Welcome to the Research Assistant Weekly Newsletter - a subscriber-only resource for insight into emerging compliance challenges, details on peer calls, and links to new Research Assistant reports, documents, tools, and more.

Sponsored by TCN

As a compliance leader in today’s regulatory environment, it’s easy to feel like you’re being pulled between regulations that dominate the headlines and emerging technology. The frantic pace of regulatory change has made it difficult enough. Add in the need for collection operations to pivot from making phone calls and sending “snail mail” to sending emails and texting and suddenly you have a juggling act that even Ringling Brothers would struggle with.

Having a tight vendor and service provider management process is a great way to ensure that new technology resources are implemented thoughtfully and with compliance controls. What does a vendor and service provider management program look like? It’s different for everyone and should fit the size and complexity of your organization. The CFPB supplied guidance on their requirements for managing risk with service providers in 2016 . Compliance Bulletin and Policy Guidance; 2016-02, Service Providers and embedded its expectations in both the Compliance Manage Review and Compliance Management Review -Information Technology examination procedures. Additionally, The FTC’s Amended Safeguards Rules dedicates section 16 CFR 314.4(f) to service provider oversight. Use these rules and expectations as your foundation to building your vendor and service provider program. 

Vendors and service providers that specialize in products and services that support the account receivables management industry should have excellent understanding of consumer financial laws that impact their product or service as well as data security controls. A technology partner will be able to not only share those with you but help you design how the technology will work alongside your current platforms. Some even help you by putting together a project plan that includes the compliance requirements you’ll need to ensure are implemented and tested prior to going live and for future internal audits.

Working with operations to understand the goal is also a great way to stay on top of compliance with new technology. We all know that compliance should always be involved in the discovery phase of any new technology implementation but that doesn’t always happen. What do you do when you get told that the company is bringing on a new service provider for texting and the contract has already been signed? That’s the reality sometimes. When this happens, we just do the best we can, right? It’s not ideal and can result in some very difficult conversations when the service provider in question doesn’t have the correct compliance in place. Developing an open communication with operations and educating them on the need for compliance involvement in the beginning will go a long way in making the implementation of any new product or service more efficient and lower your company’s risk. 

Another question to ask ourselves is, “what are the implications of these technologies for compliance?” They may have the potential to enhance compliance by increasing efficiency and enabling better collaborations between departments within your agency. On the flip side, they could cause a disconnect between regulatory requirements and the need to use technology for consumer communications. The compliance landscape is continuing to evolve and so is technology. It is essential, as compliance leaders, to stay on top of changes in both areas in order to meet your organizations needs and mitigate unintentional risks.

Documents and Crowdsourced Materials:

• Member Questions: Student Debt, Non-Compete Agreements, Dispute Dates, and Defense Firms

• Member Question: Credit Reporting and Re-Reporting

Top Reads: 

• FCC Chairwoman Just Asked Congress to Expand the TCPA’s Autodialer Definition and its Worth Paying Attention to

• Federal Regulators Jointly Release New FDCPA Examination Procedures 

• 2022 Data Privacy Roundup – New Laws, Rulemaking, and Important Date

• CFPB Adds Six New Items to Fall 2022 Rulemaking Agenda, Including Overdraft Fees, Fees for Insufficient Funds, and Credit Card Penalty Fees 

Upcoming Webinars/ Other Announcements:

• 2023 Research Assistant Webinar Series Coming Soon!

• Research Assistant sponsor Provana has a new resource page just for Research Assistant members. Check out the new Provana resources and check in for special offers right here. 

• Reminder: Send any topics or questions that you want to discuss to sara@insidearm.com by Thursday to ensure it makes it on our agenda!