Retail Merchants Association

What Retail Merchants Association does

Retail Merchants Association, Inc. is a privately held debt collection agency founded in 1898 and headquartered in a single office at 620 Crockett St. in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. The firm serves local businesses (creditors) in Shreveport and surrounding Louisiana communities, recovering unpaid consumer debts on their behalf through notices, phone outreach, payment plan negotiation, and — when necessary — bankruptcy filings and legal action. The agency also interfaces directly with consumer debtors, offering payment arrangements, dispute handling, and credit-report-related inquiries. The business is not publicly listed, has no parent company, and operates without disclosed external institutional investment.

The company's product set comprises four core services — standard collections, automated skip tracing, bankruptcy court filing, and legal collection actions — supported by an online payment portal (eCheck Pay and Pay by Card) that allows debtors to self-serve. The underlying technology stack is conventional third-party infrastructure: a debt collection management system, third-party skip tracing database access performed automatically at account placement, monthly credit reporting integrations with Experian and TransUnion, and a secure online payment processing layer. The firm claims "latest technology" and "data security" standards on its website but discloses no proprietary AI, machine-learning, or analytics capabilities, and lists no patents, API, or developer-facing platform.

Retail Merchants Association operates on a contingency-fee model: it charges creditors nothing upfront and no annual fee, and is compensated only as a percentage of amounts successfully recovered. Its go-to-market is direct and relationship-driven, with creditors sending accounts for collection via an intake portal. Distribution is entirely domestic and concentrated in a single regional market (Shreveport and adjacent Louisiana areas), with no public marketing campaigns, no disclosed partnerships, no social media presence, and no named customer references. The combination of legacy tenure, a narrow geographic footprint, and a conservative contingency-only commercial model positions the firm as a stable, small-scale local operator rather than a scaling platform.

Name

Retail Merchants Association

Legal name

Retail Merchants Association, Inc

Website

https://retailmerchantsinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Retail Merchants Association, Inc. is a privately held debt collection agency founded in 1898 and based in Shreveport, Louisiana. The firm provides contingency-based collections, skip tracing, bankruptcy filing, and legal recovery services for local businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shreveport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contingency-Based Debt Collection: The company collects unpaid debts on behalf of creditors (businesses) on a contingency fee basis. They do not charge upfront fees - if they don't collect, the client doesn't pay. Fees are likely collected as a percentage of the recovered debt amount. This model incentivizes high recovery rates as their revenue depends directly on successful collections.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Retail Merchants Association is a contingency-based debt collection agency that recovers unpaid debts on behalf of local businesses (creditors) in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. Services include debt collections using notices, phone calls and payment plan negotiation, skip tracing to locate debtors, bankruptcy court filings, and legal collection actions with upfront court and attorney fees covered by the agency.

Product overview

Retail Merchants Association offers a unified debt collection service platform. The core offering consists of collections services, skip tracing, bankruptcy court filing, and legal collection services. An online payment portal (eCheck Pay and Pay by Card) is available as an integrated add-on for debtor payments. The company has been operating since 1898, serving creditors in Shreveport and surrounding areas with professionally trained staff and technology-driven processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collections Services Core debt recovery service using notices, phone calls, and negotiation of payment plans to collect unpaid debts on behalf of creditor clients.
• Skip Tracing Debtor location service that uses access to multiple databases to trace and update consumer contact information when client-provided data is outdated or incorrect.
• Bankruptcy Court Filing Service that handles all bankruptcy court filings on behalf of creditors when debtors include the creditor's account in bankruptcy proceedings.
• Legal Collection Services Legal action services for resistant debtors, including coverage of upfront court costs and attorney fees, with direct coordination between the agency's attorney and clients.
• Online Payment Portal Secure online payment system allowing debtors to pay outstanding balances via credit card or eCheck.

Quantifiable outcome

• Collection accounts remain on credit reports for seven years (per Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 605)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• IC System: IC System is a privately-held debt collection agency serving commercial and consumer creditors nationwide. It is directly comparable to RMA in offering contingency-based third-party collection services with similar B2B client acquisition.
• CBE Group: CBE Group is a national debt collection agency offering commercial and consumer recovery services. Comparable to RMA in providing contingency-based collections, skip tracing, and legal recovery to business creditors.
• ConServe: ConServe is a U.S. debt collection agency focused on contingency-based recovery for higher education, government, and commercial creditors. Highly comparable to RMA in service mix, fee structure, and B2B client orientation.
• MRS BPO: MRS BPO provides business process outsourcing including third-party debt collection services to commercial clients. Comparable to RMA in serving business creditors on a contingency basis with similar recovery-focused offerings.
• Diversified Collection Services: Diversified Collection Services is a contingency-based debt collection agency serving consumer and commercial creditors. Highly comparable to RMA in service offering, client type, and fee model.

Broad incumbents

• AFNI: AFNI is a large, established BPO and debt collection operator with national scale, serving insurance, telecommunications, and financial services clients. Overlaps directly with RMA in commercial debt recovery but at significantly larger scale and broader service breadth.
• AllianceOne: AllianceOne is a national third-party debt collection agency with significant scale across consumer and commercial recovery. Comparable to RMA in core service line but operates nationally with a substantially larger creditor client base.
• EOS Solutions: EOS Solutions is an international receivables management company providing debt collection services to businesses. Comparable to RMA in core offering while operating across multiple geographies at significantly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Retail Merchants Association