Cut collections costs by 50%+ without touching core systems
Outsourcing reimagined around outcomes, not rate cards
A leading US non-prime consumer lender offering personal loans, auto loans, and credit cards nationwide was running a collections model that had quietly become too expensive to sustain.
For years, the lender operated with a firm rule: external partners work on our systems, not their own. That boundary held until the cost base became too heavy, collections capacity started falling short, and board-level pressure to cut unit costs grew too loud to ignore.
The lender needed to move fast, without a platform overhaul, without disrupting core systems, and without waiting for perfect conditions. Firstsource was brought in to redesign the model using the UnBPOTM approach, built for exactly this kind of moment.
The engagement, now around five years in, covers first-party collections, customer service, back-office processing, digital collections, and post-charge-off recoveries.
Four moves that rewired the model
Move 1: Flip the footprint
Moved the majority of collections to a nearshore center in Mexico City. Added a digital-only layer above every physical location. Result: more than 50% lower cost-to-serve, without a single core system change.
Move 2: Make digital the main channel
Replaced a fragmented legacy system with a single system of record for charged-off card accounts, covering account allocation, liquidation tracking, bureau updates, and compliance reporting. Core systems stayed in-house. This created the operational foundation that made the next moves possible.
Move 3: Build a recovery backbone
With the recovery backbone in place, Firstsource plugged its digital capability into both card and loan portfolios, covering SMS, email, self-service payments, and omnichannel contact. One partner, full accountability across the portfolio.
Move 4: Build AI readiness into the model from day one
Co-designed automation as priced option sets, AI calling support, and document automation, each with a fast-deploy path and a higher-impact path. Leadership picks the route when ready. No forced commitment, no long runway.
Outcomes delivered
>50%
Reduction in cost-to-serve
Best-in-class
1-pay delinquency collection rate
1
Compliance targets exceeded
AI-ready
Recoveries backbone without core system changes
Collections at the speed of now
The lender did not wait for perfect conditions. It moved on cost, on digital, and on AI readiness simultaneously, while keeping every core system in-house. That is the premise of the UnBPOTM model: outcomes delivered at the pace the business actually needs, not the pace a traditional outsourcer can manage.
"They have a good pulse on what is going on in the industry and how it applies to servicing... Another thing we have valued is they are quick to act — when they see a need, they act on it."
Head of Vendor Management, Leading US Non-Prime Lender