InDebted launches Release for later-stage debt transfers

InDebted has launched Release, a product for transferring late-stage debt portfolios, in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The offering is aimed at existing clients who already use Collect, InDebted’s third-party collections product. It is positioned as an alternative to the traditional debt sale process for later-stage portfolios.

Under the model, portfolio valuations are based on account performance data that InDebted already holds through managing those debts. This differs from conventional debt sale arrangements, which often rely on external pricing assumptions when portfolios are sold to third parties.

Because Release is limited to clients already working with InDebted, organisations keep the same compliance framework, consumer-facing set-up and operational arrangements during the transfer process. No new collection agency or buyer is introduced to consumers whose accounts are already under management.

Release is funded by capital partners rather than InDebted’s balance sheet. InDebted describes its role as facilitating the transaction rather than directly purchasing the debt.

The launch adds a third element to InDebted’s collections offering. Receeve covers first-party collections for debts from 0 to 60 days past due, while Collect covers third-party collections for accounts from 30 to 365 days past due. Release sits at the later stage of that cycle, where organisations may previously have chosen to sell portfolios outright.

All three products run on the same artificial intelligence layer, compliance systems, communications infrastructure and behavioural data network. InDebted presents the structure as a single collection framework rather than a group of separate tools.

Late-stage debt

Debt sales have long been used by lenders and other creditors seeking to recover value from overdue accounts that are unlikely to be collected in full through standard servicing. In a typical sale, portfolios are sold to specialist buyers at a discount, with pricing shaped by assumptions about future recoveries, legal risks and operating costs.

That process can create trade-offs for original creditors. Once a portfolio is sold, the buyer usually takes over collection activity, which can mean changes in communications, servicing practices and compliance oversight. Release is designed to avoid that shift by using data generated during the existing collection relationship and keeping the operational model in place.

Founder and CEO Josh Foreman said the new product addresses a long-running issue in the market.

“Organisations managing later-stage portfolios have been underserved by the options available to them. Traditional debt sale works, but it comes with real operational, regulatory and experiential costs,” Foreman said.

He added, “Release gives our clients a better path, one grounded in the data we already hold, without the complexity of introducing new counterparties. It further expands on the infrastructure layer we have been building, and the early results have been outstanding.”

Broader push

InDebted operates in seven markets and works with banks, fintechs, buy now, pay later providers, utilities and government organisations. Founded in Australia in 2016, it says it now has more than 300 employees globally.

The company has been building a broader collections platform spanning early-stage engagement through to late-stage recovery. Release extends that approach into a part of the debt market that has traditionally sat outside ongoing collections management and instead been handled through one-off portfolio sales.

That matters for clients with large books of overdue accounts across several jurisdictions, where changes in servicers or debt owners can add operational and regulatory complexity. By limiting Release to portfolios already managed through Collect, InDebted ties the transfer mechanism closely to its existing client base and data set.

The launch also points to a broader shift in collections technology, as providers seek to combine servicing, analytics and compliance management in a single operating model. InDebted’s argument is that a common infrastructure can produce more consistent treatment of accounts across the collections lifecycle, including when creditors seek to extract value from older debt.

Release is available only to existing clients using Collect and is backed by dedicated capital partners rather than InDebted’s own balance sheet.