Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
It really amazed me to learn that the very first smartphone was launched in Ireland at the end of March in 2007. Isn’t that amazing! In ten short years, this little device has taken over most of our lives. Every age, every nationality, everywhere you go you see people connected to their phone. Whether it…
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As financial services firms consider the impact the draft and under consultation Money Laundering Regulations 2017 will have for their companies, their focus is on ensuring they can plot a course to compliance amongst the host of new regulations. Financial services firms are more adept than other industries such as professional and legal services firms…
Read moreWith the 2018 deadline just around the corner, 2017 is set to be a crucial make or break time for lenders who are implementing IFRS 9. Many firms have begun their parallel run phase by now and are beginning to understand and finesse their approach to the new requirements. However, research shows there are still…
Read moreIt’s been more than two years since financial education was embedded into the school curriculum here in the UK. While I believe we’ve seen some progress, we must still push further to ensure young people make informed choices with full knowledge of the potential consequences – positive and negative. Troubling trends At the end of…
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The University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre has published a new guide on vulnerability and debt collection which addresses 21 questions raised by dealing with vulnerable customers and 21 steps to take to improve practice. This guide is a follow up to the ‘12 steps’ work done in 2015 and is based on new data…
Read moreDigital processes are now increasingly commonplace in the lending industry. Numerous challenger organisations have launched in the past decade, each looking to disrupt the market and steal a significant share from established firms. This is helping create an environment where customers are interacting less and less directly with their lender or broker than ever before.…
Read more“I am not a number, I am a person.” So said the character Number 6 in the classic 1960s TV show The Prisoner, as he railed against the erosion of his identity and being referred to as a number rather than his name. Many people will concur with this and object to the seeming impersonality…
Read moreResource optimisation and strong intelligent dialling capabilities are at the heart of every debt collection operation as operational success is measured by the number of debtors reached and the amount of revenue recovered. Of course, individuals and businesses in debt typically do not like to be contacted and many go to great lengths to avoid…
Read moreThousands of businesses fall victim to the late payment ‘epidemic’. Recent research from Creditsafe has revealed that during 2016, more invoices were paid late than on time, with 56% paid beyond agreed terms in Q4 alone. Late payments have become a prominent cause of cash flow issues among companies today, and particularly SMEs. These businesses…
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As the UK trade association for the debt collection sector, we make it our business to engage with regulators, government, international bodies (such as FENCA), researchers, policy makers and other key stakeholders to be the voice of the industry on key issues. This doesn’t mean ‘sticking up for our members whether they are right or…
Read moreIt won’t surprise readers of this blog to hear that the Consumer Credit industry has been on quite a journey over the last few years. The impact of a tougher regulatory regime has changed the game, and to a degree, helped to deliver better customer outcomes. But in the era of Trump and “fake news”…
Read moreThe FCA has released a new report into how firms are treating customers who fall into arrears, focusing in particular on how firms are interacting with customers and examining the different forbearance options that are being offered across a wide range of products, including credit cards, personal loans, store cards and point of sale finance.…
Read moreWhat are the likely impacts on debt collection and recoveries?What is happening and when? From April 2017, over 1.2 million eligible businesses and other non-household customers in England will be able to choose their supplier of water and wastewater retail services. The smallest high street shops to the largest public authorities will be able to shop…
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