Technology

Comtech Systems Partners with WebRecon to Protect Against Litigious Consumers

2009-11-13T08:13:00-07:00

Grand Rapids, MI — Comtech Systems, Inc. and WebRecon LLC announced today a strategic partnership to connect users of Comtech’s Collect! ARM solution with WebRecon’s consumer litigant database. The alliance will give users of Collect! the ability to easily recognize and actively protect themselves against consumers with a history of litigating collection agencies.

Both companies are market leaders in their respective areas.

According to WebRecon LLC CEO Jack Gordon, lawsuits against collection firms have been growing at an unprecedented rate. “Not only are the numbers of lawsuits growing each year,” he said, “but the pace of that growth is speeding up. In 2009, we are on track for an astounding rate of 44% growth over 2008.”

“The impact of these lawsuits on small and mid-sized collection agencies can be devastating,” adds Gordon. “This service helps agencies avoid a significant percentage of those suits, saving many thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlement costs for each one prevented.”

Comtech Systems Inc. is the first of the major software providers to acknowledge the effect of this alarming growth on their client base and implement appropriate mechanisms to prevent possible unnecessary litigation. According to Comtech CEO H. Neal Cropper, “We understand the pain this issue is causing our clients, and we are thrilled to be in a position to help them address it. WebRecon is offering a number of options to our user base, from a very low cost list of litigants to full database scrubbing that we will be able to integrate back into their databases. There is an option for every agency.”

About Comtech Systems, Inc: Comtech was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Victoria, BC, Canada with an additional office in Brisbane, Australia. Comtech's flagship product, Collect!, is widely recognized as the leading business management software solution for the world's receivables management industries.

Comtech's software is installed in 38 countries by over 1,200 companies including collection agencies, debt buyers, credit grantors, medical and dental billing offices, legal offices, municipal fine collection offices, car dealerships, rental application verification offices, credit grantors and a host of finance, credit and billing organizations.

About WebRecon LLC: Creditors and collection firms use WebRecon’s services to easily segregate predictably litigious consumers from their databases. A significant percentage of consumer litigation is initiated by the same consumers over and over again, and screening them out of the general population can reduce lawsuits by as much as a third.

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Universal Data Services and Oxford Capital Recovery Announce Partnership

2009-11-12T08:29:25-07:00

St. Joseph, Mo and Atlanta, GA – Universal Data Services, LLC. (UDS), the debt recovery arm of The Universal Group, today announced a strategic relationship with Oxford Capital Recovery, LLC. (OCR) to expand the reach of its commercial services division.

“We selected OCR based on their reputation as client-centric and their effective approach to business-to-business receivables solutions”, said Edward Vasques, Director of Operations at UDS. “Our clients are looking to UDS for our innovative solutions to their unique receivables challenges and with this arrangement we add another facet to our already broad portfolio of services”.

UDS now offers their client’s OCR’s comprehensive C.R.E.D.I.T profile report. “The C.R.E.D.I.T profile report was designed by our clients with the purpose of removing the smoke and mirrors from the collections process enabling our clients to understand empirically, the why behind the outcome of lending habits”, said Michael Steinberg, Director of Operations for OCR.”

This agreement with The Universal Group opens the door for OCR to seamlessly serve clients that have needs for consumer finance, first and third party account servicing, consumer collections and legal forwarding. "We are committed to our clients to uphold the highest standards and continue to be the leading edge in the commercial collections industry," says Michael Cooper, Director of Sales.

To learn more about The Universal Group visit, www.UGACINC.com or contact Melissa Snook, Human Resources at Msnook@ugacinc.com 816.233.2299 Ext. 112 To learn more about OCR visit, www.Oxfordcapitalrecovery.com or contact OCR@oxfordcapitalrecovery.com.

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Southwest Credit Achieves PCI DSS Level 1 Compliance

2009-11-06T02:35:51-07:00

Plano, TX - Southwest Credit Systems, L.P. a national provider of accounts receivable solutions is proud to have achieved Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) Level 1 compliance through a Qualified Security Assessor.

The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. This comprehensive standard is intended to help organizations processing credit card payments proactively protect customer account data.

By achieving PCI Compliance Southwest Credit continues to demonstrate clients and prospects their commitment to quality and compliance; as well as the focus placed on protecting their customers’ data by adhering to the proper rules and regulations.

“Performing with integrity is the bedrock of everything we do at Southwest Credit”, said Jeff Hurt, CEO “and safeguarding our customers’ information is our top priority”.

We are proud of the continuous investments we have made in technology and the rigorous audits of our processes by accredited third parties which demonstrate that we operate at the highest levels within the collections industry.

About Southwest Credit
Founded in 1974, Southwest Credit Systems L.P. is a national provider of accounts receivable management services to small and large companies in the Communications, Education, Utility, Government, and Financial Services industries. Southwest Credit services consumer and commercial accounts along various stages of the credit and collection process.
The company bases its service philosophy on their mission statement:

“At Southwest Credit, our goal is to provide our chosen partners with professional accounts receivable solutions based on Value, Integrity, and Performance.”

Southwest Credit is SAS 70 Type II Certified and has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+. For more information contact 1.800.637.7439 or visit www.sw-credit.com

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DANTOM Systems and Diversified Data Announce Strategic Alliance

2009-11-05T08:35:07-07:00

Wixom, Mich. – DANTOM Systems and Diversified Data and Communications (d/b/a DIVDAT) are pleased to announce a strategic alliance. DIVDAT is exiting the third-party print & mail collection market and DANTOM has agreed to assume the customer relationships effective November 1, 2009. In addition, DANTOM will utilize specific DIVDAT advanced technology services for their collection customers.

“As DIVDAT strengthens our focus on preferential communication and EBPP, we remain committed to ensuring our clients’ needs are met and expectations are exceeded. We are grateful for the trust they have placed in DIVDAT over the years. We remain committed to honoring that trust,” said Jason Bierkle, Diversified Data’s president and CEO. “After a thorough and careful evaluation, I firmly believe that an alliance with DANTOM is in the best interest of our third-party, print and mail clients. DANTOM’s outstanding service and industry leadership has been demonstrated over a long period of time. I am convinced our customers will be delighted.” DIVDAT’s business focus includes products for healthcare providers, utility companies, insurance agencies and other organizations. Those products include print and mail, EBPP, payment processing and other messaging services.

“The addition of this highly-valued customer base provides DANTOM the ability to expand upon its industry- leading position in the collection letter marketplace and gain access to DIVDAT’s latest technology service offerings,” said Tim Schriner, DANTOM’s president and CEO. “We look forward to working with our new customers and providing them the value from our collection letter focus and expertise.”

About DANTOM Systems
DANTOM Systems, Inc. is the premier provider of collection letter services to the Accounts Receivable Management marketplace. DANTOM is SAS 70 Type II Certified and provides address information processing integrated into an award winning collection letter process utilizing FDCPA compliant customer service representatives, Six Sigma quality processes, certified project management with USPS acceptance and verification onsite for the highest quality print and mail delivery nationwide. DANTOM is located in Wixom, Michigan and now serves over 600 Credit & Collection customers nationwide. DANTOM is owned by Bolder Capital, LLC located in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.dantomsystems.com.

About DIVDAT
With its roots as a print and mail services provider, DIVDAT has evolved to become a leading provider of print and mail, online data processing, archiving and retrieval; preferential communication delivery solutions; EBPP; broadcast e-mail, fax and voice message services as well as direct marketing support services. DIVDAT is also the provider of CashLINCTM , a proprietary data integration, notification and response system. It is a comprehensive receivables management communication tool for companies in the collections, utilities, financial services, insurance, healthcare and telecommunications fields, among others. DIVDAT is located in Ferndale, Mich. For more information, visit www.divdat.com.

