📅 It’s Monday Morning—Where Are Friday’s Payments?
- William Watson
- Jun 8
- 3 min read
If you’re running a payday loan business in Canada, you already know the drill. Friday was the due date. Your automated system ran the debits. Now it’s Monday—and several customers haven’t paid, the funds bounced, or worse... they’ve gone silent.
Don’t panic. This is a common scenario in subprime lending, and how you handle it sets the tone for your portfolio’s performance and your business reputation. Here's your action plan for handling Monday-morning delinquency—without stress.

🧠 Step 1: Understand Why Friday Payments Fail
Friday is the most common due date in payday lending, but it’s also the riskiest. Why?
Some customers get paid late (especially on long weekends or during banking delays).
Others overspend their paycheques before your debit hits.
A small percentage deliberately dodge repayment.
Knowing the difference is key. Don’t treat every missed payment the same.
💬 Step 2: Engage, Don’t Harass
Start the week with a calm, compliant, professional tone. Your first outreach should be:
📱 An SMS reminder (“Hi [Name], we noticed your payment didn’t go through Friday. Let’s resolve it today. Reply here.”)
📧 An email with a payment link or options
☎️ A short, friendly voicemail if you call
Avoid aggressive language or legal threats. Most customers respond better to respectful, solutions-focused messages—especially early in the week.
🔄 Step 3: Attempt a Retry
If your banking provider supports reattempts, schedule a retry for Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning—after confirming the customer is aware and ready.
💡 Pro Tip: Use automated collections software to queue retries only for customers who have responded affirmatively. This reduces your NSF costs and builds better repayment behaviour.
📊 Step 4: Segment Your Accounts
Not all missed payments are equal. Separate customers into:
Likely to Pay Today: First-time bounce, responsive.
Needs Follow-up: Non-responsive, but no prior issues.
High-Risk: Multiple defaults, unresponsive, known problem accounts.
Focus your live staff on the middle group. Automate contact and letter delivery to the others using your Loan Management System (LMS).
🔧 Step 5: Use Automation to Save Time
An automated receivables management (ARM) solution can do most of this for you:
Sends SMS and emails automatically
Flags accounts by risk level
Logs attempts and customer replies
Integrates with your LMS and payment processor
If you’re still chasing payments manually every Monday, it’s time to upgrade your tools and lower your labour costs.
📈 Step 6: Learn from the Data
Each Monday’s results tell a story:
What percentage of Friday loans bounced?
How many repaid after your first contact?
Which customers needed 2+ reminders?
Tracking these KPIs will help you optimize underwriting, adjust approval rules, and set smarter expectations for your collections team.
🤝 Watson Capital Helps You Build Better Processes
At Watson Capital & Consulting, we help payday lenders:
📉 Reduce delinquency through better underwriting
🤖 Automate collections with modern fintech tools
📚 Train staff in effective recovery techniques
📈 Boost recovery rates and reduce labour costs
If your Monday mornings feel like firefighting, it’s time for a smarter system. We can help you implement it—without needing to hire more people or chase every customer yourself.
💬 Final Thought
Missed payments are part of lending—but chaos doesn’t have to be. With the right workflow and tools, Mondays can be efficient, profitable, and even predictable.
📞 Ready to streamline your collections? Reach out to Watson Capital & Consulting today at preston@watsoncap.ca or visit watsoncap.ca to book a free consultation.
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