range while a set of new cameras would usually run around $14,000.

The cost to purchase a “hit” on a vehicle you are searching for seems to be in the $300 to $400 range.

There are a lot of changes currently occurring in the LPR industry with numerous mergers and acquisitions as well as a growing concern of privacy. These topics will be explored in the next issue.

Hear more from Ron Brown at

COLLECT TECH19 July/August 2019

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

CollectTECH19 Speakers Sound Off on the New CFPB Ruling Affecting Texting and Emailing RON L. BROWN MCE, IFCCE, MPRS, CCCO, CARS, CFA Owner ConSec Investigations, Inc. Now that the CFPB has proposed new rules to govern how third-party debt collectors contact borrowers, it is my opinion that the rules will accelerate the industry’s switch from insistent phone calls to emails and texts.

It appears that under the new rules, our collectors would only be able to call a consumer seven times a week — currently they can call as often as they want but we seldom call seven times in a work week. The major impact that I envision will be that once our collector reaches a consumer by phone, they will not be able to contact that consumer for at least a week. What if the consumer requested information? We will not be able to provide that information via telephone for a week.

The advantage to the new rule is that the CFPB is proposing no cap on the number of texts or emails a collector could send. This rule has become quite a controversial issue as it will open the door which will allow debt collectors to use various text messaging apps to include but not be limited to direct text, Facebook Messenger as well as many other textbased messaging services.

Consumers will not have to agree to text or email communications, however, the rules will provide the consumers an opt-out from collectors’ texts and emails.

It is my opinion these changes are a long time coming and will update the laws to address today’s communication methods.

The changes the CFPB has proposed are a reflection of how we communicate in today’s techno-world. Texting and email is without a doubt the way we communicate today.

Collection agencies that have for many years relied on telephonic contact with consumers will have to change their business model. It’s going to create a major change in the collection industry and auto dialers may go the way of the slide rule.

JOHN H. BEDARD, JR. Managing Attorney Bedard Law Group, P.C. The doors may soon be open for the credit and collection industries to communicate with consumers in ways most convenient to and desired by consumers. The CFPB’s proposed rule paves the way for the creation of ground rules RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

July/August 2019

focused on communicating with consumers via text message and email. This is the first step along a long road toward serving consumers in ways that meet the needs of a 21st Century economy.

GORDON C. BECK III President and COO Valor Intelligent Processing The new CFPB rules will bloom many opportunities for the industry, but none more than modernizing the way we communicate with consumers, specifically the practice of texting and emailing. We will start to see an abundance of options on platforms such as our very own CMS systems that will act not only as a CMS, but will utilize strategic analytics to automate communications such as text messaging and emails as a viable replacement to expensive alternatives. The future of tech in the ARM industry will have no boundaries.

CHRIS DUNKUM President First Collection Services The new CFPB ruling could open up responsible use of texting and emailing between receivable management firms and consumers. These tools would allow us to communicate with consumers in a way that is easier, more convenient, and faster for them. Our clients would also be able to securely answer questions that we forward to them from consumers much faster. Speeding up the flow of this information might improve overall results and reduce complaints commonly made against our industry. It isn’t a far stretch to imagine a consumer’s dispute being answered in hours instead of weeks.

Proper implementation of these new CFPB rules is key to the success for everyone. It is going to be more important than ever for industry leaders and regulators to make sure safeguards are put into place to protect the flow of this information. Technology and data providers working with us to provide proper consent management and data tracking will have many benefits beyond the obvious things we think about today. I truly believe this could be a new beginning for our industry.

Continued on page 13

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TOP 3 WAYS GAMIFICATION IMPACTS YOUR CONTACT CENTER

BY TRACY DUDEK

G

amification was a new term to me as of a few years ago.

I thought “gaming” was what my teenage sons did when they were playing their favorite console Tracy Dudek system or messing around on their phones. As it turns out gaming is not just for teenagers, it’s for all of us!

Specifically, gaming in a contact center is a way to challenge team members to reach certain goals throughout the day, as well as, just keeping work fun!

Here are the Top 3 Ways Gamification Impacted Our Contact Center:

1. TRANSPARENCY OF KPIs PROMOTES A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT The tool we use features a dashboard where we select the top three key performance indicators (KPIs) for each contact center role and have them displayed for each contact center agent to see on their gaming home screen. Those KPIs share important measurables in a consistent way each day for each contact center agent. By sharing the KPIs the agents not only see their team’s performance, but also their individual performance. These KPIs have data fed into a leaderboard, which is displayed on TV screens throughout the contact center.

By sharing who is on the leaderboard, we are instilling the competitive drive to be at the top of the leaderboard, and sharing what it will take to be considered “the best” in certain KPIs. The competition drives increased productivity.

2. EASE OF MANAGING CONTESTS AND INCENTIVES With a gaming system that receives informational updates very frequently

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throughout the day, the contests do not have to depend on a leader updating a spreadsheet or manually posting an update on a board. Technology is used to feed data into the gaming system, which provides routine updates to all agents, across the contact center, so each person and each team knows exactly where they stand in comparison to their KPIs and the progress

“Another thing I like is that it shows me what my personal best was. Then, once I’ve outdone myself, it stretches the goal a little further so I keep increasing my performance.” on their contest throughout the day.

