AI and avengers are being deployed in collecting late payments. But nothing beats constant and clear communication

In these challenging times, debt collection is taking on new forms in a bid to increase efficacy.

In Singapore, a legal debt collection agency got some media attention for its creative methods, such as announcing the nicknames of its debt enforcement specialists. These monikers include Boss Hulk, Thanus and Scammer Hunter. In an interview, one employee said that they market themselves as superheroes because “we provide justice for our clients”. These clients include suppliers who are owed payment by their customers.

These burly avengers sometimes livestream their debt collection process, stand in formation at the debtors’ premises, and encounter their fair share of hostile confrontations. Business, apparently, is booming. As the interviewed staff member put it: “There are so many debts [incurred] during the pandemic now, even [a repayment of] $500 matters to someone.”

Meanwhile, over in China, real estate giant Vanke announced that its employee of the year was a debt collector called Cui Xiaopan — and she’s not even human.

Rather, this entity is a a piece of software powered by artificial intelligence. With the help of algorithms, she “discovers problems in work procedures and data” and uses this to collect late payments. Her success rate: 91.44%, according to Vanke. (In case you were wondering, the success rate of the Singapore debt collection agency is over 85%. )

While these methods are understandably appealing to some at a time when late payments are a growing problem for many businesses, RIABU believes that an adversarial approach and a reliance on technology is seldom the answer.

Rather, we believe in a concept called the Virtuous Revenue Cycle, which is focused on service, trust-building and cultivating customer loyalty. At its heart, this approach is all about early and constant customer contact. You can read more about the eight components of the Virtuous Revenue Cycle here.

Managing your cash flow the RIABU way requires the investment of time, the introduction of team processes, and buy-in and ownership at all levels of the company. It’s not as headline-grabbing as a team of avengers, or an AI system with a pretty face. But it’s a long-term constructive solution to business sustainabilty. And it works.

Get more tips on effective cash flow management from our book, Let the Cash Flow. To find out more about how RIABU helps small businesses get paid on time, visit RIABU.com