Field Executive
Field Executive: A field executive is the on-ground collections agent who visits a delinquent borrower to verify their situation, negotiate and collect. It is the most expensive contact channel per visit, and the most tightly constrained by the RBI Fair Practices Code.
Why Field Executive matters in credit and collections
- Usually deployed from SMA-2 onwards, and almost always for 90+ DPD accounts where digital contact has failed.
- The most expensive collections channel per contact, so allocation should be driven by propensity to pay rather than by DPD alone.
- Bound by the RBI Fair Practices Code: visits are restricted to reasonable hours and must avoid harassment, with conduct traceable to a named agent.
- Modern field operations require geo-tagged visit verification and instant digital receipting, or the lender cannot prove what happened at the doorstep.
Where field visits earn their cost
A field visit does three things no remote channel can: it verifies whether the borrower and the business or asset still exist, it makes ignoring the lender socially and practically difficult, and it allows a negotiation in which the agent can read the borrower's actual circumstances. Those are genuine capabilities, and they justify the cost — but only on accounts where they change the outcome.
The economics are unforgiving. Because cost per visit is many multiples of a digital touch, allocation must be driven by propensity to pay, exposure and security status rather than by DPD alone. Sending field agents at every account crossing day 60 is the most common way collections units destroy their own unit economics.
Verifiability is the other half of the job. Without geo-tagged visit confirmation, timestamped disposition capture and instant digital receipting, the lender cannot prove what happened at the doorstep — which matters both for detecting agent misconduct and for defending the lender when a complaint is made.
Regulatory basis
Field collections conduct is governed by the RBI Fair Practices Code, which restricts contact to reasonable hours, prohibits harassment or intimidation, and holds the lender responsible for the conduct of agents and recovery agencies acting on its behalf. RBI has also issued directions on outsourcing and on the engagement of recovery agents.
Source: Reserve Bank of IndiaHow to run field collections properly
- Allocate by propensity, exposure and security status — never by DPD alone.
- Require geo-tagged visit verification and same-visit digital receipting. Cash without an instant receipt is leakage waiting to happen.
- Train and certify agents on Fair Practices Code conduct, and make the training auditable.
- Keep agent conduct traceable to a named individual, since the lender remains accountable for outsourced behaviour.
- Measure cost per resolution, not visits per day. Activity metrics reward the wrong behaviour.
Field Executive — frequently asked questions
What hours are field collection visits permitted?
The Fair Practices Code requires contact at reasonable hours and prohibits practices amounting to harassment, so visits should be confined to normal daytime hours and avoid intrusion at odd times. Lenders typically codify a specific permitted window in their agent policy.
Is the lender liable for the conduct of an outsourced recovery agent?
Yes. Responsibility for agent conduct rests with the lender, which is why RBI's outsourcing and recovery-agent directions require training, due diligence and oversight of agencies. Outsourcing the activity does not outsource the accountability.