By having auctions or using the store to distribute prizes, contests are easier for the supervisors to facilitate and keep track of, not to mention the results being more accurate.

A deeper dive into contests and incentives will be presented at the CollectTECH19 conference. But I will say that it is fun to challenge your co-workers to certain “duels” in order to see who can reach the top results for each day. Plus, there is no supervisory involvement needed to make that happen!

3. KEEPING THE CONTACT CENTER FUN Keeping incentives fresh can be a challenge

and there are many aspects to gaming including earning points, leveling up, bidding on auction items, challenging teammates in head-to-head competition, and even having a bracket-style tournament. Being able to personalize your profile and engage with others through the system increases interaction among coworkers and gives team members something fun to talk about!

Gaming came to State Collection Service and it is here to stay! Some of our contact center agents were willing to share their feedback about gamification and here’s what they had to say: “I love gaming,” said Jalisa Johnson!

“When you work in a larger company it can be hard to get recognition for everyone, and through this system I can get recognition without waiting for a supervisor to notice my individual accomplishments. You get to customize the shelf that holds your awards and they stay as yours forever. You can even click on them and they tell you what you did to earn that one. It’s nice that they stay on the shelf so you can always see the milestones you have completed!”

“The system helps me keep myself personally accountable,” said Andrenia Morgan-Washington. “I like to see what I immediately need to improve on throughout the day. I can see my calls and payments during the day and know what I need to do to reach my daily goals. I really like that it’s immediate and gives you instant feedback.”

“Another thing I like is that it shows me what my personal best was,” said Jalisa Johnson. “Then, once I’ve outdone myself, it stretches the goal a little further so I keep increasing my performance.”

“I really need the immediate feedback and it motivates me,” said Andrenia Morgan-Washington!”

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RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

“It isn’t a far stretch to imagine a consumer’s dispute being answered in hours instead of weeks.”

- Chris Dunkum Continued from page 11 LESLIE BENDER CIPP/US, CCCO, CCCA, IFCCE Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel BCA Financial Services It is commendable that the CFPB has crafted some clear guidelines for communicating with consumers per consumers’ preferences. This creates a wonderful opportunity for industry and consumer groups to study the proposal and find common ground for meeting consumers’ communication expectations. Subject to guardrails for respecting consumers’ privacy and avoiding third party disclosures, the strategies outlined in the NPRM for modernizing communications in debt collection are a terrific start.

JON BALON VP of Product Development Williams and Fudge, Inc. It’s a great start by defining a framework to use when communicating using these technologies. The ruling also helps in paving the way for future communications using mediums that many people use in their day-to-day lives.

Imagine the day where we can communicate with people using the communication medium they want, versus the one they are being forced to use. This ruling will help us in giving account holders what they want.

MIKE FROST Partner Malone Frost Martin PLLC It is clear in the new proposed rules from the CFPB that the regulator fully understands that consumers prefer communication options and there is not a one size fits all method to communicate with consumers. That said, the rules have shaped some recommendations, provided safe harbors and created some restrictions. Those within the industry that utilize omni-channel routes to communication with consumers will need to implement policies, procedures and compliance controls. All of which are feasible and provide significant opportunity for the ARM industry to reach consumers, especially millennials and Generation Zs.

RICK PERR Partner Fineman Krekstein & Harris, P.C. The express inclusion of communication via text and email in the CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a welcome development by the ARM Industry. Written in 1977, the FDCPA was not designed with modern technology in mind. Instead, it has been left to a myriad of courts to fit a round peg into a square hole when it comes to interpreting the use of advanced communication techniques in conjunction with the proscriptions of the FDCPA. There will surely be guidelines on its usage, but the mere recognition that consumers should be able to be communicated with in the medium they desire is a big win for technology and efficiency.

DEBRA J. CISKEY Certified Instructor ACA International The proposed Debt Collection Practices rule will help debt collectors communicate with consumers in their preferred communication mode. The interaction of multiple statutes, including the TCPA and ESIGN Act, will complicate the process, and these can be overcome. Specific and systematically enforced policies and procedures will be necessary to prevent errors and overcommunication. In the long run, consumer satisfaction with communications will increase, and documentation related to the receipt of messages will be a valuable benefit to the industry.

Hear more from the speakers at

COLLECT TECH19 RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

July/August 2019

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HONORING INDUSTRY STARS Top 50 Receivables Professionals Top 25 Innovative Agencies Top 50 Products

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR

COLLECT

TECH19

AMERICA’S PREMIER COLLECTION TECHNOLOGY EVENT CollectTECH19 will be a delicate balance of education, networking and entertainment focusing on technology and compliance issues in an unrivaled setting. CollectTECH19 will be held at the Worthington Renaissance and TopGolf in Fort Worth, Texas. TopGolf is a technologically advanced venue for learning and engagement. Breaks provide time to unwind and network with

TOP

RECEIVABLES PROFESSIONAL

2019

industry leaders over a fun game.

Getting the most out of your technology investments has never been so important or difficult. Join us at Receivables Advisor’s CollectTECH19 for the latest insight on how today’s tools and techniques can reduce decision making complexity and jumpstart growth. Sessions tailored especially for credit and collection executives, you will hear the latest thought leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Texting, Email, Voicemail, Chatbots, Real-time Speech Analytics, Virtual Collections, Client Portals and more.

