When debts cross the border.

• EOS is a specialist in international receivables management.
• A network spanning 180 countries and state-of-the-art technology ensure efficient and fast processing.
• Centralized case control ensures global compliance with standards and principles.

What applies to all of us also applies to defaulting borrowers: they are becoming more mobile and moving more frequently, often to different countries. It can then be hard for lenders to get their money if the defaulting customers no longer pay and the loans have to be called in and terminated. The effort needed to collect receivables abroad is great, and the prospects of success are limited.

One partner that has been cooperating with EOS since the 1980s is Commerzbank. Selected cross-border loans are assigned to EOS. 

“Especially when it is international, that is, when borrowers take out loans in Germany, move abroad, and no longer make their payments, it gets complicated and messy. That’s where EOS comes in,” explains Andreas Behmenburg, Head of Sales at EOS in Germany and person responsible for the cooperation with the Frankfurt-based bank. 

EOS adopts the assigned receivables in its debt collection system and transfers them to countries around the world: “We are active in 24 countries with our own debt collection companies and cooperate with long-standing, certified partners in more than 150 other countries. There are probably plenty of service providers in Germany that can collect debts on a national scale, but they become few and far between on an international scale,” says Andreas. 

Reliable local partners offer unbeatable advantages over a centralized receivables management system, says Stefan Cohrs, Senior Vice President Cross-border at EOS: “They are familiar with the legal landscape of the country, know which forms of communication and payment are common, and, of course, can speak the language.” “Many customers are amazed that we are able to solve cases that they have already given up on. Thanks to our expertise, they experience that their debts can be recovered from anywhere in the world.”

The entire process is controlled in a fully automated way via the electronic Global Collection platform. All the necessary customer-relevant data for a given receivable are transmitted to it and transferred to the relevant country in real time. The defaulting borrower is contacted directly from there.

“If cases that we are to process are entered in another country, the first letter is usually sent out from our local system to the defaulting debtor within a few hours,” says Maria Carmen Vinseiro, Cross-Border Partner Management & Collection Specialist at EOS Switzerland.

A content-related query can be sent with just one click. The EOS partner then receives a short message at the other end – within the platform, attached to the relevant case. There is no need to search for the right contact person or the right email address, and all important documents are kept in one place. “It’s very straightforward,” says Vinseiro: “And that means that we are faster. In Switzerland, we can process many more cases with the Global Collection platform than we otherwise would be able to manage.”

The technology and the competent central multilingual team in Hamburg not only ensure that all receivables are centrally controlled and monitored but also provide a basis for the uniform application of EOS rules and EOS principles such as the code of conduct in all countries.

“We have spent many years building up our network and select our partners very carefully,” says Andreas. “We regularly conduct audits at the debt collection companies’ premises to get a better feel of their working methods and philosophies, provide them with regular training, and work with them on a long-term basis. That way, we can be sure that our standards and our value system are adhered to.” EOS’s highly professional network and excellent technical standard ensure that the cooperation is also worthwhile for EOS.

“We process over 100,000 receivables annually in roughly 180 countries,” says Andreas. “That includes everything from a 100-euro mail order receivable to car loans and home financing in the six-digit range. 

Banks receive numerous advantages through the cooperation: They generate proceeds from terminated and nearly hopeless receivables without having to accumulate the necessary know-how in their banks. This means that they do not have to go to the effort and expense of chasing down receivables abroad.
 

As soon as EOS takes over a receivable, the experts start looking for the best way to process it. “If one of EOS’s foreign subsidiaries successfully implements new measures, this know-how is shared internationally within the framework of best practices,” explains Andreas. “We all learn from one another.” 

Want to find out more about how EOS finds solutions for even the most hopeless debt collection cases worldwide?

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