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With fresh capital, Symend aims to build a better debt collection system
Squeezed by the recessionary COVID-19-era economy and the rising prices of everyday goods, some consumers are increasingly turning to lines of credit to…
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Squeezed by the recessionary COVID-19-era economy and the rising prices of everyday goods, some consumers are increasingly turning to lines of credit to make ends meet. According to a September 2021 survey from Bankrate.com, 42% of U.S. adults with credit card debt increased their balances since the pandemic began in March 2020. A more recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that total household debt in Q3 2022 reached $16.51 trillion, $2.36 trillion higher than at the end of 2019.
The New York Fed’s study also showed that the share of current debt becoming delinquent climbed for nearly all debt types, from mortgages to auto loans. But even before the pandemic and crippling inflation struck, the U.S. had a delinquent debt problem. A 2016 whitepaper from the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals International found that debt rose from $150 billion to over $600 billion in the previous five years. During the same timeframe, collection agencies — who take between 20% to 50% of money recovered — had an annual success rate of 7%.
To solve it — an ambitious goal, to be sure — Hanif Joshaghani and Tiffany Kaminsky co-founded Symend, a company that employs AI and machine learning to automate processes around debt resolution for telcos, banks and utilities. Symend today announced that it raised $42 million in a Series C round led by Inovia Capital with participation from Impression Ventures, Mistral Venture Partners, BDC’s Growth Venture Co-Investment Fund, BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Fund, Plaza Ventures and EDC. While substantially smaller than Symend’s once-extended Series B round ($95 million), Joshaghani, Symend’s CEO, noted that it’s “all equity” and brings the company’s total capital raised to date to $140 million.
“We have maintained and continue to maintain a very conservative balance sheet profile,” Joshaghani told TechCrunch in an email interview. “This latest injection of growth capital allows us to meet the growing demand for our behavioral engagement technology around the world. While this is not an optimal time for many businesses to turn to funding, for Symend, this was an ideal time as our product demand rises and the realities of the market create a deepening white space for us to capture.”
Joshaghani hails from the financial industry, having worked as a corporate finance manager and investment banking association. Kaminsky’s background is marketing — prior to co-founding Symend, she was the head of sales and marketing strategy at Frog3D, a CNC fabrication business.
Examples of messages customers might see from brands working with Symend.
Both Joshaghani and Kaminsky personally experienced the negative impact of debt, they say. Joshaghani grew up in a household frequently targeted by calls from debt collectors, and Kaminksi ran into trouble with collections with her first credit card as a young adult.
“To this day, I remember the anxiety I felt when receiving calls from collections and knew there had to be a better way — both for customers and businesses,” Joshaghani said. “We founded Symend to help consumers like us and as we’ve grown over the past six years, that mission has remained the same — our vision is to transform the science of engagement on a global scale.”
Symend identifies when customers are having trouble paying bills and provides analytics and tools aimed at helping companies develop debt remediation programs. Via the platform’s workflows, businesses can engage with nearly-delinquent customers at points likeliest to drive turnaround. For example, they can configure Symend to create payment plans and limited-time payment discounts for certain segments of customers, or they can have the platform connect at-risk customers with financial planning tools, resources and credit rehabilitation programs.
As Joshaghani explained to me, Symend works with a company’s existing systems to “optimize engagement” with customers falling behind on bills due to illness, job loss, family trouble and other foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. The platform allows a business to send “hyper-personalized” messages via a customer’s preferred channels (e.g. text and email) while providing that business access to playbooks for various debt collection scenarios (e.g., delinquent credit card).
“Our clients continue to use general-purpose engagement platforms to manage their broad-based customer communications but deploy Symend specifically to solve complex challenges around their past-due customer base,” Joshaghani said. “Our ability to productize behavioral science is one of three key innovation areas of our technology, which uses AI, machine learning and data science to develop proven behavioral engagement playbooks to deliver impact out-of-the-box for companies in various industries.”
Symend is rather vague about the functionality and technical underpinnings of its platform — its website prefers jargony buzzwords to plain-English descriptions. But that hasn’t scared away customers, it’d seem; Joshaghani claims that Symend is currently serving financial institutions, alternative lenders, utility companies and the majority of telecom providers in North America, including Telus.
No doubt, the rise in buy now, pay later (BNPL) services — which let users split up purchases into equal installments over a fixed short-term period — is driving new business to Symend. A recent U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report found that delinquencies on BNPL services are rising sharply as vendors approve more customers for loans.
“As with many businesses right now, the current market conditions and economic uncertainty has led to us seeing clients with tighter budgets and streamlined decision-making,” Joshaghani added. “However, this latest funding highlights the market need, growing consumer demands for an empathetic, personalized approach as consumers face financial stress, and investor confidence in the company’s proven track record with some of the largest financial institutions and telecommunications providers during a time where every dollar and customer has become more important than ever.”
With fresh capital, Symend aims to build a better debt collection system by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
fed federal reserve pandemic covid-19 mortgages
Uncategorized
One city held a mass passport-getting event
A New Orleans congressman organized a way for people to apply for their passports en masse.
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While the number of Americans who do not have a passport has dropped steadily from more than 80% in 1990 to just over 50% now, a lack of knowledge around passport requirements still keeps a significant portion of the population away from international travel.
Over the four years that passed since the start of covid-19, passport offices have also been dealing with significant backlog due to the high numbers of people who were looking to get a passport post-pandemic.
Related: Here is why it is (still) taking forever to get a passport
To deal with these concurrent issues, the U.S. State Department recently held a mass passport-getting event in the city of New Orleans. Called the "Passport Acceptance Event," the gathering was held at a local auditorium and invited residents of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District to complete a passport application on-site with the help of staff and government workers.
