Daily Digest - June 3, 2026

🎂 Happy Birthday to: Michael Sarkis of 2nd Order Solutions, and Hailey Staats of LCS Financial Services Corporation.

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: Robin Ivie-Wilder as Director of Negotiations at CreditAssociates, Jorge Clavel as Head of AR, Credit & Collections at Hoya Vision Care, and Brandon M. Tumber as Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Gain.

New AI Event!

I am thrilled to announce a new live conference I am hosting. It’s an AI conference for the credit and collection industry. It will be held in Denver this September. Check out getbrainstorming.com for more information. And watch the video below to see me showcasing my outdoor skills.

Logo Madness!

It’s time to crown the best logo in the industry. Full bracket available here so you can track the competition. Click on the link underneath the logo to choose your winner. Voting is open for 24 hours.

W.V. Supreme Court Rule Litigation Conduct Did Not Waive Arbitration Rights

• The Supreme Court of of West Virginia has reversed a ruling that stripped a creditor of its right to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, ruling that it did not give up its right to send a dispute to arbitration just because it spent years pursuing the case in court first.

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

N.Y. Lawmakers Pass Private Student Loan Collection Bill

• New York lawmakers have passed a bill that would impose additional documentation and disclosure requirements on anyone collecting private student loan debt, setting up a decision for Gov. Kathy Hochul on whether to sign it into law.

• More details here.

Judge Dismisses Most Claims in FCRA Case Over Duplicate Reporting

• A District Court judge in Louisiana has allowed one claim in a consumer’s Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit against two credit reporting agencies to move forward while dismissing the remainder of his claims.

• More details here.

CFPB Elevates Paoletta to Deputy Director Ahead of Vought’s Expected Exit

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is setting up its succession plan, and for anyone in the collections industry trying to read where the bureau is headed, the name to watch is now Mark Paoletta, according to a report published by Bloomberg Law.

• More details here.

Gradient Labs Raises Series A to $26 Million as AI Agents Push Into Collections Workflows

• Gradient Labs, a UK-based startup building AI agents for banks and fintechs, has expanded its Series A to $26 million, bringing total funding to $42.6 million. New investors Octopus Ventures and CommerzVentures led the round, with follow-on backing from Redpoint Ventures and Exceptional Capital. For the collections industry, the notable piece is what the company is automating. Gradient Labs has moved from a single AI agent to a suite of specialists, including a Lending Agent that it says handles the entire borrower lifecycle, from a missed payment through outbound collections calls to an agreed repayment plan. A Disputes Agent manages intake through chargeback, and a Know Your Business agent runs identity and document checks. The company says the agents share context and memory and hand work to one another as a customer’s journey requires.

• More details here.

WebRecon April 2026 Stats: Everything Up (for the first time in over a year!)

• April 2026 had all three of the top consumer protection statutes up for the month over March: TCPA (+16.6%), FDCPA (+9.2%) and FCRA (+4.6%). This is the first time that’s happened since March 2025. They are all up YTD as well – TCPA (+28.2%), FDCPA (+17.6%) and FCRA (+45.3%)(!) That’s a huge momentum shift in FCRA litigation, which has been steadily growing, but at a much more modest pace over the last several years.

• More details here.

46 Companies Seeking Collection Talent

• If you want to know where the credit, collections, healthcare, and financial services industries are investing, look no further than this week’s job listings. From customer service, collections, and legal roles to leadership positions focused on fraud, analytics, AI, revenue cycle, compliance, and cloud technology, companies are hiring across nearly every corner of the industry. Whether you're looking for your next opportunity or simply keeping an eye on market trends, this week's roundup is worth a look.

• More details here

WORTH NOTING: Tucker Carlson wants people to stop paying their credit card bills ... A list of the things that people are leaving behind in Uber's robotaxis ... People tend to believe that software updates make our devices worse, not better ... A list of the 100 greatest bird names of all time ... The best tools if you are looking to record your life ... Why you may want to stay away from ham ... The CEOs of top companies believe the economy is going to get a lot worse over the second half of 2026 ... Five ways to reset your mind when you feel stuck.

Wisdom Wednesday, part I

Wisdom Wednesday, Part II

Webinar Recap: Most Collection KPIs Are Useless

The panel, moderated by Dennis Barton, sponsored by Abstrakt, examined why most collection KPIs fail to provide meaningful insights. Traditional dashboards often measure activity—like call volume or dials—rather than outcomes that truly drive recovery. Panelists emphasized the importance of consumer-centric metrics, agent engagement, and predictive analytics. As Kristyn Leffler noted, “It’s difficult to overestimate the impact of a happy agent on a successful call.” Greg Reffner added, “I don’t want to chase a feeling, I want to chase behaviors.” The discussion highlighted the need for KPIs that reflect sustainable recovery, consumer trust, and actionable forecasting.

Brandon Gilbert urged the industry to consider the consumer’s perspective: “What if your consumer was building your dashboard?” He pointed to kept payment plans as a leading indicator of success. Trey Hall stressed predictive measures, such as SMS deliverability, that help anticipate tomorrow’s outcomes rather than just reporting yesterday’s. The panel agreed that KPIs must evolve to measure behaviors, engagement, and consumer outcomes in order to remain relevant in today’s omni-channel, AI-enabled environment.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Reevaluate KPIs: Audit dashboards to eliminate vanity metrics and focus on measures that drive recovery outcomes, such as kept payment plans.

• Consumer-Centric Focus: Shift from staff activity metrics to consumer behavior and engagement, ensuring strategies align with sustainable repayment.

• Predictive Analytics: Use historical data to build forward-looking models, but continuously validate KPIs to ensure they correlate with monetization and future success.

This summary positions the webinar’s insights as actionable guidance for collection leaders seeking to modernize their KPI frameworks and improve recovery performance.

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