RECEIVABLES

ADVISOR

NOVEMBER 18-20 FORT WORTH, TEXAS

LEARN from INDUSTRY LEADERS • Strategies from operating executives on how to use the latest technology to enhance more compliant & successful collections.

• Industry perspective on the future of AI and how regulatory compliance will play a role.

• Speakers will provide a clear path for utilizing AI while remaining compliant.

• Learn how industry vendors are working on harnessing AI and blockchain to best meet business and consumer needs and expectations.

• Innovators and business advocates will share their insights on how to modernize communications.

• Hands-on solutions to some of the daily problems and issues you encounter.

• TECHtalks: A special morning for open discussions around current topics where fellow attendees share their insight and reallife solutions. Technology Experts will bring their knowledge at interactive roundtable discussions.

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR

COLLECT

TECH19 NOVEMBER 18-20 FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Jon Balon

VP of Product and Innovation

Williams & Fudge, Inc.

Gordon C. Beck III President and COO

Valor Intelligent Processing

John H. Bedard, Jr. Managing Attorney

Bedard Law Group, P.C.

Leslie Bender

Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel

BCA Financial Services

Ron L. Brown Owner

AGENDA

ConSec Investigations, Inc.

Debra Ciskey

Chief Compliance Officer

Wakefield & Associates. Inc.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH 2:00 Opening Keynote The Unafraid Tech-Enabled A/R Professional Gordon C. Beck III While the foundation of this industry will always be the people, to stay ahead of the curve and create maximum value for your agencies, you must be digitized, tech enabled, cutting edge and unafraid. Recent regulatory developments have made this more possible than ever.

Technology Vendor Selection and Your Compliance Management System – Five Key Strategies Leslie Bender, CIPP/US, CCCO, CCCA, IFCCE and Lori Vanderpool The creditor’s and vendor’s perspective of important strategies a vendor selection component of a compliance management system should include when evaluating the onboarding of a new technology or technology vendor, including: 1) Updates to your standard contract provisions that can improve communication over technology resources, 2) Re-evaluating pre- and post- selection due diligence tactics, 3) Onboarding a new technology, 4) Assessing generational and other diversity differences from a consumer’s perspective and how to weave them into technology choices, and 5) Early warning options for detecting UDAAP. Dessert Break Technological Solutions to Regulatory Requirements Debra Ciskey, Rick Perr and Mike Frost The CFPB has proposed the use of texting, email, and the internet for communication with consumers, plus caps on telephone communications. Some states have call caps and provisions related to using email. In this session you will hear about the proposed and existing regulatory requirements, and the legal advantages and pitfalls of using the available technological tools, and gain insights about the ways new technologies can assist with the plethora of requirements outside of the CFPB regulation.

CFPB Update Hear directly from the CFPB after the 90-day comment period ends August 19 to update the 42-year-old FDCPA. The new debt collection rules become law one year later so leaders in collections will implement technology to comply with the new rules. As the CFPB limits phone call frequency, social media contact and workplace emails, it also brings email, text and voicemail into the 21st century.

5:30-7:00 Opening Reception Sponsored by

Register by July 31st to SAVE $500

NOW ONLY $795

CollectTECH19 AGENDA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH

Tracy Dudek

Chief Operating Officer

State Collection Service, Inc.

Continental Breakfast 8:30 Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Collections Unsupervised machine learning can lead to unpleasant or even lawsuit-invoking behavior. While AI and blockchain are the new buzzwords, the reality is innovative, tested solutions exist so experimentation can be avoided. Time-barred debt, credit reporting and complaint resolution solutions can be implemented today.

Text and Email Collections David Kaminski, Esq. David focuses his practice in the defense of the financial services industry, including banks, credit grantors, collection agencies, telecom carriers, and mobile marketers in all areas of financial services litigation. He is recognized for his work in defending against claims brought under consumer protection statutes, including the FDCPA, TCPA, the FCRA, and all other federal and state consumer protection laws and regularly gives presentations at leading industry trade organizations throughout the U.S. Speech Analytics John H. Bedard, Jr. John represents creditors, asset buyers, and debt collectors, helping them stay in compliance with state and federal law. He also manages the nationwide litigation for several collection agencies and focuses his litigation practice on FDCPA, TCPA, and FCRA defense. John’s practice also focuses on defending regulatory actions including CFPB investigations and travels the country performing CFPB readiness assessments for the collection industry.

Chris Dunkum President

First Collection Services

Mike Frost Partner

Malone Frost Martin PLLC

David Kaminski, Esq. Owner - Attorney

Carlson & Messer LLP

Dr. Mike Mowery

President, Servant Leadership Implementation

Morning Coffee Break

Strategic Government Resources

Got Game…In Your Contact Center?

Tracy Dudek What is gamification? Why would a contact center leader want to use gamification?

Are there really measurable results from adding gaming to your toolbox? Have these questions answered via a case study format presentation of one organization’s addition of gaming in their 500+ seat contact center!

Transitioning IT Bank Collections Jeremy Ruth Hear a creditor’s perspective of the challenges experienced when updating collection technology. Ruth will answer the questions involved with updating technology to improve compliance such as: does the ROI justify the time and monetary investment; and, is it easier to justify improved efficiencies and less FTE? Learn the best prioritization of software initiatives such as which initiative should come first, income generating initiatives versus collection process improvements, and the allocation of internal and vendor resources.