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Executive Change: Aspect Names New Executive Leadership to Drive Companys Unified Communications Strategy

2009-11-04T08:13:58-07:00

CHELMSFORD, Mass. – Aspect, a unified communications (UC) solutions provider, today announced it has appointed new executive leadership to oversee the company’s unified communications strategy and marketing initiatives. Andy Bezaitis is now the senior vice president of product management and Laurie Cairns has joined the company as the senior vice president of marketing.

“This is an energizing time at Aspect because of the depth and breadth of our unified communications software and services offerings and the value they can bring to organizations, and I am confident that these new appointments will further our momentum in the marketplace,” said Jim Foy, president and chief executive officer, Aspect. “In her role, Laurie will focus on supporting our revenue objectives with innovative strategies and impeccable program execution. Andy is spearheading product planning to ensure optimal alignment with the business goals of our customers’ needs and with the emerging role of unified communications in the contact center and across the enterprise.”

Bezaitis brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to his new role. In this position, Bezaitis will oversee a product management team responsible for driving UC product enhancements through research, analysis, customer engagement, competitive intelligence and field communication. He continues acting as the company’s primary liaison to Microsoft. Before joining Aspect, he was the senior vice president of business development at Cantata Technology.

Cairns brings more than 25 years of marketing and brand expertise to Aspect. Her new responsibilities as senior vice president include driving marketing initiatives and brand strategy to further Aspect’s leadership in providing unified communications solutions for enterprises and their contact centers. Laurie’s career includes the formation and executive management of LEC, an integrated branding agency founded in 1986. She holds a business process patent in internet promotions, and is the marketing committee chair of Lumity, a nonprofit organization that leverages information technology. She brings extensive experience in both software and communications, and has worked closely with Aspect on strategy, messaging and demand creation for nearly ten years.

About Aspect
Aspect provides software and consulting services that turn the potential of unified communications into real business results across the enterprise and in the contact center. Applying 35 years of insight and experience, Aspect helps more than two-thirds of the FORTUNE Global 100, as well as small and medium enterprises, power their business processes with communications. For more information, visit www.aspect.com.

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PSC Info Group Acquires Data Processing, Printing and Mailing Unit of North Shore Agency

2009-10-30T06:39:32-07:00

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – PSC Info Group, a leader in data management, document and mailing technology and online solutions, has acquired the data processing, printing and mailing unit of North Shore Agency, Inc. (NSA) of Long Island, N.Y.

North Shore Agency’s ultimate parent company, NCO Group, Inc. (NCO), will retain NSA’s debt collection unit.

As part of the transaction, PSC has executed an exclusive, long-term document outsourcing and letter processing agreement with NCO.

According to Joseph J. Greco, PSC Info Group’s CEO, “The addition of the North Shore Agency business will enhance PSC Info Group’s service offering to our valued customers, and will increase our market share in cable, telecommunications, media, publishing, healthcare and financial services markets. Most importantly, the acquisition will enable us to leverage the scale and synergies of our businesses and spread our capital and technology investments over a broader base, while providing the most cost effective value added solutions available”.

Michael J. Barrist, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCO, stated, “This transaction allows NCO to focus on our core BPO competencies of accounts receivable management and customer relationship management. We have enjoyed a long–term relationship with PSC and are pleased that we are able to complete this transaction with this valued partner.”

About PSC Info Group
Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., with additional processing facilities in Reno, Nev., PSC Info Group (www.pscinfogroup.com) is a leader in data management, printing and mailing technology and online solutions that facilitate billing, collection and other time-sensitive communications. With more than 25 years of experience, PSC Info Group delivers effective, customized solutions for accounts receivable management, healthcare, cable, telecommunications, publishing, media, financial services, insurance and government sectors. PSC Info Group helps clients effectively manage their document and information needs by combining unsurpassed industry experience with the latest technology.

