Today we’re talking with Facundo Turconi, CEO of Moonflow. He has extensive experience in the financial industry, from implementing software solutions and analytical models for credit origination in major Latin American banks, managing the risk area for one of Peru’s largest banks, and developing Latin America’s first credit marketplace.
Throughout his career, Facundo has gained deep expertise in financial services, analytics, and software, which eventually led him to venture into fintech. In this interview, he shares how his journey led him to found Moonflow, a startup focused on debt collection management, and discusses the challenges and opportunities along the way.
What is Moonflow, and how does it help companies manage accounts receivable?
Moonflow is a cloud-based software (SaaS) that automates debt collection for companies, whether they’re collecting from individuals or other businesses. The platform is built on three layers: automated communications and payment reminders, self-service for customers to manage their accounts payable, and a multichannel module for customer service and relationship management.
This approach allows for efficient management, reducing operational costs by up to 80%. For example, tasks that used to require 10 people can now be handled by just 2. Additionally, it significantly improves key financial metrics, like increasing payment recovery rates by 15-25% and reducing the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
How many countries does Moonflow operate in, and who is your ideal customer?
Moonflow currently operates in 22 countries, from the United States to Argentina, covering all of the Americas (except Canada, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, where we hope to expand soon). If anyone from those countries is reading this, we offer a special discount to our first customers in each new country. Our most important markets right now are Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
Our market is divided into two main segments: companies that collect from individuals and companies that collect from other businesses. We’re industry-agnostic, which means we work with clients in diverse sectors like financial services, educational institutions, healthcare companies, real estate, and more.
Our ideal customer in the segment of companies that collect from individuals is a business with 1,000 to 25,000 accounts receivable, although we also serve companies with over 500,000 accounts receivable.
For companies that collect from other businesses, the dynamic is different, as they usually have a higher operational load and typically fewer automated processes. Here, our ideal customer is a company with 250 to 2,500 invoices or accounts receivable each month, though we also work with companies managing up to 10,000 accounts receivable monthly.
The market is huge; in Latin America, there are over 1 million companies with more than 100 accounts receivable every month. According to estimates, only 2% of these companies have a specialized debt collection system already implemented.
How long does it take to connect a company to Moonflow?
The onboarding process is really quick, usually taking between 7 and 30 days, allowing companies to start managing their accounts automatically in no time.
The onboarding process happens on two fronts:
- Functional: The software guides you through answering 10 to 12 questions to automatically configure collection management strategies and multichannel messaging, based on the risk of your customers and the sector your company operates in. You can use the default settings or fully customize them with support from our Onboarding team. This part of the process can take anywhere from 1 to 10 days.
- Data Integration: We offer several ways to connect to the platform, including API, native integration with any ERP, SFTP, or manual bulk or individual uploads. This integration process, which runs parallel to the functional setup, can take between 5 and 15 days.
If both processes are done in parallel, which we recommend, a company is typically up and running in 2 to 3 weeks.
What is Moonflow Academy?
Moonflow Academy is our initiative to share knowledge about the best practices in debt collection. Essentially, we’ve created a debt collection academy where our team members and guest experts cover various topics related to collection management. We work with people from a wide range of companies, from small to large collection teams, both in companies and call centers, as well as field collection teams. Thanks to our extensive background in financial services, we also have strong relationships with experts in developing analytical models and other key areas. Our goal is to equip companies with the tools and knowledge they need to improve their daily work and achieve better results. More efficient debt collection management, better portfolio retention, and shorter collection periods ultimately lead to better economic outcomes for companies.
So far, we’ve produced around 15 episodes and released 1 to 2 new episodes each week. In the future, we plan to develop “career tracks” for different roles in collection management. For example, if you work in a call center, we’ll offer a specific training program to strengthen the skills you need; if you develop analytical models or need to set up a small management team, we’ll have a training program for you. The idea is for each specialty to have its own training track in debt collection. This way, we organize the content to have a logical order and flow, maximizing the usefulness of the debt collection academy.
What challenges is Moonflow currently facing?
The biggest challenge we face at Moonflow is the resistance to innovation in the debt collection sector. While there has been a lot of innovation in fintech, very little of that has reached debt collection. Implementing such advanced technology in a sector that’s lagging behind means overcoming the status quo within teams, which requires a cultural shift in companies and collection teams.
We believe Moonflow Academy plays a crucial role in tackling this challenge. It provides the necessary knowledge for collection professionals to make the transition from manual collection processes to automated solutions. Adopting our technology requires not just technical implementation but also a change in mindset and practices within the sector, which is our biggest challenge right now.
What can we expect from Moonflow in the next 6 months?
In the coming months, we’re gradually rolling out new AI-powered tools on our platform. As I mentioned before, Moonflow is built on three layers: automated hyper-personalized collection communications (across all communication channels), customer self-service through a self-management module, and a CRM.
We’ve already launched an analytical model with machine learning that analyzes in real-time all the collection strategies and communications. This model can identify improvements in management strategies, and with just a few clicks, users can implement these improvements directly from the Moonflow dashboard, comparing and adjusting portfolios to achieve better performance. All our customers are currently using this tool.
We’re now working on integrating ChatGPT to handle incoming messages received in Moonflow’s CRM. By feeding the model all the contextual information and objectives of each conversation, we’re developing the capability for the system to autonomously interact with customers, securing payment promises and even processing payments on its own. This means that in the near future, Moonflow won’t just automate outgoing messages and manage self-service, but it will also autonomously respond to incoming messages and adjust collection strategies in real time.
In short, we’re building a fully autonomous system that will allow companies to operate with very few resources, achieving a high level of efficiency and precision, collecting more and better.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We’re growing rapidly, both in terms of clients and team, and we’re looking for people eager to learn, take on entrepreneurship, and contribute to this evolution. If anyone reading this is looking for an opportunity to make a difference, we’d be happy to meet and explore opportunities at Moonflow.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
