It’s been a few weeks since RMAI - what did you learn there that you’re working on putting into place now?

The top three conversations at the conference have gotten even more important since then, with reports on delinquency rates set to impact the industry hard this year.

Here’s how you can prepare:

‍Managing increased charge-offs

There was a lot of chatter at RMAI about increasing rates of charge-offs and delinquencies, and as Q4 reports and predictions have come out since the conference, that picture has only gotten clearer.

We know credit cards saw a sharp year-over-year increase in write-offs 2022-2023.

In an exclusive interview with former American Express VP of Global Collections, Anand Joshi, he summarized some major points that will affect delinquencies and how we handle them.

• For the first time, both usage and write-off rates across all categories - subprime and prime/super-prime - surpassed pre-pandemic highs.
• 2023 saw a year-over-year growth of 101% in write-off rate volumes.
• Industry leaders are predicting continued write-off growth of 30-40% in 2024.

What you can do:

Odds are you can’t staff up due to continued record low unemployment rates, so you’re going to need to work smarter, with workflow solutions built on operational intelligence like:

Reliable QA automation

Automated conversation notes

Real-time agent coaching and support‍

Raising revenue despite limited wiggle room

Business may be good for collections teams, and poised to get better as those write-offs keep coming, but margins are still slim.

That means finding places to raise revenue and lift profits.

Whether your models are dependent on slow-to-update third-party scores or you’re stuck in guess-and-check mode, you have a better option.

What can you do?

Using your own customer conversations and interactions to uncover fresh information can deliver big strategy boosts:

• Increasing customer engagement by discovering the right time to contact each account
• Lifting payments with dynamic propensity to pay scoring
• Lowering costs and risks with automated complaints identification and management
• Elevating agent effectiveness with targeted evaluations

Artificial intelligence

After RMAI, the FCC issued a ruling that put a chill on AI-generated calling, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for AI in improving your strategies.

60% of third-party collections agencies are already using and exploring AI to improve their strategies and operations, according to TransUnion.

And they’re already seeing real ROI. You literally can’t afford to be left behind.

What can you do?

• Improve account prioritization results
• Target email and SMS messaging
• Boost agent effectiveness
• Cut QA costs

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Post-RMAI planning

One of the best parts of going to a conference like RMAI is all the new information you get. But if you don’t prioritize putting it into practice, you miss out.

Let’s get you moving into the future with a conversation to discuss your goals and how you can make them happen with smarter operations and strategies.