About NCO Group, Inc.
NCO Group, Inc. is a leading global provider of business process outsourcing services, primarily focused on accounts receivable management and customer relationship management. NCO provides services through over 100 offices throughout North America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

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An Idea Whose Time Has Come

2009-10-29T10:33:54-07:00

From texting to iPods to smart phones, technology has dramatically changed the way we live our lives. At the end of last year when the economy soured and travel budgets were slashed, I started to wonder; “Why can’t technology be utilized to revolutionize the exhibition hall experience?”

Why can’t it? What if you could get access to all participants at an exhibition without ever leaving your desk? What if it was absolutely free to attend, so you could send all interested staffers – from the IT department to Operations? What if easy access made it possible for the entire ARM industry to attend – including credit grantors, debt buyers, and ARM service providers? What if we could make this happen? Would you participate?

We thought so and that is why we created the ARM industry’s first-ever virtual expo, Expo 3.0

Envision an efficient and cost-effective expo conducted entirely online. You can literally “visit” booths, interact with decision makers through group or private chat, see a video introduction of the company or product, and leave with relevant information and appropriate contacts – all without having to leave your desk.

^pullquoteLearn more about Expo 3.0 at http://www.insidearm.com/expo/ pullquote^

Because of the expense of travel, cost to attend, and time out of the office – not to mention the travel restrictions placed upon many professionals – many stakeholders in the process of selecting vendors haven’t been able to attend tradeshows. On the flip side, these restrictions prevent vendors from sending technicians or developers to staff their booths. That’s about to change. For the first time, entire staffs will have one place to go to evaluate products and services needed to improve recoveries. Through Expo 3.0, there are no restrictions. Everyone on both sides of the buying decision can attend without the hassles of travel.

EXPO 3.0 is free to all attendees, so senior management, IT staff, collection staff, and anyone else is able to attend from their desk. And since booths at Expo 3.0 will be available for 90 days after the live event, attendees can still get the information they need even after the live show ends.

As active participants in the affairs shaping the ARM industry for nearly 20 years, Kaulkin Ginsberg has been involved in virtually every trade show and conference geared toward credit grantors, collection agencies, collection law firms and debt buyers. This year alone, our firm participated in over 17 live events. We know and appreciate the fact that there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction. We saw the need to address the limitations involved with live events and that is why we developed a virtual experience focused exclusively on the exhibit hall.

We truly see EXPO 3.0 as a new and powerful tool to enhance and facilitate introductions within the ARM industry, and we are committed to using all of our resources to making this a successful event for all participants. I hope we’ll see you there!

Revenue Cycle Solutions, Inc. selects ZirMed as Financial Services Platform Strategic Partner

2009-10-29T07:19:11-07:00

WESTCHESTER, IL, and LOUISVILLE, KY – Revenue Cycle Solutions, Inc. (RCS) today announced a strategic relationship with ZirMed, Inc. to leverage its technology and expertise in delivering comprehensive revenue cycle management solutions to healthcare providers.

“This partnership complements the respective strengths of both companies thereby greatly reducing the administrative burden placed on our clients while simultaneously increasing their cash flow.” said C. Jeff Pan, RCS’ CEO.

Further increasing its distinctive edge in the accounts receivable management space, RCS now offers its clients an extensive array of revenue cycle management solutions including credit/debit processing, ACH processing, e-commerce, secure patient payments along with, insurance eligibility services, and claims management. This holistic suite of products automates many manual – and time consuming – procedures such as early-out follow-up, reconciliation, and payment posting.

“Having the ability to offer a comprehensive suite of PCI-DSS compliant payment options to its customers, along with RCS’ proven differentiation as an automatic and efficient early-out collection solutions, gives RCS a truly unique advantage over its competition.” said Jim Lacy, CFO & Counsel of ZirMed.

About RCS
Founded in 2002, RCS is a leading provider of accounts receivable management services for hospitals and other healthcare providers throughout the United States. With proprietary technology, tools and processes, it specializes in follow-up of patient liability and resolution of small insurance claims for hospitals. For more information about RCS, visit www.revcs.com.

