Debt Collection Services Market

Debt Collection Services Market Outlook (2023 to 2033)

The global debt collection services market is set to reach a valuation of US$ 30.2 billion in 2023. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7% for the next 10 years and end up at US$ 39.4 billion by 2033.

On average, debt collection agencies make around 7%-10% of the total recovered debt, which differs across countries and is subject to other variables according to the quality of debt.

Debt collection as a service is totally dependent upon the market condition of overall consumer debt. Economic factors such as interest rates, disposable income, and economic growth rates, among others, also play a crucial part in this industry.

Before a lending institution grants a loan to an individual, it analyses one’s creditworthiness by going through multiple factors such as monthly income and expenses, any running EMIs, and past credit records. Debt collection agencies come into the picture when an individual fails to entertain the payment demand by lending institutions. Depending upon the country’s rules and regulations, on average, debt becomes a non-performing asset (NPA) for a lending institution after 90-180 days. Post the grace period, the NPA gets transferred to a debt collection agency.

The effect of the COVID-19 crisis can be seen in the overall economic growth of the world. Due to COVID, many people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their monthly bills. Even after government intervention, the defaulting rate saw massive growth during this period. The expected demand for debt collection agencies will be high for the next few years.

The default rate is expected to decrease gradually over the medium term, resulting in less or moderate demand for debt collection services companies. The industry might go through a consolidation phase where larger companies will acquire smaller players.

Like other industries, the debt collection services industry is also expected to witness the impact of the technology revolution. The rate of collection will increase while operational costs are expected to decrease due to the mass adoption of technology in debt collection services.

Report Attributes	Details
Debt Collection Services Market Size (2022A)	US$ 29.4 Billion
Estimated Market Value (2023E)	US$ 30.2 Billion
Forecasted Market Value (2033F)	US$ 39.4 Billion
Global Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	2.7% CAGR
North America Market Share (2022)	~42%
East Asia Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	~3.1% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	~2.4% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	Aspen National Financial Inc; Atradius Collections; Capital Collections LLC; Cedar Financial; Encore Capital Group; IC System; PRA Group; Prestige Services Inc.; Rocket Receivables; Rozlin Financial Group, Inc.; Summit Account Resolution; The Kaplan Group; TrueAccord; Wakefield & Associates; Vericore

Factors Affecting Demand for Debt Collection Services

“Easy Finance Available in Today’s Times”

The global lending market is highly lucrative as well as competitive at the same time. Companies in the BFSI sector are facing cut-throat competition among themselves. The main sources of income for these companies are interest received from their customers. Several companies are ready to provide finance to their target customer at a competitive rate.

Increasing disposable income has also led to high borrowing from the household end. From house finance to mobile finance, every need of humans is being financed by lenders. Such easy finance has resulted in increasing late payments or default cases in the past few years. As economic situations are expected to become adverse over the coming years, the default rate will increase, ultimately leading to a higher need for debt collection services.

“Technological Development in Financial Services”

In the past few years, technologies have changed the face of many industries, and financial services are one of them. Technology has improved the service offerings of banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions in the recent past.

With the help of technology, banks and other financial institutions have customers’ data in one place, and in case of any kind of future financial requirement, these institutions can have a look and analyze the data and decide whether to offer finance or not. In the case of debt collection also, an agency can simply have a look at a customer’s historical data with one click and prepare a plan for recovering the money.

Now, with the help of technology, debt collection agencies can send reminders to customers for timely payments and also accept online payments. Integration of artificial intelligence in lending and recovery services is expected to drive the debt collection market to new heights.

“Stringent Rules and Regulations Governing Industry”

Across the globe, every country has its own set of rules and regulations for the recovery of debt. Some examples of such rules are the 'Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA') in the U.S. and 'Recovery of Debts & Bankruptcy Act' in India. These rules provide some rights to debtors in case of default.

In the whole process of debt collection/recovery, a debt recovery company has to follow certain rules while approaching defaulters. As per FDCPA, a debt recovery agent cannot call the debtors after a certain time of the day or at night. A recovery agent can only call 7 times within 7 days.

Debt recovery companies face challenges when contacting debtors as they have to follow rules set out by the government. These factors increase the time spent on each case, which results in increased operational costs, ultimately leading to lower profit margins.

Image presents market analysis of the debt collection services industry based on end-use application and region. Under the end-use application, the healthcare industry accounts for 41% of the global market share.

