Key findings of BillingTree’s sixth annual Operations and Technology Survey involving collections, recoveries and more, are showing just how much of an impact all of the widespread changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are leaving on service providers.

For the first time in the history of the survey, BillingTree found that concerns over CFPB regulations ranked lower than all other compliance issues, including payment card industry (PCI) compliance, mandates from NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association, as well as obligations under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E.

BillingTree contends this overall trend is consistent with prior survey predictions after the emergence of the PCI 3.0 compliance rule changes in 2015.

“However, with CFPB plans to release a proposed rule concerning collectors’ communications practices and consumer disclosures (involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act), there is a chance this area will experience further disruption,” survey orchestrators said.

Beyond compliance concerns, BillingTree highlighted survey results — collected from more than 150 agencies of all sizes — cited innovative technologies to expand payment channels and enhance collection effectiveness as top factors for growth.

Survey results mentioned the growing consumer demand for mobile payments is driving change, with text payments cited by respondents as the most desired payment option.

However, rather than mobile text to pay being held back by technology limitations, BillingTree learned it is the perceived compliance risks putting the brakes on adoption. This technology out-ranked agent-assisted payment authorization and notification as the payment option carrying the greatest compliance risk.

One respondent stated, “These technologies are available, but with no safe harbor.”

When asked about future technology plans, the survey showed mobile device presentment and payment ranked second at 29 percent, just behind online portals at 31 percent.

Alternative forms of payment including PayPal, e-cash and Bitcoin ranked high, with 24 percent of respondents considering adoption, which suggests recover organizations are ready to embrace consumer technology trends and expand payment channels.

Consistent with prior years, the BillingTree survey indicated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) adoption continues to grow, with 36 percent relying on IVR compared to 28 percent in 2017.

BillingTree will be presenting the survey findings during a free webinar on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Registeration can be completed here.

To request a complimentary copy of the 2018 ARM Industry Operations, Technology & Payments report, go to this website.