About ZirMed
Founded in 1999, ZirMed is a nationally recognized leader in delivering revenue cycle management solutions to healthcare providers. ZirMed solutions include eligibility verification, credit/debit card processing, check processing, claims management, coding compliancy, electronic remittance advice, patient statements, patient e-commerce solutions, provider credentialing, business analytics and lockbox services. For additional information, visit www.zirmed.com/pr.

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Collections Optimization From SAS Helps Companies Maximize Return While Reducing Costs

2009-10-29T07:19:11-07:00

With consumer debt at an all-time high, financial institutions are being pressured to reclaim unpaid debt to rebuild cash reserves in a tightening market. Collecting this debt requires resources to execute the collection process -- resources that are limited. Collections optimization from SAS, the leader in business analytics, helps companies maximize the return from collection efforts while reducing costs.

"Financial services institutions must re-gear their analytic techniques to adapt to a new playing field," said Brian Riley, Research Director of Bank Cards at TowerGroup. "Rising unemployment, coupled with a protracted recession and increased credit costs make existing tools obsolete. Successful lenders that apply advanced analytics to optimize their strategies experience particularly strong results."

Debt collection is delicate. Customers are sensitive to how, when and why they are contacted. Most debt collection approaches fail to identify who best to contact or which channels to use. Call centers -- often the most effective communication method -- are also the most expensive. Collections optimization from SAS, using predictive analytics, helps companies make effective use of their call centers and alternative methods of communication (SMS, IVR, email) that may also achieve successful results at low costs.

SAS delivers software and services that:

Develop customer models to understand who is most likely to respond, which communication channels will work best and how much payment to expect.
Evaluate multiple channels simultaneously to determine which channels for individual customers will maximize return.
Vary constraints and re-run scenarios to understand the impact of changing call-center capacity, altering contact policies, or adjusting other constraints -- all via an easy-to-use interface.

With SAS, collection managers can plan and prioritize outbound communications for best results, balancing the organization's capacity with the likelihood that customers will respond. Optimizing the collections process can also lead to an improvement in the long-term relationship between the financial institution and its customers.

A premier financial institution in Australia uses optimization on its past-due customer accounts. Prior to using SAS, the bank's collections team relied on instinct to determine which communication to assign to the various different contact channels. Now, they use collections optimization to apply a mathematical approach to decide which channel will maximize payment rates. Since introducing the new technology there has been a 300 percent return on investment.

SAS Customer Intelligence solutions enable companies to deepen customer insights, choreograph customer interactions and continuously improve the organization's marketing performance. Customers worldwide using SAS to support customer initiatives include DeutschlandCard, First Citizens Bank, Grupo Santander, Staples, US Bank, Vodafone Australia and Wolters Kluwer.

Today's announcement came at The Premier Business Leadership Series event in Las Vegas, a business conference presented by SAS that brings together more than 600 attendees from the public and private sectors to share ideas on critical business issues.

About SAS
SAS (www.sas.com) is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®

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Online Resources Core Earnings Per Share Up 50 Percent Over Prior Year

2009-10-29T07:19:11-07:00

CHANTILLY, Va. – Online Resources Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCC), a leading provider of online financial services, today reported financial and operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2009.

Revenue was $36.6 million, down 4 percent from $38.1 million in the third quarter 2008.
Adjusted Ebitda, a non-GAAP measure, was $9.8 million, up 19 percent from $8.3 million in the prior year.
Net income available to common stockholders was $0.4 million, or $0.01 per diluted share. This result compares to a net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.05 loss per diluted share, in 2008.
Core net income, a non-GAAP measure, was $2.9 million, up 50 percent from $1.9 million in 2008. On a per share basis, core net income was $0.09, up 50 percent from $0.06 in 2008.

“True to our priorities, we delivered excellent earnings and cash flow growth in the third quarter, while continuing to reduce debt,” said Matthew P. Lawlor, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company. “Revenue was lower than expected, however, due to weaker consumer transactions and a $0.5 million fee expected in the third quarter that was recognized early in the fourth quarter.”

