The Advantages of Debt Collection Using Real-Time Payment

When it comes to debt collection, agents always agree on one thing: they receive a lot more promises than actual payments. The most common thing customers say to agents during any debt collection-related conversation is that they will pay their debts in the upcoming days. If only these promises were kept…

In reality, the number of processed payments is always a lot less than the number of promises made. Not surprisingly, debt collection is often perceived both by clients and call centers as a costly and never-ending process.

But what if you could turn promises into immediate payments by allowing your customers to settle their debts during a phone call, rather than afterwards?

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the topic of debt collection using real-time payment, a technology solution that helps you make debt collection more efficient and convenient. Read on, and make sure your business is ready to take debt collection to the next level!  

Real-time payment during debt collection phone calls

If a company has a large number of outstanding customer debts, efficient debt collection is vital. Normally, such companies outsource their debt collection processes to call centers, who contact customers to remind them of their outstanding payments.

In such situations, phone is still the most preferred and used way to contact customers. Although debt collection with SMS can also be efficient, it is much easier to convey emotions and convince customers to pay their debts during a phone conversation.

However, as we all know, payment promises on their own are no guarantee of actual collected debt. Customer motivation is at its highest during a conversation, dropping immediately after the end of a call. As a result, customers often fail to settle their outstanding payments, and need to be repeatedly called back.

The greatest chance for successful conversion is thus during a conversation. And this is where debt collection using real-time payment comes into action: thanks to the latest technology, it is now possible for debt collection agents to initiate bank card payments during a single phone call. Yes, really!

This method of providing customers with the option of real-time payment during a phone call is a unique technology solution, and is readily available as part of VCC Live software solution.

How does it work?

Real-time payment technology allows debt collection agents to initiate payment processes with customers during phone conversations regarding their outstanding debt. Thus, agents can combine two debt collection phases into one.

When using real-time payment technology during debt collection, the payment process is quick and easy. First, agents contact the customers and confirm an agreement with them via oral contract. Then, the customer makes an immediate payment by submitting their card details using the dial pad on their phone.

The system processes the entered card data and initiates the transaction.  Finally, the customer receives confirmation of a successful payment. Data security is guaranteed at all times. During the process, debt collection agents have no access in any way to the data entered by customers, but they are able to see how the request is progressing and intervene if necessary.

As such, using solutions such as VCC Live Pay, customers owing money can make instant payments when speaking to a debt collection agent on the phone. Collecting debts has never been so easy!

Why is it unbeatable?

It may seem like a big step to integrate real-time payment into your debt collection process, but it is a very exciting and invaluable step for any business striving to achieve better results in debt collection.

By offering the option of real-time payment to customers when reminding them of due payments, customers’ willingness to instantly settle their debts increases significantly. As a result, due to higher conversion rates, average debt periods are shortened. Real-time payment also helps decrease the overall amount of outstanding debt, as well as the average cost of debt collection.

Furthermore, by encouraging customers to pay their debts immediately during phone calls, the number of customers that need to be called back repeatedly also decreases. And as your call center agents are then able to contact new customers instead of repeatedly calling back those who did not answer their phones, your call center’s efficiency will also increase significantly.

Summary

As you can see, debt collection doesn’t have to be a costly and never-ending process. With the help of real-time payment technology, it is far easier for debt collection agents to collect debts instantly, and significantly decrease the number of customers who promise to pay later but in reality never do.

So, stop spending so much time and money on collecting your outstanding debts and start speeding up your processes by using real-time payments over the phone!