The importance of data streaming in collections

Data streaming is transforming collections. While legacy systems struggle with batch bottlenecks, modern platforms process information the moment it is generated. This allows collections teams to work faster and deliver the fair outcomes regulators demand.

Everyday applications of data streaming

Data streaming is already working behind the scenes in your everyday life.

When you swipe your payment card, your bank instantly checks if it's really you making that purchase. If something looks suspicious, you get a text, app notification or call within seconds asking if you're actually buying something in another country.

Tap your phone at the supermarket and watch everything happen at once: your payment goes through, the item gets removed from their inventory, loyalty points hit your account, and your banking app updates your balance – all in real time.

No waiting, no delays, just instant updates across every system that matters to you.

Reducing foreseeable harm in debt collection

Under Consumer Duty, firms must avoid causing foreseeable harm.

Outdated technology often creates negative friction, and this kind of friction causes harm. If a customer cannot resolve an issue because a system hasn't been updated, their financial and mental well-being is put at risk.

Why real-time data is critical for vulnerability

For a vulnerable customer, the decision to engage with a lender is often a moment of extreme anxiety. When your technology relies on overnight batch updates, it creates a dangerous window of uncertainty that causes direct harm:

• The psychological cost: If a customer makes a payment or agrees to a plan, but your system (and agents) can’t see it until the next day, they are left in a state of high stress. This "limbo" period can lead to disengagement or the "ostrich effect," where they stop communicating entirely.
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• The financial risk: Data lag prevents immediate resolution. If a customer has to wait 24 hours for a confirmation or a "breathing space" flag to update, they may make panicked, poor financial decisions, such as turning to high-cost, short-term credit, to solve a problem that was actually already resolved.
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• The friction trap: Legacy lag forces customers to repeat their story multiple times to different agents because the system hasn't caught up. Under Consumer Duty, this is a failure as it places an unnecessary administrative and emotional burden on people in distress.

Real-time systems eliminate this latency. By giving agents instant access to accurate data, you can finalise decisions and provide absolute certainty in a single interaction, preventing foreseeable harm before it happens.

How this satisfies Consumer Duty

Providing instant certainty doesn't just help the customer; it simplifies your compliance reporting. Because the system updates in the moment, you have a 100% accurate, real-time audit trail of when a vulnerability was identified and how it was handled – no manual notes or overnight reconciliations required.

Proactive engagement with pre-delinquent customers

The FCA emphasises early intervention. Real-time data allows you to monitor warning signs across all data sources continuously. Instead of waiting for a missed payment to trigger a workflow, real-time systems detect early indicators of financial stress.

This allows you to offer proactive, personalised support through the customer's preferred channel, offering the opportunity to prevent arrears before they occur.

The bottom line: real-time is the new standard for collections

The gap between modern consumer expectations and legacy collections technology is widening. Customers who experience instant updates in every other part of their financial lives will no longer tolerate the data lag of traditional collections.

By moving to real-time data streaming, you are eliminating the administrative friction that leads to poor outcomes and regulatory risk. It is the shift from being a reactive department that processes debt to a proactive operation that manages relationships.

In the era of Consumer Duty, real-time is the only way to ensure your business is as responsive as the regulations require.