Also covered will be unanticipated delays due to M&As, project management challenges and vendor-to-vendor communication.

Continued on page 18

Jeremy Ruth

Director of Group Collections

Arvest Bank

Richard J. Perr, Esq. Partner

Fineman Krekstein & Harris, P.C.

Lori A. Vanderpool Regulatory Compliance Manager, CCCO

T-Mobile

CollectTECH19 AGENDA Continued from page 17

A Road Map to Virtual Collections and Your Future Jon Balon Interacting and conducting business is changing faster than ever. People don’t have the patience to wait. When they want to do something, they want to do it right now. This session will cover a wide variety of strategies and topics to help you think where you need to go next and how you can get there sooner rather than later.

Lunch, Networking and Golf Cyber Tracking Technology…

The Future of Skip Tracing?

Ron Brown Enter the fascinating world of “cyber tracking” through the free web data portals and explore the methods utilized by professional trackers to massage and manipulate social media sites to locate consumers and their assets. Through 21st century technology and millennial skill sets, lenders and their collection agencies can decrease both expenses and training time using little known direct and indirect pathways.

During this entertaining, enlightening and educational session presented by Ron Brown, an internationally recognized tracer and instructor, you will be provided advanced technological insight, new and innovative data sources and a view into the professional and compliant “read only” methods which put millennial cyber trackers on the path to success, enabling them to locate consumers in a rapid and cost effective manner.

er by Regist st July 31 00 E $5 to SAV

NLY O W O N $795

Collecting From the Unbanked and the Technology Surrounding It Howard George The FDIC estimated in 2018 there are 10 million unbanked and underbanked households in the U.S. Respectfully, 7.7% and 17.9% of U.S. population. Subsequently, that means 20% of U.S. population is not well evaluated or accommodated with regard to traditional credit scores and new technologies. The options and choices of scoring, communication channels and payment channels involve many technologies and enhancements. The evaluation of what will provide the best return of investment for your organization is critical.

Healthcare Collection Bots Learn how to personalize text and email communications to authenticate consumers’ identity and engage consumers on their time and their preferred method. Cell phone settlement is expected to skyrocket collection rates using proven, predetermined tone and frequency where analytics drive code-driven compliance.

Dessert Break Machine Learning, Chatbots and AI Practical implementation of artificial intelligence utilizes machine learning interaction analytics to improve collection rates and reduce lawsuits as a result of non-compliance.

Agencies improve customer experience and client relationships using Chatbots that learn from collector/customer interactions.

Moneyball Approach to Collections Chris Dunkum What is the craziest piece of data you have ever tried to use and how did you determine if it worked or not? The moneyball approach to collections is using data and analytics that some people may think are crazy to drive how we work in collections today. “Moneyball,” says Dunkum, “is one of my favorite movies because it sums up much of our industry. If success in pro baseball or pro football were tied to finances, the Yankees and Cowboys would always win.

Yet it has been several years since the Yankees or the Cowboys have

hung a championship banner.”

In our industry there are companies of all sizes competing with each other. When all else is equal, the differentiator between companies is how we use data and analytics. This is going to be an open presentation where we discuss the tools that are available to us and how we better compete with these tools. We will discuss data that is available for us to buy and data that we can build using our work efforts. “You will leave this presentation with some very practical ideas and some that will make you think I am just crazy. Bottom line is you will leave the room thinking,” Dunkum concluded.

Awards Reception & Golf 6:00-7:00 Receivables Advisor’s Awards Ceremony • 2019 Professional of the Year • 2019 Product of the Year • Most Innovative Agency • Most Innovative Product • Top 50 Receivables Professionals • Top 50 Products • Top 25 Innovative Agencies

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH 8:30 Becoming a Talent Magnet: Attracting and Keeping the Right Employees Dr. Mike Mowery Everything rises or falls with leadership, including attracting and keeping the right employees for your organization. Dr. Mowery explains why the key to attracting and keeping the right employees starts with becoming the right kind of leader. Mowery is certified as a facilitator by IOPT, Wave Changers, Friday Night at the ER, and the Institute of Cultural Affairs.

Roundtable TECHtalks Brunch TECHtalks: Open discussions around current topics where fellow attendees share their current collection challenges. Technology Experts will bring their knowledge for interactive roundtable discussions. Bring your toughest questions and get answers before you leave the conference.

11:30 Conference Concludes

GAME CHANGERS from TOP TECH LEADERS

M

astery of one’s tools is a vital step toward virtuosity. The following accounts receivable professionals have been selected by their peers as those who push the frontier in collection technology and set precedents as to what is possible for an accounts receivable entity. These Top Technology Leaders in Accounts Receivable reveal what you can do today that will improve your practices through technology and game changers for the industry.

What is a technology or technological practice every accounts receivable entity

SCOTT COLLINS Director, Information Technology Action Collection Agencies, Inc. Speech analytics for compliance and quality assurance.

ROB CERBELLI IT Director Debt Recovery Solutions Implementation of a scoring model to assist in and increase account receivables liquidity.

should implement?

GORDON C. BECK III President & COO Valor Intelligent Processing At the beginning of each year, based on current trends, agency needs and available opportunity, a great practice is to task the IT Team to bring two new technology projects to the table and see them through to completion. Whether it is a replacement to an existing and aging technology or a brand new technology or both, it is vital that the technology team is always working on the “next best thing.” By requiring this of your CIO it ensures that he or she is always on the look out and ready to take on new projects.

