Collection agencies have warned of the potential impact of mobile phone operators disconnecting unregistered mobile lines, as planned; this impact could rangefrom US$482 million to US$1,621 million.
Alan Ramirez, president of the Association of Professionals in Debt Collection and Legal Services (APCOB), said in an interview that given the low number of cell phone registrations, the financial sector may see an increase in delinquency, and he therefore called foran extension to allow more people to register.
Collection agencies rely on the mobile channel—which includes calls, SMS, and WhatsApp—as their primary mechanism for recovering loans granted by financial institutions.
As of mid-June, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) reported that 60.6 million people had completed the registration of their phone lines out of a total of 161 million phone lines—that is, just 38% of mobile phones.
In a moderate scenario, the industry would fail to recover approximately US$482 million per year; in a central scenario, it estimates it would be unable to recover US$952 million; and in the most critical scenario, the figure rises to US$1,621 million.
The Association of Multi-Purpose Financial Institutions in Mexico (ASOFOM) added that it is necessary to advance a dialogue on mechanisms for the protection, storage, and use of users’ personal data.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Banking Association (ABM) and the Mexican Association of Sofipos (AMS) declined to comment on a possible extension of the deadline for registering cell phone lines.
