Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank announces line up

The Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank has confirmed its agenda and speaker line-up ahead of the event in-person event at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on Thursday 4th November.

The launch of the event follows on from the successful launches of the Online Collections Technology Think Tank and the Online Lending Technology Think Tank series over the past 18 months.  This event will seek to create an engaging environment with the aim of enabling all participants to learn about forthcoming technological innovations. Lenders, creditors and collections specialists will discuss, debate and dissect regulatory and thematic business challenges whilst discussing the benefits of technological innovation.
 
Previous online editions of the Think Tank focused on how lending and collections teams can improve business effectiveness using technology. The event aims to arm attending companies with technological strategies takeaways that can be implemented into their business.

The event will consist of four sessions that will focus on customer engagement, affordability, open banking in collections and will be closed off with a stream on business transformation.

The session streams will include speakers from lenders and credit providers with consumer collection agencies supporting the discussion. The Think Tank will be Chaired by Chris Warburton Director at ROStrategy.

The agenda is as follows:

• 9.30am Registration opens, coffee, networking
• 10.30am Opening remarks from the event Chair Chris Warburton, Director at ROStrategy and Colin White, Founding Director at Credit Connect Media,
• 10.35am Session 1 – Credit and collection landscape. The industry view on assessing the credit and collections challenges. How can the lending, credit and collections sectors work closer to enhance the best customer outcome? Speakers: Kevin Still, Director at Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA), Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief Executive Officer at The Civil Enforcements Association (CIVEA), Chris Leslie, Chief Executive Officer at the Credit Services Association (CSA), Anna Roughley Head of Insight at Lending Standards Board (LSB).
• 11.30am Session 2 – Credit risk: What has the pandemic done to risk appetite?  Assessing lending and collections risk. Speakers: Paul Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Morses Club, Peter Gent, Sales Director at CRS
• 12.30pm Lunch: Dinner and networking
• 1.45pm Session 3 –  Affordability and Vulnerable customers. Can data play a bigger role? The importance of the customer journey from the start of the lending/credit cycle through to collections. Can the online lending and collections self-service models work? Speakers: Sonya Schofield, Head of Vulnerable Customer Strategy at GAIN Credit,  Frank Sherlock, Vice President International at CallMiner, Guy Statter, Head of Software Sales at QUALCO
• 2.45pm Session 4 – Future of technology and open banking. The role of customer engagement. The importance of business transformation and creating the right mix between people and technology. The Future for Lending and Collections creating an end to end strategy. What are the potential negative impacts of technology (e.g. fraud)?  Can we predict the future of lending and collections? Speakers: Richard Sharp, Managing Director Consumer Division at Oplo, Tony Gundersen, Head of Operations at Onmo,  Mel Chell, Director of Client Experience and Culture at Equivo 
• 3.45 pm Closing remarks and Event close.

Speaker Chris Leslie, Chief Executive at CSA said “As the UK shakes off the last significant elements of state and welfare pandemic support, the normalisation of a market economy begins to return – which will be deeply relevant for the credit cycle going forward. While growth is still recovering, there are supply chain headwinds and inflationary pressures, which could signal choppy times to come. I look forward to the Credit Connect panel where we can discuss the implications for recoveries and the credit market.”

Fellow speaker Richard Sharp, Manging Director of Consumer Division at Oplo said “I’m delighted to be participating in this important industry Think Tank and sharing some of Oplo’s insight into the fundamental changes taking place in the consumer credit market – which, in turn, could impact up to 26 million people in the UK.  We call this the New Mainstream, and I look forward to sharing with you why we believe they are the most important credit customers in the UK today and what we need to do as an industry to make sure their needs are met.”

Click here to register your place to attend.

Following on from the Think Tank will be the 2021 Credit & Collections Technology Awards. The evening kicks off at 6.30pm with the Credit & Collections Technology Awards drinks reception.

Details relating to the Awards can be found here.