AI for debt collection and recovery · Australia
Debt resolution that starts with the person, and starts earlier.
Adeva Pro builds debt recovery software in Australia. Now we're building AI to answer two hard questions: what can this person realistically pay, and how should we talk to them? And can we see financial stress coming before it becomes debt?
Two problems we're working on
Collections today is mostly reactive and one-size-fits-all: the same letters, the same schedules, the same channels, sent after an account has already fallen behind. We think better data and careful AI can make debt collection both kinder and more effective.
Problem 01
Affordable payment plans and better conversations
Most people who fall behind want to resolve it. What gets in the way is a plan they can't sustain, contact at the wrong time or through the wrong channel, or a tone that makes them disengage.
We're building AI that takes into account the full picture a creditor is permitted to use: demographic context, income and expense patterns, payment history, life events and stated preferences. From that it proposes:
- Affordable plans: instalment amounts and schedules a person can realistically keep, aligned to when they're paid.
- The right point of contact: SMS, email, voice, letter or a self-service portal, chosen by what's worked for similar people and what they've asked for.
- The right time and tone: plain language, respectful framing, and contact at reasonable hours and frequencies.
- Financial hardship signals: flags for vulnerability or hardship that route the account to a person, to hardship payment plans and to support options, not to escalation.
The goal is a plan that gets kept, not just a promise to pay. That's better for the person and for the creditor.
Problem 02
Early warning: predicting problem debt before it happens
By the time an account reaches collections, options have narrowed for everyone. Many of the signs of financial stress show up earlier: changing payment patterns, partial payments, shifts in contact behaviour.
We're developing early-warning models that estimate which accounts are likely to become problem debt, and explain why, so creditors can act while there's still room to help:
- A friendly reminder or a change of due date, before a missed payment compounds.
- A flexible plan offered proactively, rather than after default.
- Hardship referral to the creditor's hardship team or to free financial counselling.
Early warning is meant to trigger support, not penalties. Predictions are advisory, explainable and reviewed by people.
How we build it
Debt is personal and the stakes are real. These are the commitments we design against.
Fairness
We test models for disparate outcomes across groups and don't use demographic data to disadvantage people, only to understand their circumstances better.
Explainability
Every recommendation comes with reasons a collector, a compliance team and the customer can understand.
Human in the loop
AI suggests; people decide. Hardship and vulnerability cases go to trained staff.
Privacy by design
We design to the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988: data minimisation, purpose limitation and secure handling.
Built for collections compliance
Contact rules are shaped by the ASIC and ACCC debt collection guideline: reasonable frequency and hours, no harassment, no misleading pressure.
Measured honestly
We'll judge success by plans kept, hardship identified and customer experience, not just dollars recovered.
We're describing design goals and the frameworks we work to. We don't claim any certification or regulatory approval.
Frequently asked questions
What does Adeva Pro AI do?
Adeva Pro is an Australian debt recovery software company. Adeva Pro AI is our research and development work on two problems: debtor-centred resolution, meaning affordable payment plans and the right channel, time and tone of contact for each person, and early warning, meaning models that predict which accounts are likely to become problem debt so creditors can offer help sooner. It is at the research and early pilot stage, not a finished product.
How does the AI decide on a payment plan?
It doesn't decide; it suggests. The model looks at the information a creditor is permitted to use, such as income and expense patterns, payment history, when the person is paid, life events and their stated preferences, and proposes instalment amounts and schedules the person can realistically keep. Each suggestion comes with the reasons behind it, and staff can accept, change or reject it.
How is financial hardship handled?
Signs of financial hardship or vulnerability are treated as a reason to help, not to escalate. Those accounts are flagged and routed to trained staff, the creditor's hardship team and hardship payment plans, and to free financial counselling such as the National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007). Early-warning predictions are meant to trigger support, not penalties.
How is personal data used and protected in Australia?
We design to the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988: collecting only what is needed, using it only for the purpose it was provided for, and handling it securely. Demographic data is used to understand a person's circumstances, never to disadvantage them, and we test models for unfair outcomes across groups. We don't claim any certification or regulatory approval.
Do people review the AI's decisions?
Yes. AI suggests and people decide. Recommendations are advisory and explainable, so a collector, a compliance team and the customer can understand them, and hardship and vulnerability cases always go to a person.
How can my organisation become a pilot partner?
We're looking for organisations that carry receivables, such as creditors, local councils, utilities, lenders, telcos and collection agencies. Email hello@adevapro.ai to register your interest. Pilot partners help shape the product, the fairness tests and the success measures.
How can I invest in or fund Adeva Pro AI?
We're seeking investors, grant programs and impact funders to move this work from research into governed pilots. Email hello@adevapro.ai and we'll get back to you.
We're raising
Help us bring this to people who need it
We're seeking funding partners to move this work from research into early pilots. We'd like to talk with:
- Investors interested in responsible fintech and financial inclusion.
- Grant bodies and programs supporting R&D, innovation and financial wellbeing.
- Impact and philanthropic funders focused on financial hardship.
Funding would go toward model research and fairness testing, privacy and security engineering, and running carefully governed pilots with creditor partners.
Talk to us about fundingBecome a pilot partner
We're looking for organisations that carry receivables and care how they recover them:
- Creditors
- Local councils
- Utilities
- Lenders
- Telcos
- Collection agencies
Early pilot partners help shape the product, the fairness tests and the metrics that matter.
Register pilot interestLet's talk
Whether you're a funder, a potential pilot partner, a financial counsellor or a researcher, we'd like to hear from you.
Looking for our existing collections software? Visit adevapro.com.au.