Better Communication with Overdue Customers Is an Award-Winning Strategy for BNP Paribas Bank Polska and Daimler Financial Services

Collections, a trending topic in our blog, is an invaluable tool for providing an outstanding customer experience. The collections unit is one of a firm’s important contact channels.

For proof that the collections practice is becoming a customer service area, just look at the winners of the 2014 FICO Decision Management Award for Debt Management. Both companies — BNP Paribas Bank Polska, which is a part of the international BNP Paribas Group, and Daimler Financial Services, the financing arm of automotive giant Daimler AG — are using customer-centric communication services to improve consumer collections.

BNP Paribas Bank Polska saw an opportunity in its Polish business unit to improve collections by automating contact with customers, segmenting customers more precisely, and identifying the most effective collection actions to take with each customer. The bank uses FICO® Risk Intervention Manager to contact overdue customers with interactive SMS and automated voice messages in order to expedite resolution of overdue debt.

BNP Paribas Bank Polska increased its collections effectiveness on delinquent accounts from 82 percent in 2011 to 86 percent in 2013, while reducing headcount assigned to collections by 39 percent, thus keeping the customers, the relationships and the profitability.

Daimler Financial Services also used FICO Risk Intervention Manager to meet its goals in the Italian market, increasing collections and cutting costs without eroding customer satisfaction. Daimler Financial Services used the FICO solution to understand when and how customers would be most receptive to collections actions, reducing the overall risk of the portfolio.

The results these companies achieved impressed our panel of judges. As Brian McDonough, research manager in IDC's Business Analytics Solutions research service, said: “BNP Paribas Bank Polska and Daimler Financial Services have proven that tailoring the contact strategy to the customer can pay off in a big way, for multiple industries.”

Winners of the FICO Decision Management Awards will be featured in presentations at FICO World 2014 in San Diego, November 11-14.

This blog also includes discussions of the winners in the Customer Originations, Customer Growth & Retention and Fraud Control categories.

Technorati Tags: collections, credit risk management, debt management, delinquencies