Voice AI for outbound debt collection: a telecom build
An outbound calling system that contacts customers with overdue balances, follows collections stages and takes card payments during the call.
The problem
A telecom provider needed to contact large numbers of customers with overdue balances without growing its human calling team. The calling had to stay compliant with collections expectations, and the business wanted payments captured directly on the call rather than through a separate follow-up step.
How the system works
Lead ingestion
Overdue account files arrive over FTP on a schedule. An automation parses each file and upserts the records into Supabase, so the same account is never duplicated across runs.
Call scheduling engine
A cron-based scheduler checks each record's status flags, such as active today, do-not-contact and permitted time windows. It then batches outbound calls into allowed hours and skips weekends and public holidays.
Staged conversation
An ElevenLabs voice agent follows scripts matched to the collections stage, from an early reminder through to active enforcement. Each stage has its own tone and its own required disclosures.
Voicemail detection
The system works out whether a person or a voicemail answered. It either continues the live conversation or leaves a compliant voicemail message.
SMS fallback
When a call goes unanswered, or as an extra touchpoint, an SMS with a secure payment link is sent automatically.
In-call payment collection
The caller is moved into a keypad-based payment flow linked to a payment processor, so a card payment can be taken with no human involved.
Multi-brand routing
One platform serves several brands. The lead source decides which scripts, voice and caller ID are used for each call.
Post-call logging
Webhooks return the transcript and outcome, which are logged against the lead record. Account status is updated to contacted, promised to pay, disputed or escalated, and that status feeds reporting and later scheduling.
Result in production
Collection calls run at scale without a matching increase in headcount. Every call is logged and every account has a tracked status that informs the next scheduling cycle.
Who this pattern fits
Although we built it for a telecom provider, the pattern suits any organisation running high-volume, compliance-sensitive outreach from a list, including utilities, subscription services and other recurring-billing businesses. The stack is stable, can be self-hosted where needed, and is manageable by a small team.
Tools used
ElevenLabs
Speech synthesis for the voice agent, chosen for latency and call quality.
Twilio
Telephony carrier for inbound and outbound calls, SMS and call recording.
Twilio Pay
PCI-compliant keypad card capture during live calls.
Braintree
Payment processor for card capture and reconciliation.
n8n
Workflow runtime and orchestration, with version-controlled logic.
Supabase
PostgreSQL database, authentication and storage; the source of truth for records.
FTP ingestion
Scheduled intake of account files from partners.
Cron scheduling
Batch jobs, reconciliation and daily roll-ups.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Is an automated collections system compliant with regulation?
The system runs approved scripts, respects opt-outs, records consent and passes edge cases to a person. It supports your compliance process but does not replace it. Decisions about what is permitted remain with the business.
Can this approach be used outside telecom?
Yes. It fits any setting where list-based outbound dialling, voicemail detection, payment capture and structured record-keeping matter, such as utilities or subscription billing.