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By Birmingham Debt Management Operations Center

The Debt Services Support Branch (DSSB) at Birmingham Debt Management Operations Center (BDMOC) has been busy integrating new processes to eliminate paper and to increase debt collections. Within the last year DSSB has implemented the use of Pay.gov, IVAULT, and a new lockbox truncation process using FMS’s Electronic Check Presentment (ECP) with financial agent (FA) Wachovia Bank.

Pay.gov is used to collect secure electronic payments from debtors. Payments can be made directly from a bank account or by credit/debit card. DSSB started using Pay.gov in April 2008. Collection Specialists take credit card and bank account information over the phone while they still have the debtor on the line. This allows debts to be paid immediately. Since inception, 13,644 payments have been processed totaling $5,624,025. The use of Pay.gov has assisted in record dollar increases for debt collection.

The IVAULT system is used to retrieve Medicare Secondary Payments documentation. This system is an imaging system that stores all the records  electronically. Prior to DSSB gaining access to this system, DSSB had to store all the paperwork. Currently, with this new process, DSSB accesses just the IVAULT system to send the information to an in house storage system, IDMS, or to send the information to the requesting customer on a compact disc (CD). This new process has been more cost efficient to FMS.

DSSB switched to a paperless environment using ECP lockbox operations to truncate checks. Instead of DSSB receiving the daily check copies, FA Wachovia Bank will keep them for 30 days and then destroy them. This information is imaged in the ECP system upon receipt by Wachovia Bank. DSSB eliminated the need to receive this paper and the paperwork can currently be accessed on line through ECP.

DSSB has been working very hard to increase collections and reduce paper. We are constantly looking at ways to make our work more efficient and cost effective.

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