MARC A. CARTER President CBC, LLC A direct communications line to the collection plat form provider is vital to drive systemic up grades and top line results.

MICHAEL T. GARDNER JR. Executive Director Credit Clearing House of America, Inc. Develop a database of litigious consumers that are flagged when clients place new accounts. This prevents contact with consumers who are associated with the well-known plaintiff attorneys in the industry.

RICK HAASS Chief Operating Officer, CISM, CISA Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP Data analytics. Examining data to draw conclusions, change processes and adjust to what is successful is crucial in the industry. Data analysis enables organizations to make better business decisions based on quantifiable metrics and increase collections. Relying on data analytics is as important as the actual technology you use.

Continued on page 20

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Continued from page 19 MATT KIEFER, MBA Chief Officer of Information, Compliance & Development The Preferred Group of Tampa A good audit mechanism, whether it is a vendor that covers multiple processes or homemade, that you can audit your processes and ensure that what you think ought to be happening is, in fact, happening. I like queries or reports that you can run again and again as in “show me accounts that should be X but are not X or are Y?” For instance: a report that shows me accounts that have a phone, are a recent placement but have never received a call but should have, is a good start.

ADAM KLAMN Director of IT Sentry Credit, Inc. Information security is always the number one risk that everyone should be focused on.

The Accounts Receivables industry is a service-based industry, and if you leak your client’s consumer information out in to the “wild,” you are not providing them very good service, are you? Maintaining the security of consumer NPI [non-public personal information] should be the prime driver of all aspects of information management controls. Consumers, clients, and regulators expect peerless data security controls and a solid focus on this area of risk in all new and ongoing operational projects and initiatives.

DAN MEDINA

Senior Database Administrator

Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, Inc.

Be open with your information. First, have a

consumer and client web portal. Younger consumers prefer to interact this way. Your clients also appreciate quick responses and confirmation that the accounts are being worked and issues are being addressed. Second, generate and deliver invoices and client reports on time and regularly. Collections is a function of accounting. If an agency can’t do its own accounting quickly and correctly, should they really be handling your accounts?

MICHAEL MEYER Chief Risk and Security Officer MRS BPO LLC Change management.

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TRIP MITCHELL CIO Diversified Consultants, Inc. Making sure you and your staff are knowledgeable and protected from the latest security threats is where it all starts. With all of the cyber security threats out there today, one simple lack in protection will close the doors permanently, so make sure you are safe from any threats first and foremost.

MARTY M. SARIM President and CEO Enhanced Resource Centers There are many technologies that every company in the ARM space should deploy but it all starts with what you’re trying to accomplish, your tolerance for spending and your ability to integrate. From there you can really decide what makes the most sense for your individual business. Many ARM companies have diverse segmentations of business based on age, verticals, etc; so not all technology will impact the same.

DIANA MALTESE SCHOBEL CEO Certified Accounts Receivable Specialists There are many! One practice we recently implemented was direct drop voicemail.

This has greatly increased our inbound calls and overall consumer contact.

JASON THOMPSON Chief Information Officer General Service Bureau and Early Out Services, Inc. Multichannel communication strategies to engage with consumers in a compliant fashion is a critical element for successful accounts receivable entities. Through technology we can tailor communication strategies in ways that resonate in a more meaningful fashion with the consumer. Today’s consumers, across all generations, are tech savvy and with that, they demand personalized attention that dictates when and how they want to be contacted along with easy online or mobile payment options.

July/August 2019

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

What is the big technological game changer for the accounts receivable industry?

Gordon C. Beck III It is going to be interesting to see what technologies are developed and become available as a result of the new CFPB rules, but until that becomes available, it is quite obvious to me that artificial intelligence is currently the biggest technological game changer for the industry. Not just using AI for the sake of using it, but actually focusing in on what it can accomplish for the agencies is paramount. As it stands, many agencies are spending 30% of their day with “revenue absent calls” such as removing wrong numbers, handling fraud accounts, deceased accounts and even aiding in disputes. Implementing AI to handle these types of calls from cradle to grave, subsequently giving back that 30% of time to the agents so they can handle revenue generating calls, that alone is a huge technological game changer and that is only one aspect of what AI brings to the table.

Marc A. Carter For CBC, the game changer is Alex, our chatbot. With multi-lingual capabilities and 24/7/365 access by consumers, Alex has provided the platform for compliant communications to debtors with a minimal cost when compared to FTE [full-time employee] costs.

Scott Collins Here I would say there are two.

One on the regulation side and the other purely on the revenue side: • Regulation - Cell phones and the forever-changing laws for contacting consumers on them using dialer technology.

• Revenue - Scoring accounts for propensity to pay using vendor data and your own historical data.

Rob Cerbelli TCPA ruling on autodialing cell phones.

Michael T. Gardner Jr. No question the big game changer in the A/R industry is the new upcoming CFPB rule changes. These rules will allow our industry the ability to email and text consumers, finally allowing us to communicate like we are in the 21st century. Companies need to start setting up processes and procedures immediately so they are able to take advantage of these new forms of communication when the regulations are implemented.

Rick Haass Self-service technology (online web portals, IVR, multi-channel options for customers) have had a huge impact on the industry. Simplifying the process of resolving their receivables and making it easier for consumers to settle accounts in a variety of ways achieves faster and better results.

