Scalable Technology Can Help Collection Campaigns: PayStream

Debt collection firms often lag in adopting new technology, but recently the industry has made some major strides, incorporating Software as a Service (SaaS) to help interactive collections communications (ICC) to come of age, according to a recent report from PayStream Advisors, Inc.

The credit crunch is forcing lenders and other creditors to look for more effective debt collection strategies to help them fill the void between receivables and what is actually collected, according to the report. ICC enables debt collection professionals to work on larger debts or more complex problems while technology handles the rest.

ICC – two-way collections communications via telephone, Internet, e-mail, text messaging and fax ­­– is coming of age as SaaS becomes the standard method of operations, according to the report from PayStream, a Charlotte, N.C.-based collections consultant. With SaaS, all of a company’s staff is working on the same platform and using the latest version of software. Therefore, the solutions can scale as needed.

“Scalability is a particular plus for collection applications, since you can easily add more capacity as you need it – with no worries about physical installation of telephone lines at your site,” according to the “Interactive Collections Communications” report. “You pay for what you use, adding lines for a particular campaign, and scaling back when it is over.”

SaaS leaves the technology to the vendor’s IT staff, according to PayStream, so the collections staff can do the jobs they were hired to do.

Other major technology trends impacting the collections industry include:

• Voice over Internet Protocol: Combined with advances in speech optimization, VoIP has changed the nature of collections, providing the industry with a way of delivering clear, low-cost, reliable messages.
• Powerful analytic and reporting tools that offer insight into data based on company results and industry best practices
• Alternative channels, such as e-mail and mobile telephones.