AW Holding
Does International debt follow you? The answer is yes, it doesn’t mean that if you travelled outside the country of the B2B debts were issued that you can’t follow the debtors and collect from them.
The matter of debts doesn’t end when you leave the airport, the creditor may file a suit against the debtor in his new country of residence or even hire international debt collection agency to skip trace him/her, contact you for debts and collect the debt, all of this while following compliance and apply the country of residence regulations and collection laws.
What is International Debt Collection?
It is the process of recovering outstanding payments from debtors located in foreign countries.
This specialized service is particularly crucial in the B2B sector, where cross-border transactions are common and unpaid invoices can significantly impact on a company’s cash flow.
When this occurs, the companies often turn to an international collection agency for assistance.
These agencies possess the expertise, resources, and legal knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of recovering debts across different jurisdictions.
By engaging an international debt collection agency, businesses can increase their chances of recovering outstanding payments whilst minimizing the time and resources spent on chasing debtors abroad.
This allows companies to focus on their core operations whilst ensuring a healthier cash flow and reducing financial risks associated with international trade.
How International debt collection works?
It works differently than domestic debt recovery, normally if the debtor is inside the country we usually start with sending the invoices, reminders of payments, formal demand letters, initiating contacts for negotiations and settling down the payments and we may go for legal action as a last resort if no responses or co-operation received from the debtors.
But in cross border collection we must employ the international debt collection agency from the first place unlike the local collection we can do some attempts by ourselves or by our internal collection departments before partnering with a debt collection agency, and this due to the nature of cross border debt collection process that we will explain as follow:
1 – Skip Tracing:
It is very important and first major step is to identify where did your debtors escape or go to, which country they are based now, then which city, state or town they are present at, it is a long process requires experts in the field, some expensive tools and strong enough information to gain valuable outputs from these tools, so that why you need to contact the international debt collection agency from the first place to save time because the lateness affect your debt age and possibility of collecting it.
2 – Authorization of International Debt Collection:
We successfully managed to locate the debtor place, now we can start our actual process that is like the domestic one we implement but there are two things to acknowledge before which are:
The collection done by your Partner: If your collection partner has an authorization to collect in the country of your debtor locate in, they will start their process immediately, contact, follow up, negotiate and settle or even litigate against your debtor by themselves.
The Collection done by a third party: The second scenario is that your partner has no authorization to collect in this country by their own debt collectors so in this case your hired agency will assign the case to an authorized local debt agency from their list of association networks and partners to collect on behalf of them your own B2B debt.
3 – Legal Debt Collection:
Just like the normal domestic process, the debt collection agency resorts to legal actions as final steps in case the debtors continue to evade their financial obligations to the creditors and don’t pay.
The challenges of International Debt Recovery and How Agencies Overcome Them?
International debt collection presents unique challenges that require specialized expertise to overcome. Here are some of the key obstacles faced by international debt recovery agencies and how they address them:
1 – Legal Standards:
Each country has its own laws. The agencies must navigate these regulations, ensuring compliance with them whilst pursuing debts effectively. They often employ legal experts versed in international law to manage this challenge.
2 – Language Barriers:
Communication is the key. An effective international debt collection agency overcome language barriers by employing multilingual staff or partnering with local agencies. This ensures clear communication with debtors and local authorities, enhancing the chances of successful debt collection.
3 – Cultural Differences:
Understanding cultural nuances is vital in cross border debt collection. Agencies invest in cultural training for their staff, enabling them to approach debtors with appropriate sensitivity and respect for local customs, which can significantly improve recovery rates.
AW Qatar Global Reach:
AW Qatar offers international debt collection services for exporters, business investors and multinational companies over 150 countries through our list of associations network and partners, actively associated with the industry’s most notable organizations, including FENCA, IACC, LIC, ICE and many others.
Align with global regulations, GDPR accreditation, ISO 9001:2015 certification and all other relevant international standards and Accredited Credit Management Bodies.
And comply with EU, US, and all other international standards and policies in the debt collection industry.
The transformation of your B2B debts locally to internationally is not the end of road, we go with you every step of the way to recover what you own at any place in the world, contact us now for all the details needed.