Matt Kiefer, MBA I think voice drop technology, specifically using VoApps, was a huge game changer. Not just for TCPA but for reaching people in general in a nonobtrusive manner. I was among the first to implement it at a former company after having learned about it when VoApps was a first-time vendor for a conference of the Florida Collectors Association. I analyzed it, read the legal whitepaper on how it works, talked to their people and implemented it. How quickly we saw the ROI!

RECEIVABLES ADVISOR .com

July/August 2019

Adam Klamn The incorporation of voice analytics. The ability to systematically analyze all consumer calls for demeanor, regulatory risk and customer satisfaction gives us the tools we need to provide a detective control for non-compliant behavior and allows us to properly coach our staff to improve performance.

Dan Medina Robocallers. Legitimate agencies now have to test and make sure their phone numbers are not on suspected robocaller lists. This is a manual and tedious task at times. Due to the proliferation of robocalls, more people do not answer their phones…at all. They return calls instead. This has greatly impacted dialer strategies. STIR/SHAKEN [Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs] looks promising but implementation faces many hurdles and will take more time than anyone cares to wait for.

Michael Meyer Voice assistant technologies coupled with artificial intelligence.

Trip Mitchell Automation is key to any process!

Automating your back office processes and speeding up the time to process files is allowing faster recovery times. The faster and more secure you can recover a debt, the more you will benefit in the long term. If you can secure, work and allow zero down time in all offices at a faster pace, you will out recover your competition every day.

Marty M. Sarim Hands down artificial intelligence coming online in more user friendly and affordable ways to the average company. This has really allowed many businesses to disrupt their own work. There have been thousands of tech companies born in just the past few years that are very nimble and much more cost effective that use AI and will allow more plug and play options.

Diana Maltese Schobel The technological game changer is the ability to contact our consumers using current technology such as text messaging and emailing. This would allow us to communicate with the consumers in the manner they prefer.

However, until the proposed rules are finalized, we are not been able to fully implement this technology.

Jason Thompson The biggest technological game changer is happening right now with the recent release of the CFPB’s proposed rules related to the allowed usage of modern communication technologies. The personalization of customer communications will be critical to the success of any receivables firm especially when it comes to collecting overdue accounts which are considered an intrusion if not communicated effectively. Personalized communication solutions tailored to customer preferences help in developing trust and building relationships with consumers.

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Business Directory Collection Agencies IC System, Inc. 3rd Party Collections

icsystem.com 651-481-6531 ejohannes@icsystem.com IC System provides secure and compliant third-party bad debt collection services to a wide array of markets.

Over 80 years of family ownership and consistent, trusted results.

United Collection Bureau, Inc.

1st and 3rd Party Collections ucbinc.com ssharma@ucbinc.com 954-236-6027 UCB, Inc. provides national debt programs for creditors in all markets from fully-secure high performance collection centers located in the U.S. and Latin America.

Collection Solutions Software, Inc. CSS IMPACT! HD™ 2.0 cssimpact.com arielb@cssimpact.com 818-593-4830 CSS IMPACT! HD™ 2.0 (Enterprise), the industry’s leading ARM | Collections & Compliance Platform delivering decades of deep rooted industry acumen for the ARM, Collections & Compliance sectors. IXP (Lite) also available.

The Computer Manager, Inc. Debt$Net Collection Software debtnet5.com | sales@debtnet5.com 800-552-8397 Since 1987, Debt$Net collection software has provided collection agencies, law firms and in-house collection departments with one of the most comprehensive collection systems in the industry.

Debtmaster®

Debtmaster® 360 debtmaster.com 800-414-2814 Debtmaster®360 gives you cloud hosted, costeffective, flexible, secure, collection solutions that helps you manage compliance and provide quality service for Clients and Debtors.

Quantrax Corporation Inc.

RMEx quantrax.com marketing@quantrax.com 301-657-2084 Quantrax is a high-end collection technology company that has marketed and supported an intelligent collection software platform for over 25 years.

Simplicity Collection Software SimplicityCollect Comtech Systems simplicitycollectionsoftware.com Collect! sales@simplicitycollect.com Credit and Debt 866-791-0224 Collection Software Collection Software As an industry leader, Simplicity is the only software procollect.org | info@collect.org vider to offer a web solution with unlimited users, clients, CDS Software 800-661-6722 accounts, and custom fields at an affordable price!

CollectOne Collect! combines ease of use with total integration collectone.com of functions. Accounts are efficiently tracked from Sentinel info@collectone.com the time you receive them until activity is concluded Development 888-816-3333 and they are closed. Collect! keeps track of critical Solutions, Inc. CollectOne is an award winning suite of debt colinformation automatically. Total integration provides eCollections lection solutions that provides a feature-rich set of for seamless and accurate month end invoices and ecollections.com | sales@ecollections.com automated business processes designed to minimize statements with full account histories.

515-564-0585 costs and maximize results.

