In today’s bulletin:
- General update
- PS26/1 – BNPL policy rules published by the FCA
- Affordability Summit
- AI in Debt Advice
- HM Treasury consultation: Appointed Representatives (AR) Regime
- Government Cyber Action Plan (GCAP): strengthening UK resilience
- ICO complaint handling
- Collaborations
- Events
General Update
As a point of reference, the UK population was estimated at 69,487,000 in the middle of 2025 according to ONS, with an employment rate of 75.1% and an unemployment rate of 5.1%.
Mortgage arrears and possessions – Q4 2025
In the fourth quarter of 2025, there were 80,490 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance. This was a 4% decrease compared with Q2 2025. The overall proportion of mortgages in arrears remains low, at 0.92% of homeowner mortgages and 0.5% of BTL mortgages.
Within this total, 27,780 homeowner mortgages were in the lightest arrears band (representing between 2.5% and 5% of the outstanding balance), 4% fewer than in the previous quarter.
Key Information:
- The number of homeowner mortgages in arrears fell by 4% in Q3 2025 compared to the previous quarter
- The number of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages in arrears fell by nine per cent compared with the previous quarter
- The number of properties taken into possession decreased compared with the previous quarter, and overall numbers remain significantly lower than long-term averages
- Mortgage lenders continue to offer tailored support to anyone struggling with their mortgage payments
Possession numbers decreased in Q4 2025 and remain low compared to historic norms. A total of 1,210 homeowner mortgaged properties were taken into possession in Q4 2025, 13% fewer than in the previous quarter.
Link: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/press-release/mortgage-arrears-and-possessions-q4-2025
AI Adoption Research
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology has just published how UK businesses are adopting AI, what barriers they face, and what impacts AI is having across sectors.
This report was setup to understand:
- the extent to which AI is being adopted and scaled within businesses now, as well as future plans
- to what extent enablers and barriers are influencing businesses’ decisions to adopt and scale AI in their businesses
- the self-reported impact AI adoption has on businesses on a range of key metrics, such as revenue and productivity
It follows the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan – the roadmap for government to capture the opportunities of AI to enhance growth and productivity and create tangible benefits for UK citizens.
In January 2026, the UK government reached a significant milestone in its AI strategy, marking one year since the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan. Research and progress reports published in 2026 indicates a transition from high-level strategy to practical deployment across public services and the wider economy.
Research published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in January 2026 reveals that while interest is high, adoption remains “modest and uneven”:
- National Adoption Rate: Roughly 16% are currently using at least one AI technology
- Sector Leaders: Adoption is highest in Information & Communication (43%), followed by Finance & Real Estate (21%) and Business Services (23%)
- Primary Tools: 85% of AI adopters use natural language processing and text generation (e.g. ChatGPT, CoPilot) due to the accessibility of off-the-shelf tools
- Public Sector Investment: Approximately 57% of public sector organisations have already invested in AI, with NHS Trusts leading the way (70% reporting moderate or significant adoption)
AI Skills Boost: An expanded programme aiming to upskill 10m workers by 2030. As of January 2026, over 1m courses have already been completed through partners like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
Ethical & Safety Concerns: 80% of businesses cite ethical concerns as a primary barrier, followed by high costs (76%) and unclear regulation (72%).
Agentic AI Lag: While seen as a “step-change” for 2026, Agentic AI (autonomous systems) is currently the least adopted technology (7%) and faces the highest implementation barriers.
Food-for-thought.
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-adoption-research
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-adoption-research/ai-adoption-research
Hoist Finance signs agreement to acquire UK debt purchaser Azzurro Associates
Hoist Finance has entered into an agreement to acquire UK debt purchaser Azzurro Associates, a specialist in SME NPLs, with a portfolio book value of ?200m.
Hoist has just published their interim report for the fourth quarter 2025.