'Come apply for your passport, no appointment is required'
"Hey #LA02," Rep. Troy A. Carter Sr. (D-LA), whose office co-hosted the event alongside the city of New Orleans, wrote to his followers on Instagram (META) . "My office is providing passport services at our #PassportAcceptance event. Come apply for your passport, no appointment is required."
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The event was held on March 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. While it was designed for those who are already eligible for U.S. citizenship rather than as a way to help non-citizens with immigration questions, it helped those completing the application for the first time fill out forms and make sure they have the photographs and identity documents they need. The passport offices in New Orleans where one would normally have to bring already-completed forms have also been dealing with lines and would require one to book spots weeks in advance.
These are the countries with the highest-ranking passports in 2024
According to Carter Sr.'s communications team, those who submitted their passport application at the event also received expedited processing of two to three weeks (according to the State Department's website, times for regular processing are currently six to eight weeks).
While Carter Sr.'s office has not released the numbers of people who applied for a passport on March 14, photos from the event show that many took advantage of the opportunity to apply for a passport in a group setting and get expedited processing.
Every couple of months, a new ranking agency puts together a list of the most and least powerful passports in the world based on factors such as visa-free travel and opportunities for cross-border business.
In January, global citizenship and financial advisory firm Arton Capital identified United Arab Emirates as having the most powerful passport in 2024. While the United States topped the list of one such ranking in 2014, worsening relations with a number of countries as well as stricter immigration rules even as other countries have taken strides to create opportunities for investors and digital nomads caused the American passport to slip in recent years.
A UAE passport grants holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 180 of the world’s 198 countries (this calculation includes disputed territories such as Kosovo and Western Sahara) while Americans currently have the same access to 151 countries.
stocks pandemic covid-19 grantsUncategorized
Fast-food chain closes restaurants after Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Several major fast-food chains recently have struggled to keep restaurants open.
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Competition in the fast-food space has been brutal as operators deal with inflation, consumers who are worried about the economy and their jobs and, in recent months, the falling cost of eating at home.
Add in that many fast-food chains took on more debt during the covid pandemic and that labor costs are rising, and you have a perfect storm of problems.
It's a situation where Restaurant Brands International (QSR) has suffered as much as any company.
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Three major Burger King franchise operators filed for bankruptcy in 2023, and the chain saw hundreds of stores close. It also saw multiple Popeyes franchisees move into bankruptcy, with dozens of locations closing.
RBI also stepped in and purchased one of its key franchisees.
"Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the United States today, operating 1,022 Burger King restaurants in 23 states that generated approximately $1.8 billion of system sales during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2023," RBI said in a news release. Carrols also owns and operates 60 Popeyes restaurants in six states."
The multichain company made the move after two of its large franchisees, Premier Kings and Meridian, saw multiple locations not purchased when they reached auction after Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. In that case, RBI bought select locations but allowed others to close.
Image source: Chen Jianli/Xinhua via Getty
Another fast-food chain faces bankruptcy problems
Bojangles may not be as big a name as Burger King or Popeye's, but it's a popular chain with more than 800 restaurants in eight states.
"Bojangles is a Carolina-born restaurant chain specializing in craveable Southern chicken, biscuits and tea made fresh daily from real recipes, and with a friendly smile," the chain says on its website. "Founded in 1977 as a single location in Charlotte, our beloved brand continues to grow nationwide."
Like RBI, Bojangles uses a franchise model, which makes it dependent on the financial health of its operators. The company ultimately saw all its Maryland locations close due to the financial situation of one of its franchisees.
Unlike. RBI, Bojangles is not public — it was taken private by Durational Capital Management LP and Jordan Co. in 2018 — which means the company does not disclose its financial information to the public.
That makes it hard to know whether overall softness for the brand contributed to the chain seeing its five Maryland locations after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Bojangles has a messy bankruptcy situation
Even though the locations still appear on the Bojangles website, they have been shuttered since late 2023. The locations were operated by Salim Kakakhail and Yavir Akbar Durranni. The partners operated under a variety of LLCs, including ABS Network, according to local news channel WUSA9.
The station reported that the owners face a state investigation over complaints of wage theft and fraudulent W2s. In November Durranni and ABS Network filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey, WUSA9 reported.
"Not only do former employees say these men owe them money, WUSA9 learned the former owners owe the state, too, and have over $69,000 in back property taxes."
Former employees also say that the restaurant would regularly purchase fried chicken from Popeyes and Safeway when it ran out in their stores, the station reported.
Bojangles sent the station a comment on the situation.
"The franchisee is no longer in the Bojangles system," the company said. "However, it is important to note in your coverage that franchisees are independent business owners who are licensed to operate a brand but have autonomy over many aspects of their business, including hiring employees and payroll responsibilities."
Kakakhail and Durranni did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WUSA9.
bankruptcy pandemicUncategorized
Industrial Production Increased 0.1% in February
From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in February after declining 0.5 percent in January. In February, the output of manufacturing rose 0.8 percent and the index for mining climbed 2.2 p…
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Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in February after declining 0.5 percent in January. In February, the output of manufacturing rose 0.8 percent and the index for mining climbed 2.2 percent. Both gains partly reflected recoveries from weather-related declines in January. The index for utilities fell 7.5 percent in February because of warmer-than-typical temperatures. At 102.3 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in February was 0.2 percent below its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector remained at 78.3 percent in February, a rate that is 1.3 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2023) average.Click on graph for larger image.
emphasis added
This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, and above the level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
Capacity utilization at 78.3% is 1.3% below the average from 1972 to 2022. This was below consensus expectations.
Note: y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change.
The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.Industrial production increased to 102.3. This is above the pre-pandemic level.
Industrial production was above consensus expectations.
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