Debt collection is as old as commerce itself. The industry's evolution mirrors the development of international trade and commercial law.
Mesopotamian clay tablets from 3000 BCE record commercial debts and collection procedures. Roman law established the concept of cessio — transferring debt claims to third parties for collection — the ancestor of modern factoring and collection agency models.
The development of bills of exchange in medieval Italy, the establishment of commercial courts in France (Tribunaux de Commerce, 1563), and the codification of commercial law across Europe created the legal infrastructure for professional debt collection.
Modern collection agencies emerged in the 19th century alongside international trade expansion. The first agencies operated as local intermediaries collecting debts on behalf of foreign creditors — a model that remains fundamentally unchanged.
The 21st century brought electronic court filing (Germany's online Mahnverfahren, Poland's EPU, UK's Money Claim Online), cross-border enforcement instruments (EU European Payment Order, 2006), and digital case management systems that allow creditors to track claims across jurisdictions in real time.
AI-powered debtor assessment, automated demand generation in 30+ languages, and integrated cross-border enforcement databases are reshaping the industry — while the fundamental model (local expertise, credible enforcement, cultural fluency) remains unchanged.
Our debt recovery agency with over 21 years of experience provides: Business to Business Collections Services, Legal Debt Collections and worldwide Skip Tracing services.