The result of 20 years of industry-leading collections/recovDAKCS Software ery platform development, eCollections is a comprehensive CODIX Systems enterprise collection system with flexible configuration, iMX Collection, Beyond ARM ease-of-use, powerful payment features, workflow automaLegal and Recovery Solution dakcs.com | sales@dakcs.com tion, and unparalleled reporting and tracking. codix.us/debt_collection 800-873-2527 bquinn@codix.us DAKCS Software Systems is an industry leader in simpli404-790-0998 Collection Support Services fying the process of collections and accounts receivable iMX is a complete centralized debt collection and management. By creating highly configurable, innovarecovery software solution. Based on the latest Cornerstone tive cloud and on-premise software solutions, DAKCS oftechnologies, iMX Debt Collection includes all the Support fers a way to run your business faster and more efficient. most advanced business functionalities supported by State Licensing DAKCS is committed to providing the tools necessary for native tools. and E&O Insurance success in the ever evolving ARM industry. cornerstonesupport.com info@cornerstonesupport.com 888-445-8660 Cornerstone Support is the premier licensing and insurance provider to the collection industry; professionally trained to assist you with all of your state licensing needs.

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1 issue - $500 | 2-6 Issues - $300 each

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VoApps DirectDrop Voicemail voapps.com sales@voapps.com 855-639-4907 VoApp’s patented DirectDrop Voicemail service delivers a voice message directly to a consumer’s voicemail server – without calling the phone in question.

Compliance LexisNexis® Risk Solutions LexisNexis ® Accurint ® for Collections lexisnexis.com/risk/receivables-management 800-869-0751 LexisNexis Risk Solutions assist debt recovery professionals with increasing workflow efficiencies, gaining greater insight into debt portfolios, collecting more in less time and achieving greater profitability.

Cybersecurity/IT DKBinnovative

Managed IT/Cybersecurity/ Compliance dkbinnovative.com solutions@dkbinnovative.com 888-352-4832 Boost workforce productivity and stop cybersecurity and compliance threats with DKB. As your strategic partner and virtual CIO, focus on your agency while we protect and improve your technology effectiveness.

Electronic Payments

Skip Tracing LexisNexis® Risk Solutions LexisNexis® Accurint ® for Collections risk.lexisnexis.com 800-869-0751 LexisNexis® Risk Solutions assist debt recovery professionals with increasing workflow efficiencies, gaining greater insight into debt portfolios, collecting more in less time and achieving greater profitability.

U.S. Tracers Proprietary Place of Employment VeriFacts Payroll Promise verifactsinc.com sclark@verifactsinc.com 800-542-7434 Payroll Promise is designed to support a legal strategy by locating verified full time places of employment. The information returned is 100% guaranteed to be accurate.

Speech Analytics speechIQ speechIQ speechiq.com sales@speechiq.com 888-683-1011 SpeechIQ is an AI-driven speech analytics and quality management platform helping companies automate and streamline quality assurance, improve agency performance, and mitigate compliance risks.

Innovative E-Pay Virtual Collections Solutions, Inc. Electronic Applied Payments Innovation Inc. innoepay.com ClientAccessWeb, sales@innoepay.com PayStream, 855-888-3729 GreenLight, and Papyrus Specializes in providing Credit Card and Electronic appliedinnovationinc.com Check processing accounts to the Collections Industry 800-589-5651 for over 15 years. FDCPA Certified Agents, longtime mjeffers@appliedinnovationinc.com members of ACA. Applied Innovation provides a suite of compliant solutions for the ARM industry. Our solutions have proven to increase your bottom line with improved Mail Services efficiencies, increased client sales and retention, and increased web services. Designed for your continued CompuMail Inc. growth and success.

Print & Mail Services, Communications InterProse

compumailinc.com ACE - Virtual info@compumailinc.com Agent Collector 360-260-1888 interprose.com/collection-advisor In addition to providing print and mail services, CompuMail's solutions include email, online archiving, aaron.reiter@interprose.com and real-time review & approve capabilities - coupled 844-244-1135 Add InterProse’s consumer-friendly, patented Virtual with superior service.

Agent Collector to your existing software or ask about ACE for a full conversion to a true, web-based collection platform, open to third-party integrations and packed with process automations.

RECEIVABLES

ADVISOR

July/August 2019 Volume 19, No. 4 Editor-in-Chief Joshua Fluegel josh@receivablesadvisor.com Editor T. Steel Rose, CPA, ACG editor@receivablesadvisor.com Copy Editor Myrna Nelson Advisory Board/Columnists Gordon Beck Ron Brown Debra Ciskey Michael L. Starzec Harry A. Strausser III Publisher Angie Rose angie@receivablesadvisor.com CollectTECH19 Chelsea Patterson chelsea@receivablesadvisor.com Production Andrea Bergeron Paul andrea@receivablesadvisor.com Subscription Changes Joshua Fluegel josh@receivablesadvisor.com The opinions given by contributing authors are their own and not necessarily the opinion of our staff and ownership. All trademarks used are the property of their respective owner.

Receivables Advisor (ISSN# 1556-0813) is produced six times a year by Abide Media, P.O. Box 92342, Southlake, TX 76092, 888-610-1144. Standard Mail postage paid at Sussex, WI 53089. ©2019 All Rights Reserved Magazine Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A.

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If you are a premium provider of accounts receivable services, your choices for collection software have dwindled. Many companies are not investing in new technology while others have been sold or acquired, leaving you with only two viable options.

