ARO

What ARO does

ARO Inc. (formerly Ogilvie Collection Agency Inc.) is a privately held Canadian debt collection agency founded in 1994 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The firm operates under Quebec Collection Agency License 400488 issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur and serves creditors seeking to recover outstanding consumer debts. ARO runs a contingency-based B2B service, earning transaction fees as a percentage of amounts successfully collected on behalf of business clients.

The company's operating model combines traditional phone-, fax-, and in-person collection workflows with digital self-service channels. These digital channels include an online bill payment portal at transaction.aro.ca and an SMS-based payment reminder system that delivers one-time-use payment links from short codes 27022 and 270282. ARO maintains direct data integrations with TransUnion and Equifax for identity verification and account information retrieval during collection activities. The firm operates four physical offices across three Canadian provinces (Montreal, Markham, Kelowna, and Burlington) and complies with Quebec's Law 25 on personal information protection, designating a Chief Privacy Officer responsible for privacy compliance.

ARO's revenue mechanics are entirely fee-based and contingent on collection outcomes; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured through customized B2B arrangements with creditor clients. The go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct B2B relationships with creditor organizations rather than paid marketing or channel partnerships. Customer segments are horizontal, serving any creditor with outstanding consumer receivables, with no named enterprise logos publicly disclosed. The firm is led by CEO Mark Ball, with founder Michael Ogilvie and a designated Chief Privacy Officer (David Ogilve) in supporting roles. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or public listings have been disclosed.

Name

ARO

Legal name

ARO Inc.

Website

https://aro.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ARO Inc. is a privately held Canadian debt collection agency headquartered in Montreal, serving business creditors on a contingency-fee basis across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia via four offices and digital self-service payment channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Debt Collection Services

NAICS

Collection Agencies (56144), Collection Agencies (561440)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Third-Party Debt Collection Agencies (Consumer & Commercial) (BPAAAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accounts Receivable (Invoicing, Cash Application, Deductions) (BPAAAGAB), Order-to-Cash (O2C) Operations (Order Admin, Credit, Invoicing, Collections Handoff) (BPAAAGAK)

Keywords

• Debt collection services
• Accounts receivable management
• Consumer debt recovery
• Commercial collections
• Payment processing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Collection Agency Services: Contingency-based collection services where ARO collects debts on behalf of creditors. The company earns fees when debts are successfully recovered, typically as a percentage of the collected amount.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

ARO Inc. (formerly Ogilvie Collection Agency Inc.) is a licensed Canadian debt collection agency that provides accounts receivable management services to businesses and organizations (creditors) on a contingency-fee basis. The company recovers outstanding consumer debts on behalf of creditor clients, while offering debtors multiple payment channels including an online bill payment portal, SMS-based one-time payment links, phone, and facsimile. ARO operates under License 400488 issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur and serves clients from four offices across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Product overview

ARO (Ogilvie Collection Agency Inc) operates as a full-service debt collection agency providing consumer and business-to-business debt collection services. The company's service portfolio includes core debt collection assistance for consumers, business partner services for creditors, an online bill payment portal accessible via transaction.aro.ca, and an SMS-based payment reminder system. The offering represents a unified collection services model with multiple payment channels rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Partner Services (Commercial Collection Services) Contingency-based debt collection services for creditor clients, including collection mandate execution, account management, payment agreement establishment, identity verification, and ongoing debt recovery on outstanding receivables.
• Consumer Assistance Services (Consumer Debt Repayment Support) Consumer-facing debt resolution support that helps individuals manage and resolve outstanding debts assigned to ARO by creditors, including account inquiry handling, payment arrangement setup, and customer service.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TransUnioncoreTechnology or IntegrationCredit reporting agency used for identity verification and obtaining account information during collection activities.
• EquifaxcoreTechnology or IntegrationCredit reporting agency providing account information and identity verification services for collection operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• PRA Group: Global acquirer and servicer of nonperforming loans with significant Canadian operations through Pra Canada; competes for creditor mandates while also purchasing charged-off portfolios.
• Encore Capital Group: Large publicly-traded debt buyer and collection agency operating in North America and Europe; overlaps with ARO in consumer debt recovery but operates at vastly greater scale with owned-portfolio models.
• EOS Group: European-headquartered BPO and receivables management provider with cross-border debt collection capabilities; relevant comparable for assessing ARO's growth ceiling into international servicing.

Direct peers

• Collection Services International (CSI): Canadian third-party debt collection agency serving consumer and commercial creditors across multiple provinces, operating on contingency-based pricing similar to ARO.
• Pioneer Credit Recovery: North American debt recovery firm providing contingency-based collection services across consumer and commercial segments, comparable in service scope to ARO.
• National Credit Recovery (NCR): Canadian collection agency offering first-party and third-party recovery services to creditors, directly competing with ARO for similar B2B mandates.
• Gatestone & Co. One of Canada's largest privately-owned debt collection agencies, with national coverage and consumer/commercial recovery services comparable to ARO's mandate.
• Hassle Free Collections: Canadian debt collection agency focused on consumer recovery, operating under similar provincial licensing frameworks as ARO with comparable creditor clientele.

Emerging players

• TrueAccord: Digital-first debt collection platform using machine learning and SMS/email outreach; represents the technology-forward competitive threat to traditional Canadian agencies like ARO.

Regional players

• Platinum Equity / BM Collections (Canadian arm): Canadian collection agency serving Quebec and other provinces with B2B recovery mandates; directly comparable in geography, licensing framework, and service offering to ARO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AROInc_

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ARO