Country-wise Insights

U.S. Debt Collection Industry to Witness Increased Demand

The impact of COVID-19 has been very severe on the U.S. economy. A majority of lower- and middle-class families experienced the loss of the job of one or more family members. This resulted in no or lower cash inflow. Even with the government-funded stimulus, it became impossible for families to pay their bills, ultimately leading to failure in debt payments.

Lenders gave some grace period to debtors keeping the impact of COVID-19 in mind; however, that was not enough as people are still struggling to meet their basic requirements. Lending companies have started transferring these default cases to debt collection agencies for recoveries. Keeping the current U.S. economic conditions in mind, it is expected that the demand for debt recovery agencies is going to increase manifold amid an economic slowdown across the world.

Indian Debt Collection Industry to Grow to New Heights

The Indian financial sector has evolved massively in the last few years. This sector has become one of the most advanced in terms of technology. The entry of new players has also helped the industry grow at a faster rate and achieve a high level.

The entry of new tech-savvy companies into the BFSI sector has made borrowing and lending easy and hassle-free for all the entities involved. Tech-generated data is helping lenders, as well as debt collectors, understand the behavior of customers in a better way, thereby enhancing lending and recovery.

The rise of credit card users, along with plans such as BNPL (buy now pay later), 90-day free credit, and interest-free loans for short-term periods, has made finance easily available for common people. Though this scenario is positive for any economy, in the whole process of hyper-lending, lenders tend to loan/credit to sub-prime borrowers.

It is expected that the Indian debt collection services market will grow at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. With an increasing employment rate along with a rising middle-class population, it is expected that the Indian lending market will grow exponentially, leading to increased demand for debt recovery services.

Category-wise Insights

Healthcare Sector Accounts for Highest Demand for Debt Recovery Services

Healthcare loans are divided into two parts: hospital and non-hospital loans. Rising healthcare costs have been a concern for individuals in the U.S. for a long period. Many times, high healthcare costs result in debt.

Continuous rise of high medical and dental bills has resulted in an increase in debts related to healthcare. Sometimes, to pay medical bills, people tend to use credit cards or short-term personal loans, which again leads to higher interest rates and ultimately default.

Given the current complex climate changes and health conditions, it is expected that spending on overall healthcare bills will increase in the coming future, leading to increased borrowing. This will drive up the default rate and increase the demand for debt collection services.

Bad Debts Will Continue to Lead Market Progress

When a payment for a loan/credit is due for more than 90 days, it becomes a non-performing asset for lenders and they start treating these loans as bad debts. The case then gets transferred to a debt recovery agent/agency.

Often, in case of late payment, lenders usually reach out to borrowers through their in-house collection team for recovery. As an outsourced debt collection agency charges a percentage of the total recovered amount, it is considered to be an expensive way of collecting money. So only when the lender is sure that the debtor will not release the payment, the case gets transferred to a debt collection specialist. Only in a few cases, the lender takes the help of debt recovery agents where the payment is due in less than 90 days.

Competitive Landscape

Key providers of debt collection services are ACA International, Aspen National Financial Inc, Atradius Collections, Capital Collections LLC, Cedar Financial, Encore Capital Group, IC System, PRA Group, Prestige Services Inc., Rocket Receivables, Rozlin Financial Group, Inc., Summit Account Resolution, The Kaplan Group, and TrueAccord Vericore.

The global debt collection services industry is still considered to be unorganized due to the presence of several small and medium enterprises. Local players tend to account for a high market share in comparison to those who are from different locations/geographies. Market players are trying to differentiate themselves by offering more tech-driven services.

• In October 2022, Wakefield & Associates, an ACA International member company, completed the acquisition of Choice Recovery, an Ohio-based recovery agency. The acquisition will help the company grow in the Great Lakes region of the U.S.
• In March 2021, Atradius Collections completed the acquisition of a Portuguese-based collection agency Gestifatura. With this acquisition, Atradius Collection now has operations in 34 countries.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the providers of debt collection services positioned across regions, revenue growth, and service offering expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of Debt Collection Services Industry

• By Debt Type :

  • Bad Debts
  • Early Out Debts

• By End-use Application :

  • Healthcare
  • Student Loans
  • Government Debts
  • Others (Credit Cards, Retail, Telecom, Utility, Mortgages)

• By Region :

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa