June 2006 How to Enter the Debt Buying Market Questions to ask BEFORE buying debt and tips for buying May 2006 Kolcraft Takes Charge of Deductions, Cash Application With 9ci Faced with mounting chargebacks and deductions exacerbated by lagging cash application times, this Chicago-based manufacturer was able to slash processing time while boosting credit and A/R performance using an automated solution. March 2006 Expanding Your Collection Agency’s Role What should a collection agent do when it appears that the debtor has the will and volition to pay but just not the means? Should they proceed with a suit? Foreclose on their home? These are often the usual courses of action, and in many cases the only effective one. However, depending on the debtor and their circumstances, a more creative approach may be the way to go. January 2006 Sellers Hide, Buyers Seek Bad-debt sellers paid close attention when high-profile data-security breaches struck the financial services world last year and put the spotlight squarely on consumer privacy. The problems rekindled fears about how consumer data is handled in the debt-buying industry. January 2006 Coming Home to a New Beat Joining SourceMedia, the parent company of Collections & Credit Risks, is a homecoming for me. Ten years ago, I joined a predecessor company of SourceMedia to launch another magazine here, Card Technology, writing about the then-new world of smart cards. November 2005 Thwarting Fraud Before It Happens Banks are turning to identity scores to determine if people are who they say they are. How is it working? October 2005 Law Lists Adapt to the Internet Age Half a dozen years ago observers wondered if these attorney referral services were still relevant in the Internet Age. Yet they seem to be alive and well. How have they adapted? September 2005 Call Centers Tighten the Reins Financial institutions are under pressure to make sure they take every possible precaution to stop security leaks and database hackings. Are the call centers they use doing enough to protect the data they have and how are new technologies helping? August 2005 Reaching Elusive Debtors There are many challenges facing the skip tracing industry due to high profile security breaches that could lead to more regulatory oversight. Still, the greatest issue remains how to find new sources to reach evasive debtors. July 2005 Automating the Collections Process Collections operations want to do what it takes to help individuals settle their debts, often without the help of live agents. What tools are helping? June 2005 Buyers Bank on Canada's Debt Five banks dominate the Canadian market, but all are hesistant to sell their bad debt. American lenders operating there aren't as shy. What's the outlook for Canadian debt sales? May 2005 The Online World of B2B Credit Reports With online reports, users have updated information at their fingertips. April 2005 High Points for Credit Scoring With generic scores becoming antiquated, credit-scoring providers are focusing on new offerings. How are these models helping creditors make better decisions? March 2005 Getting Connected As call centers strive to operate more efficiently, how are enhancements to dialing strategies and VoIP technology changing the way they operate? February 2005 Maneuvering Through the Maze Tracking down debtors who've moved or prefer to disappear can be like navigating through a labyrinth, with all its blind alleys. What are the latest tools and techniques to locate elusive debtors? January 2005 Debt Buying Industry: Giants Set the Pace Investors funding debt buyers are courting not only the industry’s Goliaths, but the little guys too. How is the boom in financing affecting the business? December 2004 Building Better Relationships Good customer service is key in the B2B world. It helps retain customers and makes collecting accounts easier. How are new features in commercial collections software bridging the gap between CRM and collections? November 2004 What's the Score in Credit Scoring? The credit-scoring business widened its reach in recent years -- from moving into new financial fields to going international. What's driving the expansions? September 2004 Privacy & Security in the Spotlight With new privacy regulations and a rise in identity theft, call centers are boosting up efforts to prevent security leaks. What new technology is helping them protect customer data and follow the rules? August 2004 Skip Tracers: Keeping One Step Ahead In the crowded skip tracing market, vendors are constantly working to stay ahead of the curve. The latest focus is on easy integration and customization, as well as working to provide new sources of information. July 2004 Collections Software: Back to the Basics? Collections and recovery software is evolving to meet changing needs in