The Collections Crisis: How SMBs Can Recover More Revenue Without the Compliance Risk

Consumer debt in the United States has hit record highs. Credit card balances alone reached $1.13 trillion in 2024. Yet the tools available to collect on that debt are simultaneously becoming harder to use, more legally risky, and more expensive to staff. For SMBs — who built their collections programs around outbound phone calls, in-house staff, and basic agency relationships — the old approach is no longer viable.

This Collections Crisis Report, presented by Redial BPO, identifies the three forces driving that crisis and explains why the traditional response — do it in-house or hire a cheap agency — is no longer a defensible strategy.

Report Preview / What You’ll Get: 

1. The “Triple Threat” driving the SMB collections crisis — and the data behind each force
2. Why the answer rate collapse makes single-channel collections untenable
3. The litigation surge: specific compliance numbers every SMB leader should know
4. The AI gap between enterprise and SMB collections programs — and how to close it
5. Industry recovery rate benchmarks to evaluate your program
6. A 20-point checklist for evaluating any collections BPO partner
7. The bilingual collections advantage most businesses are ignoring 

What the Data Says

“Over 600 million accounts are placed for third-party collection annually in the U.S. — yet most SMBs still rely on approaches that cap their recovery before they start.”— The Collections Crisis: 2026 Industry Trend Report, Redial BPO

• $1.13T in U.S. credit card debt — an all-time high
• 89.1% rise in CFPB complaints in 2025
• <15% answer rate on outbound collection calls
• $6.8B outsourced debt collection market in 2024, growing at 7.2% CAGR

The Three Forces Driving the SMB Collections Crisis

Before you download the full report, here is a summary of the three forces we’ve identified — what we call the Triple Threat. Each is explored in detail in the report and in the dedicated articles below.