Daily Digest - August 21, 2025

🎉🎂 Happy Birthday to: Denny Bender of Radius Global Solutions, and Thomas Norris of Credit Mediators.

🎉Congratulations to: Jeanette Sukhlal for starting position as Director at Tromberg, Miller, Morris & Partners, PLLC, and Justin Broughton as Vice President Collections at First Premier Bank/Premier Bankcard.

🚨 In case you missed it yesterday, the dates and location for ARMTech 2026 were announced. Click the image below for the announcement video (and a special surprise at the end).

Things move pretty fast around here. What was allowed yesterday may not be allowed tomorrow. And where one state thinks it might be cool to do something, like limit what can be done when attempting to collect on medical debts, others soon follow suit. It takes a village to stay on top of it all.

Enter ComplianceCon. An event aimed at helping compliance professionals stay on top of the shifting sands that create the patchwork set of rules that must be followed when engaging with consumers.

More than 50 speakers -- all compliance experts and professionals from all walks of the credit and collection industry -- will share their insights and expertise.

The cherry on top of this sundae? You can get CLE credits for attending. Check out https://compliance-con.com to register.

Click here to register

Getting to Know Brittney Lovegrove of Account Management Resources

• It’s all the way at the bottom, but that’s not Brittney Lovegrove’s fault … it just happened to be where the question was. Her insight into the true definition of being successful is something that everyone should take to heart. It’s that type of approach that personifies what makes this industry great. Read on to learn more about Brittney, the traits that make her a great fighter of dumpster fires, and the types of books she likes to escape into.

• More details here.

• This series is sponsored by TEC Services Group

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY‘S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Court Faults Bank’s Investigation of ID Theft Dispute, Lets FCRA Claim Go Forward

• A District Court judge in California has granted a defendant’s motion for summary judgment that it did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act but denied the motion over claims it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not reasonably investigating an identity theft dispute, partially because it did not compare call recordings against one another going back eight years.

• More details here.

The Case of the Disappearing Rulemaking Agenda

• I let you all down. I missed something that was probably relevant to your jobs and it may be gone forever. Earlier this week, I noticed a couple of headlines that appeared noteworthy.

• More details here.

Billions Spent, Little to Show: Companies Struggle to Scale Generative AI

• If you are trying to figure out how to use generative AI in your office and still haven’t cracked it yet, rest easy. You are not alone.American companies have poured an -estimated $40 billion into generative AI, but 95% of those efforts are producing no measurable return, according to a new MIT report, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025.

• More details here.

WORTH NOTING: How members of different generations make payments is changing radically ... Fewer people have financial regrets this year, but a lot are dealing with their past mistakes ... Use of digital wallets for purchases is still growing ... That the University of Oklahoma is selling tickets to its football post-game press conferences is not a big deal. What is a big deal is just how much they are charging ... What to do when your doctor says yes to a test, but your insurance says no ... You can catch Pope Leo on the new reboot of "Friends" ... Kikoff has launched an AI tool that allows consumers to dispute items their credit reports ... Do you have this trait that makes your employees more likely to lie?

Top 10 Thursday, part I

Top 10 Thursday, Part II

Webinar Recap: How to Communicate Effectively Via Text Messaging

Text messaging is quickly becoming one of the most important tools for engaging consumers in credit and collections. In a recent webinar sponsored by CSS Impact, industry leaders shared insights on how to balance compliance, personalization, and efficiency to make text messaging an effective communication channel.

Panelists emphasized that while texting offers immediacy and convenience, it comes with unique challenges: staying compliant within strict character limits, ensuring timely responses, and avoiding the perception of being “spammy.” The discussion also highlighted the importance of integrating automation with human oversight, personalizing communications to build trust, and tracking performance metrics to improve outcomes.

Speakers noted that consumers expect text interactions to mirror real conversations—fast, natural, and relevant. Agencies that succeed in this area are those that combine compliance-minded processes with consumer-friendly messaging strategies.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

1. Prioritize Personalization & Responsiveness
   Generic or delayed text responses reduce engagement. Use names, context, and a natural tone to build trust, and ensure staff or automation can respond within minutes—not hours or days.

2. Balance Compliance with Consumer Experience
   Understand character limits, disclosure requirements, and opt-in/opt-out rules. Work closely with legal and compliance teams, while crafting messages that avoid spam triggers and communicate clearly.

3. Leverage Automation with Smart Oversight
   Use bots and categorization to handle routine replies, but back them with trained staff for sensitive cases. Track metrics like deliverability, response rates, and payments from text-driven interactions to measure true effectiveness.

As more consumers prefer digital-first engagement, text messaging—done right—can significantly boost contact rates, consumer satisfaction, and payment conversions.

Webinar Recap: What’s next for the CFPB?

The recent appeals court ruling allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to proceed with widespread layoffs has raised major questions about the Bureau’s future. With as many as 1,400 employees potentially impacted, panelists in this webinar—Joann Needleman and Manny Newburger —explored the implications for financial institutions, debt collectors, and other stakeholders. While the decision underscores the executive branch’s authority to shape the CFPB, it also introduces heightened uncertainty.

Ongoing litigation, political shifts, and budget cuts could redefine how the Bureau operates—or whether it continues to exist in its current form. In the meantime, state attorneys general (AGs) and other regulators are poised to step up enforcement, filling potential gaps left by a weakened CFPB.

The panel cautioned that despite regulatory turbulence, compliance must remain a top priority. Complaint volumes are rising, state-level enforcement is intensifying, and industry players cannot afford to scale back compliance programs in anticipation of reduced federal oversight. Instead, this moment presents an opportunity for collaboration between industry and consumer groups to shape practical, durable rules for the future.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

1. Stay the Course on Compliance – Do not scale back compliance management systems. Federal oversight could return quickly with a change in administration, and states are already stepping in aggressively.

2. Expect More State-Level Enforcement – AGs and state regulators are taking a larger role, often using playbooks drawn from former CFPB staff. Companies must be prepared for long, complex investigations.

3. Prepare for Ongoing Uncertainty – With litigation and appeals likely stretching into 2026 and beyond, businesses should plan for shifting regulatory landscapes and seize opportunities to engage in shaping future rules.

In short, the CFPB’s future remains unsettled—but the industry cannot afford to treat this as a pause in oversight. Compliance discipline and proactive planning are essential to weather what comes next.

💡 For more events like this, visit accountrecovery.net or register for ComplianceCon—the industry’s only event devoted exclusively to compliance—this September in Nashville.

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN