Daily Digest - July 17, 2025

Brought to you by: TCN | By Mike Gibb

Author

Mike Gibb
July 17, 2025

🥳 🎂 Happy Birthday to Geny Gutierrez of Crown Asset Management and Yonatan Mayer of Bounce.

📆 Going to ACA next week in Louisville? Want to sit down and chat? Let me know!

More than 35 speakers have confirmed for ComplianceCon. Check out who will be speaking and more at Compliance-Con.com.

Getting to Know Matt Stroh of Credit Collections Bureau

  • Matt Stroh left his first job in collections feeling like the industry wasn’t a good fit for him. But a little distance and a little time changed his perspective and he’s made the most of his second stint at Credit Collections Bureau in Bismarck, N.D. Read on to learn more about Matt, why you may want to ask him to make your next batch of Christmas cookies, and how he doesn’t let his day plan him.

  • More details here.

  • This series is sponsored by TEC Services Group

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY‘S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Judge Denies Defendant’s MSJ in FDCPA Case Over Lease Termination Fees

  • A District Court judge in California has denied a defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case on the grounds that there are genuine disputes of material fact regarding the enforceability of a lease termination clause and whether the collection activity was misleading or unfair under the FDCPA.

  • More details here.

Credit Union Group Urges Congress to Rein in CFPB

  • A credit union trade group is urging Congress to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and revise the Dodd-Frank Act, citing a pattern of “regulatory overreach” that has weighed heavily on credit unions and other community financial institutions.

  • More details here.

Bill Would Raise the Bar for Collection Lawsuits in Pennsylvania

  • A bill has been introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature that would require collection operations to provide additional documentation when filing collection lawsuits against consumers in The Keystone State.

  • More details here.

WORTH NOTING: A lot of consumers are carrying credit card debt, according to a new report from Bankrate ... Your credit score is shaped in a lot of ways by the neighborhood where you grew up, according to new research ... Questioning a Large Language Model has the same effect as questioning a human, according to new research. It causes the LLM to lose confidence in its answers ... A lot of consumers are looking at losing their health insurance at a time when medical debt is going to stay on their credit reports ... Arizona just announced it has bought and canceled $429 million in medical debt ... How to minimize the impact of aging on your brain ... Would you consider adding this ingredient to your chili recipe? ... Not getting enough sleep at night? Try yoga.

Top 10 Thursday, part I

Top 10 Thursday, Part II

Webinar Recap: Deploying Voice AI Agents in a Secure and Compliant Way

This panel of experts explored how to deploy voice AI agents securely, responsibly, and effectively in today’s collection operations. With panelists from Revenue Enterprises, Scott & Associates, Prodigal, and industry legal advisors, the conversation centered around operational strategies, client expectations, compliance concerns, and technological readiness.

Why it matters:
As collection agencies and legal operations look to reduce costs and improve efficiency, voice AI agents—powered by technologies like OpenAI and Claude—are becoming an increasingly attractive option. But with this innovation comes a range of new challenges, especially around hallucinations, consent, transparency, and regulatory scrutiny.

Key panel takeaways:

  • Start small and build incrementally. Use voice AI for limited, high-value functions like payment handling or account verification. Avoid overly complex use cases at the outset.

  • Governance and transparency are essential. Panelists advised creating internal AI committees, using external legal counsel, and ensuring full transparency to consumers—particularly around disclosure that the agent is AI-powered.

  • Real-time data and compliance workflows are critical. AI agents must be integrated with live data sources and designed with controls like speech analytics, workflow mapping, and failover processes to avoid compliance risks and ensure seamless escalation when needed.

3 Action Items for Industry Professionals:

  1. Vet Your Vendors Now: Don’t wait for regulations to catch up—start assessing AI technology partners today and document their capabilities and limitations.

  2. Map and Document Your Workflow: Understand and document every step of your AI agent’s call process, especially where generative AI is involved.

  3. Prioritize Use Cases with High ROI and Low Risk: Begin with inbound calls, after-hours payments, and tasks like smart routing where AI can safely add value.

The consensus: Voice AI is here to stay—but responsible deployment is key to ensuring long-term success.

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN