In this episode of Credit One2One, Eric Levé, Country Manager at QUALCO, sits down with César Paiva, Deputy General Manager at Cabot Financial France, to discuss the impact of France’s new ACPR regulations and the role of technology in ensuring compliance and operational readiness.
Tune in and learn:
1️⃣ How Cabot Financial France became the first ACPR-authorised company.
2️⃣ The three key changes they implemented to meet ACPR standards.
3️⃣ Why the ACPR views QUALCO as a "robust tech partner”.
Ready for a conversation on how the right technology helps meet ACPR standards?
📕 Are you more of a reader? We've got you covered.
Read the full conversation:
Eric Levé: Hello everyone. Welcome to our Credit One to One podcast series by QUALCO. We are excited to launch this episode on our website. I am Eric Levé. I am in charge of QUALCO’s activities in France. Today, we’re delighted to welcome César Paiva. César Paiva is the Deputy General Manager of Cabot Financial France. The goal of today’s episode is to talk with César about Cabot Financial’s experience with recent regulatory issues.
As you know, the bad debt and NPL management market is regulated and closely supervised by the French regulator the ACPR, since the introduction and implementation of the NPL Directive 2021-2167. And we are here to listen and discuss with César, Cabot’s Financial France’s experience. I’ll start with a first question for César, who will also outline Cabot’s activities and explain why this stage was crucial for Cabot’s Financial France’s business and operations.
César Paiva: Yes, thanks Eric and hello everyone. I think 2025 will have been a pivotal year for France’s debt collection industry as it will have been the first full year, as you mentioned, during which the industry was regulated. Regulated by the same regulator that oversees retail banking and consumer credit, namely the ACPR.
In this context, we at Cabot France are proud to be the first French company to obtain authorisation from the ACPR. Although, we weren’t very surprised, as we are part of a group whose parent company has been a regulated entity, particularly in the UK since 2008, and much of the ACPR’s requirements were already integrated into our daily operations and regulatory framework.
Nevertheless, we are very proud and we view this change, this situation of being regulated as a very good thing, even though, strictly speaking, the regulation only applies to a segment of the business, specifically non-performing debts originating from financial institutions. We believe that, as seen in other countries that were regulated before us, this regulation will eventually become the de facto standard across the industry, raising the bar, a development that we are pleased about.
Eric: To put things into perspective, César, let me go back to something you mentioned. You were the first to come under regulation and to receive ACPR accreditation, after a number of discussions and interactions with their auditors. The first one, in an industry with several dozen players. So far, from mid-2024 to July 2025, 11 companies have obtained this accreditation.
César: Yes, and its implementation has still led to significant changes within our company. Let me mention 3 of them. The first one concerns governance. We had to put in place a governance model that meets the ACPR’s requirements. So, we now have two executive directors in France, along with a newly created supervisory board. Secondly, we have greatly reinforced our compliance team and resources, especially to set up mechanisms against money laundering and terrorist financing, where the ACPR’s requirements are particularly strict. Last but not least, we also had to ensure that our critical suppliers and service providers such as QUALCO, our partner in France since 2013, adhered to several requirements, especially contractual ones, imposed by the ACPR. Notably, this gives the ACPR the right to audit the activities of our essential service providers without any restriction on scope or time. These are truly major changes in our organisation, brought about by the new regulations.
Eric: That is a very important point and thank you for highlighting it. César, could you go into more detail about how technology plays a role here? QUALCO is a key partner and supplier for Cabot, we provide the technical backbone that enables Cabot’s collections platform to operate in the French market. From a practical standpoint, why is this technology so important, what role has it played, and did it require any adaptation? You talked about organisational changes regarding contracts and audit requirements, but from a practical, technical standpoint, did any adjustments have to be made? Can you explain how we adapted to this situation and, more broadly, how technology is a key factor in addressing these constraints and fulfilling your obligations to the ACPR?
César: There’s no doubt that technology is becoming ever more crucial in our business, and this is not just due to regulatory requirements. We can’t afford to improvise anymore. It’s essential to have a market-leading management tool in place. Let me give you an example of just how crucial this is. For example, if a customer files a complaint, we might undergo an audit as a result. In such a situation, it’s crucial to be able to demonstrate all interactions between our advisors and the customer, how they were recorded and monitored in our system, so that any issues can be identified and accountability can be assigned. Clearly, this kind of tracking and monitoring is only possible with a tool that is fully adapted to the needs of our business, as is the case with QUALCO’s tool.
Eric: More specifically, the platform didn’t require any technical or configuration changes.
César: No, since, in our view, it was already state-of-the-art and fully compliant with all regulatory requirements, including, as we realised a bit later, developments in the business.
Eric: OK. So, the adaptation and the need from QUALCO was more about formalising auditability, or these heightened audit requirements brought by the ACPR and formalising our ability to support you in these processes.
César: Exactly! I’d like to take this opportunity to thank QUALCO for your responsiveness in this case, with a very fast turnaround in contract changes between our two companies, some of which were quite substantial. Also, the regulator views QUALCO as a robust partner, with a solid platform that provides the performance and stability required to guarantee the reliability of our operations - something that is very important to the regulator.
Eric: Thanks for this feedback. We’re always glad to hear it. I’d say that given these challenges and the tight deadlines you faced with the ACPR, our joint effort was really about aligning processes between our respective risk and compliance teams, to ensure we could meet this heightened need for auditability on your side.
César: Yes.
Eric: What new opportunities do you see? I’d say that after this step, it’s clear that the market is becoming more structured. As you know, that’s exactly what this directive is aiming for. You’ve reached an important milestone, the necessary step of formalisation and accreditation. Looking ahead, what are the next steps and expectations for Cabot in this new environment, and what should partners like QUALCO anticipate in order to keep supporting Cabot in its projects and ambitions on the French market?
César: Without a doubt, Eric, the need for support and constant adaptation will continue to be relevant and it will only intensify. What’s unique in France is the strong growth potential of the NPL market. Let me give you two examples that highlight why technology has such an important part to play.
First, there are small-value debts. In France, there is what’s called PNF, or installment payments, better known as “Buy now, pay later” in some countries. This market is starting to grow substantially in terms of debt transfers. From an operational standpoint, it’s crucial to maximise self-care, this means giving the customer the ability to manage their debt independently. They need the tools to do this, which naturally involves a significant technological aspect.
The second example is the growth in sales of fresh debt, that is, larger volumes of non-performing but very recent debt. In this case, managing debt after a sale becomes more complex, with the possibility of obtaining an enforceable title through hearings, conducting amicable collections in parallel, and potentially pursuing judicial recovery.
All this requires a much more intensive use of data to optimise overall operations, through tailored scoring methods and the automation of several key processes. Yet again, it’s evident that technology is crucial for performance, and its role will only grow in the upcoming years, as the market, especially in France, continues to expand.
Eric: Thanks for your feedback. What I take from this, César, is that you’re emphasising two crucial functions.
On the one hand, there is the need for much more intensive interactions with customers, through self-care, which drives the digitalisation of these interactions. This is the first focus area, requiring the development of modules and features to enable additional interactions with the customer. That’s the first focus.
The second focus area involves greater sophistication and complexity in certain processes, especially in questionable cases and enforceable titles, requiring us to increase automation and leverage scoring techniques.
César: And also, to optimise our collaboration with external partners, especially judicial officers, who play a central role in the success of these processes. Across all these aspects, technology serves as a differentiator, especially for Cabot, which has turned data processing, or what we call in our field, data engineering, into a key competitive advantage.
We handle almost exclusively consumer debt, which involves large volumes, and there is a clear need, in fact an obligation, to be effective in what is commonly referred to as “big data”. And also, the generation of artificial intelligence entirely driven by this big data. So these are areas in which technology plays a crucial role.
Eric: Exactly. So, we have moved beyond purely regulatory topics which was the starting point of our discussion. It’s clear how these key areas you’ve pointed out align perfectly with the features of our solutions and our platforms, as well as with the elements of the roadmap we’re developing. We offer these modules, which are fully complementary and based on the foundation of QUALCO Collections & Recoveries, our collections platform.
Through these kinds of interactions and discussions with our clients, our product teams are able to enhance, adapt, and develop our solutions. We maintain a close, continuous interaction with our clients to ensure that our offerings and technical solutions are well-aligned with market needs.
We truly appreciate our clients for their collaborative spirit and effort. It’s our clients who enable QUALCO to enrich its offerings and deliver solutions capable of addressing the full scope of market demands. Thank you, César, for this discussion, which marks just the first of many we will be hosting on our channel and podcast. Have a great day!
César: Thanks. You too, Eric! Thanks QUALCO! And once again, congratulations on your success you currently have in the French market.
Eric: Thanks!
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