Lawlor continued, “Consumer adoption of online banking continued to climb nicely, and same store billpay transactions grew in line with recent quarters. New client signings were especially strong, as our fully integrated one-stop internet banking offering continues to resonate with community banks and credit unions. We also entered into two potentially large distributor partnerships. We renewed all of our expiring large client contracts but, as previously stated, we expect continued client turnover as the industry consolidates and competition intensifies.”

“New client activity was also strong in our e-commerce business,” Lawlor added. “We signed a major healthcare services provider for enrollment and payment services, and significantly expanded our web-based collections relationship with a top 3 U.S. card issuer. While consumer transactions continued to grow year over year, the recession has had a major impact on our accounts receivable management clients, contributing to a decline in user-paid fees.”

Lawlor concluded, “Looking forward, I believe we are positioned well competitively, with our comprehensive product set and focus on the online channel. We expect to continue to grow earnings and cash flow, as we benefit from prior strategic cost initiatives. There are also some promising revenue indicators such as stepped-up client signings, new products and a possible bottoming of consumer transaction declines. However, until we see some firmer signs of an economic turnaround and stability in the markets we serve, we must assume on-going challenges to the top line.”

About Online Resources
Online Resources (Nasdaq: ORCC) powers financial interactions between millions of consumers and the company’s financial institution and biller clients. Backed by its proprietary payments gateway that links banks directly with billers, the company provides web and phone-based financial services, electronic payments and marketing services to drive consumer adoption. Founded in 1989, Online Resources has been recognized for its high growth and product innovation. It is the largest financial technology provider dedicated to the online channel. For more information, visit www.orcc.com.

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Webrecon to Scrub Every Collection Database Industry-Wide for Free

2009-10-26T07:20:44-07:00

Grand Rapids, MI – They’re giving it all away, for free.

In an effort to combat the exploding number of FDCPA lawsuits plaguing American collection agencies, law firms and debt buyers, WebRecon LLC has announced an offer to scrub every collection firm’s consumer database, free of charge and with no further commitment or obligation. The offer covers each firm’s entire database, or up to 5 million consumers per company.

“Nearly 1000 new litigants are emerging every month, and 2009 is on track for a 40% spike in the number of FDCPA/FCRA lawsuits over 2008,” says company CEO Jack Gordon, who is a former collection agency owner himself.

He adds, “Debt collectors are under attack seemingly from every corner – radicalized debtors, consumer attorneys, federal agencies, Congress, state legislators, state attorney generals and the media. I am looking to give those who are the most besieged something of extraordinary value.”

Every lawsuit prevented can save many thousands of dollars. According to Gordon, a typical agency can identify dozens or even hundreds of prior litigants and head off any potential impending action from them.

The service, which is priced lower than the cost of defending or settling a single typical lawsuit per year, includes four components to help agencies identify prior litigants:

A searchable database of consumer lawsuits to find individual litigants, defendants or attorneys
A batch process that can segregate prior litigants at the rate of one million accounts per hour
A semi-monthly spreadsheet of all new litigation
The semi-monthly ‘Litigant Hotsheet’ which quickly identifies the most active consumer litigants

The companies that take advantage of this offer will have the option, at the end of the free scrub, to continue with the month-to-month service.

“Of course, I hope many of them will choose to stay on,” said Gordon, “but even if they just try it out and find some value from their initial scrubs, I will be happy to see them benefit from denying the professional litigants out there additional opportunities to extort money from our industry.”

Any collection firms who wish to learn more can visit www.webrecon.com/free

This offer expires on December 31, 2009, and slots are expected to fill up quickly.

About WebRecon LLC:
Creditors and collection firms use WebRecon’s services to easily segregate predictably litigious consumers from their databases. A significant percentage of consumer litigation is initiated by the same consumers over and over again, and screening them out of the general population can reduce lawsuits by as much as a third.