PS26/1 – BNPL policy rules published by the FCA
I have posted on this as DEMSA and more substantive Blog as Kevin Still Consulting. I used AI to look at the future high street. In my Blog, I touch on the Fair4All Finance concerns around much higher rejection rates for BNPL (even for pre-existing users with no missed payments). Peter Tutton from StepChange has also commented last week. From a responsible borrowing perspective, he has urged anyone using BNPL to always double check that the repayments will be affordable, and if they are struggling to repay to seek regulated debt advice. Given the nature of BNPL, digital channels are likely to be popular.
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/deferred-payment-credit-aka-bnpl-under-fca-supervision-9kjme/
“Introducing friction into BNPL transactions aims to counteract the “pain-free” nature of the payment method, reducing impulse purchasing and consumer debt risks. Effective methods, often referred to as “positive friction” focus on forcing a pause, reflection, or acknowledgment of the financial commitment. We explore what this means in practice following the introduction of the PS26/1 policy rules in July 2026.”
Link: https://www.stepchange.org/media-centre/press-releases/new-buy-now-pay-later-fca-protections.aspx
The FCA has just published the new borrower protections (PS26/1) around BNPL (deferred payment credit). These take effect on 15 July 2026.
BNPL will be subject to the Consumer Duty and consumers will benefit from:
- Clearer information: Clear, upfront details about their agreement, including when payments will be due, amounts, and what happens if they miss a payment.
- Affordability checks: Lenders must carry out proportionate checks to make sure customers can afford to repay what they borrow before offering BNPL
- Support when needed: Lenders will need to offer support to customers in financial difficulty, and, where appropriate, direct them to debt advice providers
- Complaints & compensation: If something goes wrong, consumers will be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service
Introducing ‘positive friction’ and affordability checks will be a talking point on 14 April 2026 at the Affordability Summit in Manchester.
The FCA release reflected that the BNPL market grew significantly from ?0.06 billion in 2017 to over ?13 billion in 2024. According to the FCA’s 2024 Financial Lives Survey, 20% of UK consumers (10.9m adults) used it in the 12 months leading up to May 2024.
Market Usage Trends (2025) according to AI and Finder.com:
- Rapid Adoption: 42%-45% of UK adults (24m people) used BNPL – as of 2026, 54% of UK adults have used BNPL services, up from 42% in 2025
- New Users: About 17% of Brits used the service for the first time in 2025
- Demographic Shift: While Millennials (73% usage) and Gen Z (65% usage) remain the core users, the fastest-growing segment is 55 to 64-year-olds
- Transaction Volume: Values are forecast at ?27.1 billion
- Basket Size: The average BNPL purchase in the UK is approximately ?114
- Market Share: BNPL now accounts for 8% of all UK payments (online and physical POS), a share expected to hit 9% by 2030
- Globally: 380m people use BNPL globally – predicted to increase to 670m by 2028
Link: https://www.finder.com/uk/buy-now-pay-later/buy-now-pay-later-statistics
Link: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps26-1-regulation-deferred-payment-credit
New Deferred Payment Credit (BNPL) regime tests Transparency and Communication
The FCA has used the Policy Statement to provide additional guidance to help firms as they seek to comply with a regime giving them significant flexibility in how they comply with the requirements. Two areas of the Policy Statement stand out as worth of additional attention: 1) Creditworthiness assessment and 2) communications.
Creditworthiness assessment
The most significant change for most firms covered in the consultation was the requirement for a creditworthiness assessment. Here the Policy Statement has sought to take a more proportionate approach. FCA are clear that they want DPC lenders to make a reasonable assessment, not just of the ability to repay but also whether repaying will significantly impact on the customers wider financial situation.
The rules themselves ensure flexibility that will reduce friction for customers but require firms to take a more nuanced approach to when they undertake an assessment. Firms can take a judgement on where there is no material affordability risk and so choose not to undertake an income and expenditure assessment. To rely on this firms will need to evidence why this was considered appropriate.
For many other customers the requirement for an income and expenditure assessment remains. The Policy Statement points to a range of approaches, including using Open Banking data, and provides additional guidance that firms are likely to find helpful.
