The Certification Council is proposing edits to the Receivables Management Certification Program (RMCP). The Council is required to perform a review of certification program standards at least annually to ensure the program reflects “evolving industry best practices, input from key stakeholders and communities of interest, areas of Council concern, and recent regulatory and statutory changes.”

The proposed changes to the Certification Governance Document have been posted on the RMAI website. RMAI members are encouraged to review the changes and email any comments they have to [email protected] no later than February 10, 2025.

Here is a summary of the major substantive changes to Administrative Provisions contained in version 13.0:

  • Article 8.5 – Scope of the Full Compliance Audit – Allows the Full Compliance Audit to be done remotely with several exceptions. Several examples of when an in-person on-site audit must be performed would include the first Full Compliance Audit after becoming certified, if the headquarters has been relocated, or if mandated by the Remediation Committee due to a deficiency from the last audit that would benefit from an in-person on-site check. This should result in monetary savings for certified businesses related to the cost of RMAI audits.

Here is a summary of the major substantive changes to Certification Standards contained in version 13.0:

  • Appendix A – Standard # A5 (b) (Complaint & Dispute Resolution – Identity Theft) – Modifies the review process for claims of identity theft so that each claim does not have to be forwarded to legal counsel or the CCO, rather staff can perform the investigation based on company policies and procedures which have been reviewed by legal counsel or the CCO.
  • Appendix A – Standard # A5 (c) (Complaint & Dispute Resolution – Coerced Debt) – Adopts a parallel provision to paragraph (b) for coerced debt related to domestic abuse, sex trafficking, or elder abuse.
  • Appendix A – Standard # A7 (Data Security) & A15 (Vendor Management) – Updates to this standard bring it into alignment with the FTC Safeguards Rule.
  • Appendix A – Standard # A8 (CFPB Consumer Complaint System) – Alleviates businesses with a low number of complaints on the CFPB portal from having to consider strategies to reduce their complaints, disputes, and inquiries.
  • Appendix A – Standard # A24 (Artificial Intelligence) – New Standard. The standard requires businesses that self-identify as using artificial intelligence to identify an employee or agent to be responsible for learning about the challenges associated with its use.
  • Appendix A – Standard # C3 (Legal Malpractice Insurance) – Creates a higher malpractice insurance requirement for larger law firms that is consistent with market practice.
  • Appendix A – Standard # C4 & D2 (Interest) – Requires law firms and collection agencies to transmit client funds held in a trust account to their clients on a monthly basis.
  • Appendix A – Standard # C7 & D4 (Legal Malpractice Insurance) – Reduces the time period that a law firm and collection agency have to transmit complaints, subpoenas, and nonconfidential CIDs to the impacted client.
  • Appendix B – Standard # 105 (Data Security) – Edits were made to bring Standard 105 (vendor certification) into alignment with the data security requirements contained in Standard A7 (impacting debt buyers, law firms, and agencies).
  • Appendix B – Standard # 107 (Vendor Management) – Edits were made to bring Standard 107 (vendor certification) into alignment with the vendor management requirements in Standard A15 (impacting debt buyers, law firms, and agencies).

When responding via email to [email protected], please: (1) indicate “30-Day Comment” in the email subject line, (2) provide your name and company name in the body of the message, and (3) indicate the page and section number from the Certification Governance Document that your comment is referencing. Please note that the page numbers in the index will be slightly off in the redline version – use the page numbers on the bottom of the page.

Based on comments received from this 30-day comment period, additional edits may be incorporated prior to final adoption.  If you have any questions, please contact RMAI at (916) 482-2462.

This Member Alert is intended for members of the Receivables Management Association International, is for informational purposes only, and is in no way intended to provide legal advice. Members are encouraged to consult with an attorney of their choice for legal advice concerning this matter.