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Technology Advisor I T. Steel Rose

Most Profound Revolution in Financial Services Since FDIC

I

Founder Receivables Advisor magazine

I n 1977 when the FDCPA became law, the first Apple II sandbox program for financial innovation. This regulatory sandbox computer went on sale, a gallon of gas was 65 cents, Elvis Presley would provide a two-year “safe harbor” trial period for determining died in Graceland and Jimmy Carter was elected president. whether these practices are profitable while the CFPB evaluates Forty-two years later the receivables industry is on the cusp of seismic whether they benefit consumers. disruption due to an updated FDCPA and financial institution Through the sandbox program regulators seek to gain a financial reporting mandates. As the CFPB recognizes the pivotal working knowledge of new financial technology before its full role collections provides, communication technology will help resolve implementation. Many of today’s consumer-facing financial complaints and improve consumer credit worthiness. technologies, such as online banking and mobile electronic payments, It’s a brave, new world where I can hear, “free at last,” ringing in would not have existed if regulators had not fostered an innovative my ears. I can also tell you that 2019 is just market, but instead solely relied on the beginning. Four letters: CECL are being enforcement measures.

I can also tell you that 2019 referred to as the biggest accounting change There are many drivers for this shift in banking history, the most profound towards greater investment in collections. As is just the beginning. Four letters: revolution in financial services since the delinquencies and outstanding debt levels FDIC secured deposits. The Financial across most consumer lending categories CECL are being referred to as Accounting Standards Board (FASB) trend upward, collection departments will the biggest accounting change introduced Current Expected Credit Loss face larger workloads in the next 18 months.

(CECL), part of ASU 2016-13, Financial As that happens, banks will be unprepared in banking history, the most Instruments: Credit Losses, as the new to handle the problem due to rising accounting standard for the recognition and acquisition and reward expenses for credit profound revolution in financial measurement of expected credit losses (ECL) cards. Slowing revenue growth prevents services since the FDIC. for loans and debt securities. CECL takes card issuers from investments in receivables effect in 2020, following global accounting management. rules under International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9).

Additionally, the concept of collections within banks’ Both standards will have drastic impact on how financial institutions customer relationships is changing as banks modify their report loan losses and collection departments who can reduce them. services to drive better financial outcomes for their customers.

The absence of agents or dialers may become a reality for first Increased customer loyalty extends to debt collection, especially parties as international companies comply with the 31-day “time technologically enhanced collections. bomb” under IFRS 9. To prevent accounts from rolling to Stage 2, Consider this alone, FICO recently commissioned a global and recording a lifetime expected credit loss impairment, creditors in telecom research report that showed 94% of global service the financial services industry are expected to accelerate collections by providers are using text messaging to communicate with their assigning more accounts to collection agencies. customers, but less than one in five are personalizing these Instead of throwing bodies at this opportunity, collection communications for late payments. agencies can use artificial intelligence on accounts not only to Artificial intelligence and machine learning will articulate prevent 31-day delinquencies but to collect more. Using AI will be a methodology to set the stage for the disruptive technological transformative to increase right-party contacts, free up agents from advancements of 2020. In 1977, there was no email, no cell phones busy work and overcome agent mistakes in compliance and creating and very little bad debt. According to the Federal Reserve, in dialer queues.

1977 there was $37 billion in outstanding revolving debt mainly In a world where most financial matters take a few taps on an credit cards. As of March, 2019 there were $1.057 trillion in app, collections is stuck in the last century limited to the telephone revolving credit outstanding. I am not saying categorically that if and letters. Phone calls may soon give way to emails, texts and even communication rules had stayed current these outstanding levels social media-direct messages as the CFPB updates the FDCPA. may not have exploded, but I am saying that if I said, “Ladies and Collections that utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence gentlemen, Elvis has left the building,” most people would not know could follow under a separate CFPB proposal to create a regulatory what I was talking about.

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2. INDUSTRY [ ] Auto Finance [ ] Bank/Credit Union [ ] 1st Party [ ] 3rd Party [ ] Medical [ ] Manufacturer [ ] Mortgage Lender [ ] Student Loan [ ] Finance Company [ ] Data Security [ ] Telecom [ ] Utility [ ] General Collections [ ] Other _______________________________ 3. JOB DESCRIPTION (CHECK ONE) [ ] President/CEO/Owner [ ] CTO [ ] Vice President [ ] CIO/CFO/COO [ ] Collection Mgr. [ ] Attorney [ ] Dir./Mgr. Operations [ ] Dir./Mgr. MIS [ ] Sales/Marketing [ ] Technical/MIS Staff [ ] Other _______________________________ 4. PRODUCTS OF INTEREST (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY) [ ] Banking [ ] Collection Software [ ] Collection Support [ ] Insurance [ ] Electronic Payments [ ] Doc Management [ ] Estate Recoveries [ ] CMS [ ] In-house Collections [ ] IVR [ ] Mail Services [ ] AI [ ] Litigation/Legal [ ] Predictive Dialers [ ] Medical [ ] Analytics [ ] Skip Tracing [ ] Texting [ ] Other _____________________ 5. HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT TECH19? [ ] Advertising [ ] Email [ ] Website [ ] Direct Mail [ ] Phone

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Cast Your Vote E YEAR

F TH PROFESSIONAL O

d beyond this year has gone above an The individual who r achievements n with his/her caree sio es of pr e th e rv to se and contributions.

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AR AGENCY OF THE YE VE TI VA O N IN ST O M d asks “why not?” by

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