As the holiday season ramps up, so does consumer spending…and financial stress. From travel expenses to gift-giving splurges, borrowers often face sharp increases in personal debt as we near the end of the year. These behaviors have a direct impact on loan payment behavior, leading to increased late payments, higher default risk and an overburdened servicing staff.

Delinquent payments affect revenue timelines and require coordination across servicing, compliance and finance teams. Failed attempts add manual effort, borrower outreach and reconciliation work.

Borrowers have changed. Has your payment strategy?

Why Payment Flexibility Matters Now

Consumers expect flexible payments everywhere, from subscriptions to buy-now-pay-later at checkout. For businesses, offering installment plans builds loyalty, improves cash flow and even reduces delinquency rates.

Credit unions stand out in the financial world with their close connection to the community. Their members are different from account holders at a bank, for example. Helping those members stay current on their financial obligations is a real part of the mission for a credit union, as opposed to a faceless ledger item.

Today’s increasingly complex automotive lending environment presents challenges both new and old for dealerships and their financial partners. While auto loan debt is nothing new, economic hardships for many consumers paired with the rising cost of vehicles is increasing the risk of delinquencies for borrowers of all types. Auto loan debt has reached levels higher than those of the pre-pandemic market, including for prime and midprime borrowers. With interest rates expected to remain at relatively high...

How many times have you used a digital payment method in the past week? Maybe you used a mobile checkout for your latest grocery order. Or maybe you used text-to-pay for your water bill. As these methods become more common, they cease to become a curiosity and become more of an expectation. 

Auto loan payments shouldn’t be complicated. But for many borrowers (and the lenders serving them) making or processing a simple monthly payment can still involve outdated systems, limited options and unnecessary frustration. In today’s digital world, that’s a serious problem.

Consumer interest in digital banks has risen in recent years, especially among younger generations. As the use of remote services and business operations increases, individuals across age groups are becoming more comfortable with the idea of fully digital, as opposed to in-person, financial services. Up to 91% of consumers prioritize mobile and online access in choosing where to bank, in addition to security and fraud protection, according to Motley Fool Money's 2024 Digital Banking Trends and Consumer...

For collection agencies, control and reliability aren't optional. They're mission critical.

In the fast-moving world of accounts receivable management, your ability to collect payments quickly, securely and without disruption is the lifeblood of your business. But behind the scenes, what really determines the strength of your payment operations? Choosing the right payments partner – and that comes down to three foundational pillars:

1. Owning the payment technology from end to end
2. Having multiple,...