Communications
Rather than specifying detailed templates or rigid processes, the regime focuses firms on delivering clear, comprehensible information. This must be designed by the firms to ensure borrowers understand their commitments. This approach is mirrored widely in recent regulatory reforms. Firms will need to understand the risks posed by the product and the needs of customers in their Target Market including likely characteristics of vulnerability. Communication should be integrated in the customer journey delivering key information at key times to ensure effective consumer understanding.
Firms will be expected to test communications to ensure that they are effective and integrate MI to provide an ongoing view of their effectiveness. Amplified Global has also provided an update and a Blog around similar challenges with credit card agreements.
Link: https://amplified.global/blog/bnpl-fca-confirms-final-rules
Affordability Summit – 14 April 2026 in Manchester
The agenda has filled out since we promoted this last week, as has the attendee list. The registration link is below with the speakers and sponsors. We would like to thank Arum Global, Finvence, Hope Macy, IE Hub, Inicio AI, MEGA.AI, Policy in Practice and Welfare Together for their sponsorship. We also have Lowell presenting their latest research. Excellent cross-sector representation, including leading debt management firms. The DEMSA fraternity needs to hear some of the key messages, which are likely to be aligned with regulatory initiatives in 2026, as well as areas of scrutiny.
We are delighted to have so many demonstrations and insights from our expert panelists and thoughts around how these transformation programmes are successfully taken forward. Carlos will reflect at the end of the event on what he has heard.
Damon Gibbons will touch on their findings that featured in the recent Panorama programme around responsible credit granting and borrowing. Sam manning is at the sharp edge of responsible finance as a lending platform, open banking provider and challenger CRA, with origins in delivering vulnerability support tooling like Family Connect that innovatively used open banking.
Debt solution providers and CSA debt adviser apprentices – please drop me a line for the DEMSA access code.
AI in Debt Advice – Progress on the Money Wellness LLM – Call to Action
I have posted on this. This is project that the sector should get behind along with FinTechs providing access to the power of the LLM for improved and more knowledgeable customer engagement. DEMSA fully supports this Money and Pensions Service funded project with Money Wellness and pleased to be involved in the workshops. Rebecca Lamb confirmed this week that they have added all the regulatory source material and sector agreed codes and standards into the knowledge base to begin testing.
The sector is helping to develop a sector-specific Large Language Model (LLM) for debt advice, funded by the MaPS Debt Advice Transformation Fund. The proof-of-concept LLM will be trained only on trusted, accurate sources, including:
- FCA Handbook
- Standard Financial Statement (SFS) guidance
- Accredited adviser training materials
What they not building:
- A finished AI chatbot or final adviser tool
- Generic AI chatbots trained on the open internet
- Tools that gives unverified or inconsistent advice
- Something designed to replace debt advisers
By the end of the project, we hope there will be a fully tested proof-of-concept LLM that debt advice providers can use as a trusted foundation to build AI tools. This project is about supporting advisers with safe, reliable AI, not replacing them.
We are encouraging FinTech supporting the sector to think about this in their future adviser support tooling. This may be a great topic for the event that Chris and I discussed with Julie Walker and Chris Parry of BSI on Friday. We are looking to run an AI governance event at their Milton Keynes offices in June 2026 (subject to room availability). We are looking at expressions of interest to determine whether we will get under or over 80 people in attendance. Based on the take-up of the Affordability Summit in just a week, we may expect a higher number. I have attended the Fairness Group innovation sub-group meetings and Chris Leslie has been showcasing strong use cases for AI, where HM Treasury is setting up a debt management profession community where LLM will be very relevant for government agencies and their supply chains.
Have a look at some of the future use cases below. We need innovators in our sector to look at their platforms (e.g. Aryza ‘debt’ services) and key integrations. The dialogue with Arum Global was very much around how to get the best-in-breed providers ‘approved’ as part of wider ecosystems (e.g. Debt Resolution as a Service, Debt Advice as a Service), where affordability assessments, intelligibility tooling, income optimization, vulnerability identification, AI voice bot, auto-QA, creditor liaison tooling and categorization engines all have a role to play. Much of this is likely to come up in the Mills Review as part of reviewing the role of AI in Financial Services. We don’t want to be the laggards. Shared infrastructure has a role to play in under funded sectors and where there is limited economies of scale.
