Inbound data is your collections strategy, whether you admit it or not

In collections, most “strategy” problems are really data shape problems.

If the inbound account payload is inconsistent, you end up with:

• accounts routed into the wrong treatment
• exceptions handled by tribal knowledge
• broken worklists
• endless rework when arrears and balances do not reconcile

This note is about a pattern that holds up: validate the inbound payload with JSON Schema, then index it into OpenSearch in a way that supports the queries collections teams actually run.

The collections view of an account record

A lending schema often starts from the loan. A collections schema starts from the account in arrears with enough context to decide:

• is it pursuable?
• what is the exception state?
• what is the next best action?
• what should this land in (agent worklist, digital journey, hold queue)?