Daily Digest - March 18, 2026

🎂 Happy Birthday to the following: Charles Miller of Rubin & Rothman, Brad Haynes of RevSpring, Sherri Calhoun of Enact Mortgage Insurance and Rodney Widner of Pinellas County Tax Collector's Office.

🎉 Congratulations for starting new positions: Eric Cartwright as Technical Solutions Architect at Latitude Software and Corrine Porcaro as Head of Service Quality and Back Office at Best Egg.

🏀 $850 in Prizes for Winners of March Madness!

Click here to enter the AccountsRecovery free March Madness pool. There is $850 in prizes up for grabs, thanks to Martin Golden Lyons Watts Morgan, TCN, Applied Innovation, Maxyfi, Debt$Net, and CSS Impact.

Logo Madness is Back!

The quest to identify the best logo in the credit and collections industry is here. Click here to submit your logo and click here to see the past winners.

NEW: Digital Communications Survey

✅ Click here and take a quick digital communications and benchmarking survey

Virginia Advances New Pleading Requirements for Consumer Debt Lawsuits

• Virginia lawmakers have advanced legislation that could change how collection lawsuits are filed in the state, sending a bill to the governor that would require additional attorney information to be included in consumer debt collection pleadings.

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Judge Tosses FCRA and FDCPA Claims Over Credit Reporting Dispute

• A District Court judge in Oklahoma has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss clams it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as Oklahoma state law over how a creditor handled his dispute.

• More details here.

Court Dismisses FCRA Claims After Plaintiff Fails to Show Credit Report Was Published to Third Party

• A District Court judge in Illinois has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss claims it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act in a class-action lawsuit over how it handled the request to remove dispute notifications made by the plaintiff, largely over missing statements that were not included in the plaintiff’s complaint.

• More details here.

Medical Bills Driving Financial Trade-Offs for Millions of Americans Across All Income Levels

• More than 80 million Americans say they are cutting back on everyday expenses such as utilities, driving, and groceries in order to afford healthcare, according to new research from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America. The findings highlight the growing financial strain many households are experiencing as healthcare costs rise alongside broader cost-of-living pressures. The research comes at a time when Americans are dealing with elevated living costs, including higher energy prices and rising insurance premiums. Some Affordable Care Act tax credits expired at the end of last year, which could leave millions facing higher coverage costs or losing insurance entirely.

• More details here.

47 Companies Seeking Collection Talent

• Want to keep your finger on the pulse of who is hiring, and get a sense of how those companies are attracting interested candidates? Check the the four dozen listings in this week’s job listings summary. Regardless of whether you are looking for a new gig or just being nosey, there is something for everyone.

• More details here.

WORTH NOTING: The Property Brothers want to highlight a mistake they see a lot of first-time homebuyers make ... San Diego County, California is creating its own consumer financial protection unit in direct response to what's going on at the CFPB ... Consumers are feeling more optimistic and confident about their financial situations ... The 10 worst states for physicians in 2026 ... How consumers feel about the intersection of money and relationships ... Which movies have the best scenes involving food? Not sure why "American Pie" was left off this list ... Without some help, the Postal Service may run out of money by next year ... Having trouble conceiving? Head to Costco.

Wisdom Wednesday, part I

Wisdom Wednesday, Part II

Webinar Recap: Can AI Make System Conversions Easier and Less Expensive?

System conversions remain one of the most challenging undertakings for credit and collections operations—requiring data migration, retraining staff, workflow redesign, and compliance oversight. In this webinar, sponsored by Fiber by Clerkie, industry leaders explored how artificial intelligence can reduce costs, streamline processes, and improve outcomes during these transitions.

Panelists shared practical applications of AI across different stages of conversion. Chris Beebe noted that AI could replace “teams of four people” once needed for manual data analysis, instantly identifying redundant codes and statuses. Hal Trapp emphasized AI’s ability to recharacterize legacy dispositions, condensing over 100 categories into usable sets for modern systems. Michael Meyer highlighted AI’s strength in handling unstructured data, such as agent notes and abbreviations, transforming them into structured formats ready for migration. Meanwhile, Jeremy Mapes demonstrated how AI can uncover gaps in vendor demos and contracts, ensuring promises like imports/exports and uptime guarantees are enforceable.

Jackson White of Fiber by Clerkie reinforced that vendors themselves must leverage AI to automate document translation and reformatting, noting: “Regardless of document type… the system gets very good at making automatic translations over time.”

The consensus: AI is not just a tool for efficiency—it’s a strategic partner in reducing risk, accelerating timelines, and ensuring cleaner, more reliable conversions.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Use AI for Data Cleanup: Automate the identification and restructuring of outdated or redundant codes, statuses, and unstructured notes to prepare data for migration.

• Enhance Vendor Evaluation: Apply AI to demo notes and contracts to uncover missing features, validate guarantees, and strengthen negotiations.

• Automate Ongoing Processes: Build repeatable AI-driven workflows for both bulk migrations and continuous data ingestion, reducing manual intervention long-term.

This webinar underscored that while conversions may feel like “the business version of giving birth,” as Dennis Barton quipped, AI can make the process far less painful—and far more cost-effective.

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