I produced Blog on this topic in January 2026, which is likely to bring a new dimension to QA Frameworks in 2026 and the new MaPS standards from April 2026.
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-debt-advice-kevin-still-consulting-vsioe/
“The integration of AI in debt advice and debt management in the UK (across all legal jurisdictions) is rapidly accelerating, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency, pro-active financial crime checks, improving customer identification of support needs, risk-based quality assurance, payment reconciliation, open banking analytics, backbook reviews and increasing repayment and plan sustainability rates.”
We will report on progress. What out for more events in Q2 2026.
MaPS standards update
My thanks to Dan Portus at MaPS. I have circulated his latest February 2026 update (attached). This edition focuses provides a short update on the MaPS Standards Toolkit deployment as well as the latest on the Tech Platform procurement.
MaPS is about to sign a new contract with a provider who will significantly upgrade the tools they use to capture Customer Facing Assessments, Controls Library and Self-Assessments, reporting of the performance against the Standards and house all questions and
calibrations.
The standards are channel agnostic and will include use of AI tooling. There does need to be consistency in assessment across debt advice delivery channels, including the non-advised affordability assessments – which have become an increasing area of scrutiny for the FCA, as reflected in their recent guidance on applying to be a regulated debt advice provider.
Your income and expenditure (I & E) policy should detail how your firm will assess a customer’s financial position and suitability for appropriate debt solutions.
The I & E policy should set out:
- How you assess a customer’s personal and financial circumstances. Include any templates/adviser scripts used in the process
- What evidence you request from the customer to verify income/expenditure
- Whether you will apply industry guidelines on discretionary expenditure
- How you will approach situations where the customer’s expenditure either exceeds or is below industry guidelines
- How you will monitor the ongoing suitability if you provide in-house debt solutions, such as debt management plans
- Whether you look to explore income maximisation with customers
Does this all sound very familiar. For commercial firms, the ‘deep dive’ is intense when you get case file requests, really testing the integrations of your CRM platform, call recording/transcript repository, payment handling and third-party links, including contracts with parties that you work with (e.g. DRO hubs you work with). The Insolvency Service DRO API featured in the business plan 2025/26 may be a point of reference for many on the circulation.
Link: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/authorisation/debt/not-profit
My Advice to Banks on AI: Rachel Curtis of Inicio AI
Ahead of the Affordability Summit on 14 April 2026, Rachel Curtis, CEO of Inicio AI, shared practical advice for bank executives on avoiding vanity AI projects, improving data quality, and finding the courage to take meaningful risks. Worth a read.
Link: https://www.fintechprofile.com/my-advice-to-banks-on-ai-rachel-curtis-of-inicio-ai/
HM Treasury consultation: Appointed Representatives (AR) Regime
I have posted on this. This may be relevant to a number on the circulation as a Principal firm or as an AR.
Purpose of the Consultation:
- Strengthen confidence in the AR regime while preserving its broad scope
- Ensure ARs support competition, innovation, and market access
- Improve FCA oversight, consumer protection, and regulatory coherence
There are an estimated 34,000 ARs. There is no obvious FCA response as yet.
Authorised firm can currently act as a principal without demonstrating meaningful capability to oversee ARs. There is a proposal to introduce a regulatory gateway to obtain a permission as ‘principal’ firm. The firm needs to evidence appropriate expertise, systems and resources. The FCA can withdraw the permission where oversight is inadequate.
Initially, existing principals with ARs will be deemed to have permission. Previous reforms took effect on 8 December 2022. FCA expectations are that Principal firms treat AR oversight with the same level of care as their own business.
Principal oversight obligations (Post-2022 Rules):
Principal firms are now subject to strict, ongoing responsibilities.
- Enhanced Monitoring: Active oversight, including on-site visits and reviewing AR competence and systems & controls
- Annual Reviews & Self-Assessment: Mandatory annual, documented reviews of each AR’s senior management, financial position, and compliance
- Data Reporting (REP025): Annual submission of complaints and revenue data for each AR to the FCA
- Notification: 30-day advance FCA notification before appointing new ARs
- Termination Procedures: Clear criteria for terminating ARs that do not meet standards
It is not evident from the consultation whether the 2022 changes have been successful. It is not clear how many new Principals have entered the market from 2023 and in what sectors. The PS23/5 debt packager ban in June 2023 certainly shone a light on the role of ARs and ‘Principal firms’ in the debt advice and personal insolvency sectors.
There will be an extension of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) jurisdiction so that they can consider complaints against ARs where the principal is not responsible.
ARs will also be brought under SM&CR so that conduct rules apply to AR staff. The Principal must ensure that AR individuals are fit & proper. The FCA may create a new AR Senior Management Function (SMF) within principal firms.
It will be interesting to see what impact this has in the debt advice and debt solutions sectors, where some insolvency practitioners made use of the debt counselling permissions of the Principal when not relying on the ‘in contemplation’ position when onboarding IVAs.
The consultation will remain open for 8 weeks, closing on 9 April 2026.
Government Cyber Action Plan (GCAP): strengthening UK resilience
I have posted on this. In January 2026, the Government set out their ‘Cyber Action Plan: strengthening resilience across the UK’. With GCAP, the UK government is ‘committed’ to taking decisive steps towards a safer, more resilient future.
This is just as applicable to the private sector, especially where there are meaningful risks of consumer detriment. Outages usually have a human impact, whether directly or in the recovery period.
As the recent cyber-attacks affecting UK retail and manufacturing have made clear, there is a widening gap between the escalating threats to our societies, critical services and businesses, and our ability to defend and be resilient.
Cyber risk is a challenge to our entire society. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is designed to protect more essential and digital services from cyber-attacks, requiring them to have appropriate and proportionate measures in place to manage risks, and better prevent disruption to healthcare, drinking water providers, transport and energy. This is intended to protect the more vulnerable in UK society. There is more traction for shared Priority Service Registers to support this aim.
CSA member report
The Credit Services Association (CSA) warned their members of the risks associated with cyber-security.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reported over 200 “nationally significant” incidents in the year ending August 2025, more than double the previous year’s total. Driven by ransomware, AI-enabled attacks, and supply chain vulnerabilities, these threats target critical infrastructure and require urgent, board-level attention. The FCA and the ICO are enforcing stricter operational resilience, with new legislation in 2026 expanding compliance duties.
Risk management frameworks are becoming more complex for small & medium-sized FCA-regulated firms that may be part of a supply chain and reliant on critical service providers (CSPs) and/or banks for managing payments, including client money. With the Financial Conduct Authority having initiated the ‘Mills Review’ into AI in Financial Services and greater focus on operational resilience and data security, the requirement to keep Compliance Monitoring Programmes up-to-date has never been more acute.
⚠️ Incident Volumes: NCSC handled 429 incidents (204 “nationally significant”)
⚠️ Ransomware & AI: Ransomware remains the top threat, increasingly enhanced by AI for targeted attacks
⚠️ Operational Resilience: FCA requires regulated firms ensure operational resilience
⚠️ Legislative Response: The Cyber Security & Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, had its second reading in January 2026, strengthens the UK’s approach to critical infrastructure protection.
⚠️ Regulatory Scrutiny: The ICO is actively enforcing data breach reporting within 72 hours, while the NCSC emphasises board-level accountability for cyber risk.
⚠️ Critical Third Parties (CTPs): New rules strengthen security of supply chains, with increased scrutiny on third-parties
Link: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/government-cyber-action-plan-strengthening-resilience-across-uk
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-cyber-action-plan/government-cyber-action-plan
Complaint handling
Under the DUAA 2025, firms must have a clear and accessible process for handling data protection complaints by 19 June 2026. A complaint can come from anyone who believes their personal information has been handled in a way that infringes data protection law and so having the right procedures in place is essential.
