Daily Digest - January 12, 2026

🎂 Happy belated Birthday: Mary Arthur of Nationwide Credit Corporation (Jan. 11), JP Prologo of Revenue Group Companies & BridgeMed Financial (Jan. 11), Jeffrey Simendinger of SIMM Associates (Jan. 10), Martin Thielst Nielsen of Mega.AI (Jan. 10), and Robert Shane of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union (Jan. 10).

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: Jenna Farkas as Member Solutions Manager at AmeriCU Credit Union, Ruth Redmon as Senior Analyst, Independent Compliance Risk Management at Citi, Deann Pittman as Vice President, Sales at Savista, Tainá Felippe as Vice President of Business Acquisition and Customer Development at Velocity Investments, Oliver Black as Client Value Executive at TransUnion, Matthew Komos as Member of the Board of Advisors at Domu.

It’s not too late. Come and be part of the biggest and best ARMTech yet!

Check out ARMTech.live for the growing list of impressive speakers who are going to be in Dallas. This is going to be the must-attend event of the year!

Under Protest, Vought Requests $145M in Funding To Keep Lights On at CFPB

• After insisting for months that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should be allowed to run out of money, Acting Director Russell Vought has now formally asked the Federal Reserve for $145 million to keep the agency operating through the end of March, but explicitly stating that he disagrees with the court order that forced him to do so. The funding request, sent Friday, comes just days after a federal judge rejected the administration’s legal theory that the CFPB could be defunded because the Federal Reserve lacked “combined earnings.” While the request keeps the Bureau alive for now, it underscores how precarious the agency’s future remains as litigation continues and leadership openly signals its desire to shut the CFPB down.

• More details here.

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Ninth Circuit Clarifies Standing Burden in FCRA Class Actions

• The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has partially remanded a Fair Credit Reporting Act case back to the District Court, ruling that class members can use direct or circumstantial evidence to demonstrate standing and did not show that a jury would find in their favor at the summary judgment stage of the proceedings. In doing so, the Ninth Circuit clarified how standing must be evaluated in certified class actions seeking money damages under the FCRA and corrected what it viewed as an overly demanding application of the summary judgment standard by the lower court.

• More details here.

Judge Rejects Broad Dismissal in FDCPA Suit Tied to Prior State Court Judgment

• A District Court judge in Minnesota has largely denied a motion to dismiss filed by defendants in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case involving a pro se plaintiff who invoked a number of soveriegn citizen claims, allowing most of the lawsuit to move forward while rejecting an attempt to use jurisdictional and procedural doctrines to end the case at the pleading stage.

• More details here.

FCC to Congress: Robocalls Remain a Top Enforcement Priority as AI, Spoofing, and Caller ID Abuse Evolve

• The Federal Communications Commission says illegal robocalls and caller ID spoofing remain a persistent threat to consumers and legitimate businesses, even as complaint volumes fluctuate and enforcement tools expand. In a report submitted to Congress in late December, the FCC detailed five years of consumer complaint data, outlined its 2024 enforcement actions, and highlighted new regulatory initiatives aimed at AI-generated calls, caller ID authentication, and VoIP provider accountability, signaling continued scrutiny for any organization that originates, routes, or relies on voice communications.

• More details here.

Compliance Digest – January 12

• The first Compliance Digest of 2026 is one of the biggest ever -- with insights and perspectives from a dozen experts: David Shaver, Caren Enloe, Crystal Duplay, Justin Penn, Brent Yarborough, Erica Kramer, Khari Griffin, Dale Golden, John Marees, Jessica Klander, Nabil Foster, and Stacy Rodriguez, weighing in on court cases and regulatory news that you need to know.

• More details here.

• This series is sponsored by Frost Echols

WORTH NOTING: After two years away, Walmart is getting back into the healthcare space ... Last year marked the worst year of hiring since the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020 ... President Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10% ... Tensions between healthcare providers and insurance companies are likely to get worse in 2026 ... Beware of social media influencers who are pushing an illegal tactic to try and "fix" consumers' credit reports ... What is it about New England that makes it home to the healthiest states in America? ... Care to guess how much sleep doomscrolling is costing you every night? ... Consumer credit scores are "plummeting" in several states across the country.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

Webinar Recap: How to Allocate Human Capital in Today's Collection Environments

In a recent webinar hosted by AccountRecovery.net and sponsored by Kompato AI, industry leaders explored how debt collection operations can better allocate human capital amid shifting regulations, rising costs, and evolving consumer expectations. Panelists Angela Armstrong (Transworld Systems), Rodrigo Fuentes (Kompato AI), Terry Merrell (First Financial Resources), and Cathy Tylutki (Harris & Harris) shared predictions for 2026 and practical strategies for balancing people and technology.

Key themes included:

• Quality over quantity: More outreach does not necessarily mean better outcomes; effective interactions matter most.

• Execution consistency: Success depends less on strategy and more on ensuring processes are carried out reliably at scale.

• Data mastery: Leveraging analytics to understand channel performance, agent impact, and consumer behavior is critical.

• Human + tech synergy: Hybrid models—AI handling routine tasks while humans focus on complex problem-solving—are already proving effective.

The discussion highlighted the challenge of measuring incremental value from human collectors versus automation, with panelists noting the complexity of multi-channel attribution. While automation can reduce costs and improve compliance, empathy and service remain essential, especially in sensitive areas like healthcare collections.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Measure impact, not activity: Track metrics such as dollars resolved per FTE hour or resolution rates by segment to evaluate staffing models more meaningfully.

• Automate strategically: Use AI and automation to handle routine tasks (e.g., compliance monitoring, RFP preparation, insurance claim follow-ups), freeing staff for higher-value work.

• Balance empathy with efficiency: Ensure inbound calls are answered by humans to maintain trust and service quality, while deploying AI to scale consistent, empathetic interactions across digital channels.

As the industry faces cost pressures and regulatory constraints, leaders must continuously refine how human capital and technology intersect to drive recovery, protect compliance, and reduce burnout.

Did you know you can get full access to all of my past webinars, along with transcripts and summaries of each, for only $29/month? Sign up to be a premium subscriber today!

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN