How the Right Debt Collection Partner Can Improve Your Recovery Rate by 20–30%

An interview with Maui Lolohea

For finance professionals managing large volumes of international receivables, staying in control while ensuring effective collections can feel like a constant uphill battle. Varying legal systems, language barriers, and inconsistent agency performance all add layers of complexity.

We sat down with Maui Lolohea, Co-founder and Head of Customer Experience at Oddcoll, to discuss how the choice of debt collection partner plays a direct role in collection success—and why it’s not just about recovering funds, but about reporting clarity, time savings, and reducing internal stress.

Maui, what are some of the biggest challenges you hear from finance teams managing international collections?

Maui:

One of the most common pain points is lack of transparency and consistency. Finance professionals—especially those responsible for international receivables—often deal with multiple debt collection partners across different markets. It’s difficult to get a clear overview. They struggle with unclear communication, poor reporting, and delays in knowing what’s actually happening with their cases.

When you’re responsible for presenting results internally, you need reliable data and predictable outcomes. And that’s exactly where the quality of the debt collection partner becomes critical.

So what impact does the wrong partner have?

Maui:

It can derail everything. In our early years, we worked with agencies we hadn’t yet vetted fully—often ones we were referred to through networks. It was a mixed bag. In some countries, we had to replace the agency five or six times before finding one that matched our standards.

That experience taught us how dramatically the right partner can change the outcome. Since refining our network, we’ve increased our recovery rate by more than 30%. That’s not just good news for us—it’s value we pass on to our customers in the form of better results, faster resolutions, and more confidence in their reporting.

What does a better debt collection partner setup look like in practice?

Maui:

For finance professionals, it’s about control, clarity, and efficiency. On the Oddcoll platform, you can see the status of every case, across every country. Updates are shared in real time, and our communication is structured so that you never need to chase for information.

And behind that platform, you’re backed by a hand-picked local expert in each country, chosen based on their track record, responsiveness, and local legal knowledge. We’ve done the hard work of vetting and replacing underperforming agencies over the last nine years. The result is a network we can truly stand behind.

Why not just use a global agency network?

Maui:

That’s a fair question, and it comes up often. The issue is that those networks are built on relationships, not performance. Agencies are often obligated to refer work within their group, even if the receiving agency isn’t the best fit.

That might simplify things on paper, but it usually leads to lower recovery rates, poor communication, and a lack of accountability. Our approach is different—we’re not tied to any network. We pick the best agency in each market, based purely on quality and results.

What advice would you give to someone in a finance role who’s evaluating debt collection partners?

Maui:

Look beyond the brand or network name. Ask how agencies are selected. Ask how performance is tracked and reported. Ask whether you’re getting the best partner for each country, or just the available one.

At Oddcoll, we’ve built our service for finance teams who need to streamline their workflows, reduce uncertainty, and report with confidence. Our platform gives them that visibility. And our partners deliver the results.

Final thoughts?

Maui:

Debt collection shouldn’t be a black box. With the right structure and partners, it becomes a strategic part of the cash flow process—not a headache. Whether you’re managing five cases or fifty, you should expect clarity, professionalism, and real results. That’s what we’ve built Oddcoll to deliver.

Need a debt collection partner that improves your recovery rate and gives you full control over your international cases?

Get in touch with us today to see how we help finance teams streamline their global collection processes.