The ICO has published their final complaints procedure guidance, which has been updated and strengthened based on stakeholder feedback. The new guidance sets out what firms must, should and could do to comply with the changes to the law. It includes practical tips and advice for each stage of the process to help DPOs and firms build a robust approach, which should include staff training ahead of this becoming mandatory. The timescales are different from dealing with complaints that relate to FCA-regulated activities subject to FOS.
Although the amendment is not yet in law, the ICO is preparing to support firms to prepare for commencement and put an effective complaints procedure in place ahead of the deadline. If you’re responsible for data protection in your firm, now is the moment to review your processes, identify gaps, and get ready.
Link: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/how-to-deal-with-data-protection-complaints/
Collaborations
BPO Collections collaboration with MEGA.AI voice bots
I am really pleased to see this collaboration between BPO Collections (Everyday People) and MEGA.AI being promoted. Compliance and risk management have been prominent throughout, including gaining the blessing of key players in the supply chain and customer journey.
Alasdair Skeoch spoke at a number of MEGA.AI and FourNet sponsored events through 2025 that I contributed to. ID & V is such an important part of the customer journey, especially with the current focus on customer experience, fraud prevention and scams. As Martin Thielst Nielsen has discussed on a recent Credit Services Association (CSA) webinar on 29/1/2026 and at the Debt Buyer, Debt Manager and BPO event on 4 December 2025 in Manchester, there are some exciting use cases that build on this. Webinar link below.
It has been great working with BPO Collections and Everyday People Financial Solutions over the last year or so.
AI goverance is a major theme for 2026, especially with the ‘Mills Review’ ongoing around AI in Financial Services.
The launch will help create smarter, safer, and more responsive customer journeys. The new capability will support:
- Faster identity verification
- More time for meaningful conversations
- Improved customer experience
- Greater operational scalability
Technology should enhance human interaction, not replace it. By blending AI capability with strong governance and customer care principles, BPO Collections Limited continues to invest in modern, compliant and customer centric solutions.
BPO Collections is part of the Everyday People Financial Corp. group of companies, working together on a shared mission to support better financial wellbeing for all.
Events
Strengthening Consumer Duty Compliance: How ISO 22458 and CII Guidance Work Together – 17/2/2026
Julie Walker (BSI), Jo Howcroft (BS) and Sarah-Jane Mulreay (Advantis Credit) will be joining Vanessa Riboloni for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) on this webinar. I caught up with Julie and Chris Parry last Friday on a mixture of ISO 22458 and ISO 42001.
This webinar explores how 2 complementary frameworks work together to help insurance and financial services firms meet Consumer Duty requirements and deliver inclusive services. BS ISO 22458 and the BSI Kitemark for Inclusive Service provide a rigorous certification standard for identifying and supporting vulnerable consumers, while the CII’s Managing Vulnerability guidance translates regulatory principles into practical, sector-specific implementation. Participants will discover how the Kitemark’s external validation framework aligns with CII’s evidence-based guidance to build robust vulnerability management systems that satisfy regulatory expectations, customer needs and operational realities.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the certification pathway: Recognise how BS ISO 22458 requirements for inclusive service design align with regulatory expectations, and what achieving Kitemark certification entails
- Apply practical implementation frameworks: Learn how to translate the standard’s requirements into day-to-day operations using CII’s guidance on vulnerability management
- Build an integrated approach: Identify opportunities to leverage both the Kitemark’s external assurance and CII’s practical tools to strengthen your firm’s vulnerability management capability
FourNet – Using Data to Spot and Stop Fraud in the Contact Centre – 26/2/206
I have posted on this. This is very topical at the moment. FourNet will shortly be resuming regular webinars that I will be supporting on key themes for 2026. They have previously looked at the impact of AI in the contact centre. This features MoneyPlus.
“Fraud is the most common crime in the UK, and a staggering 61% of fraud cases involve a contact centre at some point. This is eye-opening for anyone responsible for a contact centre, and the reason they are such a popular target is down to their nature. They are designed to help people.”