the market -- including the debt-buying boom -- but some say it's important not to lose the human element of collecting on debts. June 2004 Debt Buyers in the Public Eye Two years into a boom, the debt sales industry shows hints of slowdown even as a growing group of public buyers report generally positive financials. May 2004 Smarter Tools for B2B Credit Integrated functions, plus a big picture view of customers, are key elements in software designed to boost commercial credit and collections. April 2004 Custom Built Custom scoring models became popular with credit grantors a few years ago. What types of custom models are being built today to boost collections? March 2004 Better Connections Affected by the consumer revolt against telemarketing, many collections operations are exploring new ways to reach and work with consumers. How is call center technology helping? February 2004 Sleuths Incorporated Lower costs, richer resources, and smoother connections to collections software systems are making it possible to skip trace even smaller accounts. Still, there are new challenges. January 2004 Debt Buyers: Leaders of the Pack The latest list of buyers ranked by purchases and revenue include some shuffling at the top, but Sherman Financial Group still comes out on top. December 2003 The Anti-Fraud Battle Rages On Fraud prevention and detection tools are currently hot. Still, keeping ahead of the perpetrators is no easy task. November 2003 Collections Software: Beyond Automation Vendors of collections software are always devising new ways to help collections agencies and law firms become more efficient at collecting debt. What are they up to now? October 2003 Stacks and Stacks of Letters Are lettershop and mailing services, the workhorses of the collections industry, plowing new fields? September 2003 Not Your Father's Call Center The economy and trickle-down regulations have some collections experts advocating redesigns for collections call centers. How is technology changing the business? August 2003 E-Billing and E-Payment Gather Steam But are there twists and turns in the roadbed ahead? July 2003 Where the Jobs Are Credit and collections operations are playing a more prominent role in business today. Has that caused an upswing in demand for credit and collections professionals? June 2003 Debt Merchants: From Main Street To Wall Street Shopping for places to put their money, investors are creating a debt-buying market renaissance. Who are the players? April 2003 Commercial Scoring Makes the Grade Commercial risk scoring models, once thought inferior, are quickly gaining traction as lenders find themselves processing an influx of new credit applications via the Internet. March 2003 Bankruptcy Boom Brings Product Tweaks While bankruptcy filings set records, lenders want to curb new product spending, leading to a shortage of new services. Instead, vendors are upgrading existing products. March 2003 Collectors’ Commissions: Anything New Under the Sun? Figuring out how to reward collectors for more than just the cash they bring in is a challenge. What combination of short-term and long-term incentives works best? February 2003 Letting Consumers Know the Score - and More Credit bureaus have begun focusing on the consumer as a customer. Will the transition boost their bottom line? January 2003 Hot on the Trail Sniffing out debtors is critical for collectors. How have new privacy rules changed skip tracing and what are the latest challenges? January 2003 Debt Buyers: Leaders of the Pack The latest list of buyers ranked by purchases and revenue include some shuffling at the top, but Sherman Financial Group still comes out on top. December 2002 The Credit Bureaus’Push Into Foreign Markets While countries such as China and Russia are rapidly developing a reliance on credit, poorly developed credit reporting is slowing their advance. What will it take to clear the path? November 2002 Agencies Climbing the Collections Food Chain Collections firms are handling accounts earlier than ever. Some are doing everything from credit activation thru post-chargeoff collections. How’s it working? October 2002 E-Learning: Charting a Steady Course E-Learning is gaining ground, but by itself, it’s not always the best answer. What’s the secret to making it a success? September 2002 Solving the Call Center Efficiency Puzzle Call center managers prize applications that boost productivity, while increasing efficiency and reducing cost. August 2002 Fighting Fraud At the Front-End Vendors are rolling out a new arsenal of anti-fraud weapons designed to keep fraudsters at arm’s length. July 2002 Standing Out in a Crowd New economy leads to new head-hunting tactics. © 2009 CreditandCollectionsWorld.com and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Please read our Privacy Policy