The hidden cost of manual collections

African banking is growing fast. Access to formal financial services is expanding, and the share of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa with a bank or mobile money account has risen from 34% to 58% between 2014 and 2024. 

In many banks, the core collections operation still runs on phone calls, field visits, and spreadsheets. The inefficiencies and costs associated with this model are significant, and they increase as the portfolio grows. 

This whitepaper sets out what the future of collections looks like for African banks, and how a modern, automated approach helps manage these changes at scale.