I recently caught up with James Brooks and Tracey Howson from FourNet. We looked at some of the points raised around What does ‘successful AI’ actually look like in a contact centre. This should probably feature under collaborations.
When asked about what ‘successful’ AI in the contact centre looks like, Head of AI & Automation at FourNet, James Brooks suggests that you need to reframe the question entirely. Success isn’t about deploying AI, it’s about knowing “what you want the AI to do. What is the objective? What metric or metrics are we trying to change?”
Without a defined outcome, you’re essentially implementing technology for technology’s sake. That means getting clear on whether you’re trying to reduce average handling time, improve first contact resolution, support vulnerable customers more effectively, or achieve something else entirely. Only then can you understand “what levers or KPIs need to be pulled in order to get to that metric to change.”
For organisations in highly regulated environments, success also means taking a lower-risk approach. Director of Operations at MoneyPlus, Christina Albert explains that “selecting the right use case is about taking a lower risk approach and starting to get ourselves comfortable with it.” The goal is finding something that feels “safe” and “beneficial” whilst building “confidence and awareness of how it’s going to work.”
To know whether AI has been ‘successful’ or not, you need to start by defining clear objectives tied to specific KPIs. Choose use cases appropriate to your risk appetite. Build in staged success criteria that account for adoption curves and trust-building periods. And ensure you can actually measure whether agents are using the AI, because as Andrew Tucker, Solutions Architect at NiCE notes, “if they’re not using it, I can’t see that it’s being used and I can’t measure that it’s being used. Then the project failed right at the get-go.”
Link: https://fournet.co.uk/content-hub/webinar-using-data-to-spot-and-stop-fraud-in-the-contact-centre/
Link: https://fournet.co.uk/content-hub/what-is-a-successful-ai-implementation-in-the-contact-centre/
AI: Real Life | When Is Artificial Intelligence Actually the Answer? – 14/3/2026
This event is being run 14 March 2026 at the Crowne Plaza in Stratford-upon-Avon. Co-hosted by DebtStream, TCN, Mega and Debtrak.
Agenda Highlights:
- What Problem Are We Really Trying to Solve?
- Data Quality: The Unpopular Truth
- AI in Customer Experience
- Operational Efficiency
- Future Outlook
The turning point for enforcement – 23 April 2026
I am pleased to be supporting this CIVEA in April 2026. Interesting agenda. I am sure that we will pick up on some of the topics covered at the CIVEA/DEMSA in November 2025 where the ECB presented their expectations on their Vulnerability and Ability to Pay standards. 2026 is a big year for delivery of the standards in conjunction with the debt advice sector. Many synergies with the Ofgem update above.
The theme, “A Turning Point for Enforcement”, will drive discussions as we look ahead to exploring innovative solutions and future strategies in civil enforcement.
Core themes:
- Political and Economic Shifts: How will a new Labour Government’s agenda reshape the landscape of enforcement?
- A New Era of Regulation: We will look ahead to the future of the industry, anticipating the impact of the ECB and new statutory regulation.
- Supporting Our Partners: With the ongoing devolution of councils, we will examine the unique issues faced by local authorities and how our sector can provide effective support.
- Challenges and Opportunities: We will address the evolving landscape of the parking sector and explore new approaches to managing vulnerability across all areas of enforcement.
- Social Value and Procurement: How are these applied in other sectors, and what can we learn?
- Abuse of Enforcement and the ‘Safer Enforcement’ Campaign: A crucial discussion on protecting our profession and the public.
Link: https://civeaconference.org/
VRS conference on 7 May 2026
The agenda is nearly complete, with Alison Walters from the FCA delivering one of the keynotes. Opening keynote from Lord Holmes MBE – a technology policy leader and advocate for inclusion and accessibility. John Fairhurst from PayPlan is on the main podium. Chris and I are both running sessions. I am looking forward to having Ofgem, CCW and Gamcare in my session ahead of Dennis Bishop from TU. There may be a bit of rivalry with the session being run by the ‘data geeks’ (Ken and Steve – for clarity).
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