A propensity score of 78 tells the collections system this account is collectible today. The channel selection model then asks: collectible by what means? A borrower who answered every previous call but has never responded to a WhatsApp message should receive a voice call today. A borrower who pays immediately after every payment link but rarely picks up the phone should receive a WhatsApp today. The propensity score and the channel selection model work together — one tells you who to contact, the other tells you how.
Why channel selection is a separate decision from account prioritisation
Account prioritisation answers the question: who do we contact today? Channel selection answers: how? These are related but distinct decisions. A borrower with a propensity score of 82 who receives their contact through the wrong channel produces the same outcome as a borrower with a score of 42 who is contacted through the right channel — no payment. The two decisions together determine the contact economics of a collections operation.
The Propensity Scoring Agent AI resolves both decisions simultaneously for every account in the DPD book: here is the ranked list of accounts to contact today, and here is the recommended channel for each. The collections manager sees a queue that is ordered by propensity and pre-populated with channel decisions — no additional judgement required at the contact level, only at the exception level.
The channel decision logic — propensity score × engagement history × preference signals
High
Propensity
This account is collectible today — use the channel that produced the most engagement historically
High-propensity accounts are the primary focus of the day's collections activity. The channel is selected from the borrower's engagement history: if they have answered the last 3 calls, call. If they have clicked the last 2 WhatsApp payment links, send WhatsApp. If prior contacts have been ineffective and the propensity is driven by a salary credit or legal notice event, call — these are urgency-driven contacts that require conversation, not asynchronous messaging.
Recommended: Voice call if call pick-up >60% · WhatsApp if link click history is stronger · IVR if confirmed payment commitment pendingModerate
Propensity
Borrower is engaged but payment timing is uncertain — asynchronous contact first
Moderate-propensity accounts have some positive signals (partial payments, engagement) but also uncertainty (broken PTPs, moderate pick-up rate). WhatsApp is the preferred first contact — it is lower-friction, allows the borrower to respond on their schedule, and a link click at this propensity level is a strong indicator to escalate to a voice call the same day. Voice is the escalation, not the first contact.
Recommended: WhatsApp first → if read but no response in 4 hours → Voice escalationLow
Propensity
Borrower is disengaging — voice calls are low-return, a light-touch channel preserves the relationship
Low-propensity accounts have declining engagement signals — falling call pick-up rate, unread WhatsApp messages, no recent payments. Assigning a voice call to this account costs the same as calling a high-propensity account and produces a fraction of the return. A light-touch IVR or SMS contact maintains presence in the borrower's awareness without consuming agent time. The account is re-evaluated daily — if the propensity improves (salary credit, link click), it moves back up the queue.
Recommended: IVR automated touch or SMS reminder · Daily propensity re-checkNon-
Responsive
Digital channels exhausted — field contact or legal action is the next productive intervention
Very low propensity accounts have stopped responding to all digital channels. Continuing to call and message depletes collections resources for no return. For secured accounts, a field visit (with prior written notice as required by FPC) is the appropriate next intervention. For accounts where the legal threshold has been reached, the Hard Bucket Agent AI takes over the account for formal recovery proceedings. The Propensity AI's role is complete when digital collectibility has been exhausted.
Recommended: Field visit (secured, with notice) or → Hard Bucket AI for formal recoveryThe live prioritised queue: what the collections team sees each morning
Contact today
WA then call
IVR touch
Field or legal
DPD book
The oldest account is not the most urgent — the most collectible account is
A DPD 74 account with a propensity score of 44 has not paid in over 70 days and has stopped engaging with contacts. A DPD 22 account with a propensity score of 78 received a salary credit yesterday and clicked a payment link this morning. Every collections instinct says call the older account first. Every data point says the opposite. The Propensity Scoring Agent AI reorders the collections queue every morning based on where today's contact has the highest probability of producing a payment. It does not argue with DPD-order instinct — it replaces it with evidence.