The one problem almost every business recognised at Credit Week

Last week we attended Credit Week 2026, joining credit reference agencies, collections specialists, fraud providers, software vendors and regulators to talk about the future of customer engagement, data quality and credit risk.

As you'd expect, AI was everywhere. Fraud prevention featured heavily, customer engagement was high on everyone's agenda, and operational efficiency remained a key focus.

But the most interesting takeaway wasn't something discussed on the main stage.

It came from the conversations we had around the exhibition floor.

When we explained who Acudo is and why we exist, the reaction was remarkably consistent.

Not because businesses don't have problems with customer contact data, but because many had never considered that phone numbers themselves could be validated, verified and used as a source of intelligence.

You could almost see the penny-drop moment.

"We definitely have that problem."

Whether they worked in collections, credit referencing or fraud prevention, the challenges were surprisingly similar. Outdated phone numbers, disconnected SIMs and customer records that had quietly deteriorated over time.

The challenge wasn't convincing people that poor contact data exists. Almost everyone recognised that.

The challenge was showing them that it's a problem that can actually be solved.

One thing that really stood out was where the conversations naturally went.

While Acudo helps businesses validate numbers before they communicate, relatively few people wanted to start by talking about messaging.

Instead, they wanted confidence in the data they already held.

Questions like:

• Is this number still active?
• Is it still associated with the right customer?
• Can we trust the phone numbers in our database?

It's something we've believed for a long time.

Before businesses can improve engagement, optimise collections or reduce fraud, they first need confidence that the customer data they're relying on is accurate.

For a business that's been working with phone number intelligence since 2005, one of the most encouraging aspects of Credit Week was realising how early this market still is.

Many visitors weren't comparing Acudo with competing solutions.

They were discovering, often for the first time, that a mobile number can tell you far more than simply whether it's the right length or formatted correctly.

That changed the nature of the conversation.

Instead of talking about features, we found ourselves discussing outcomes.

Better collections because teams can contact the right customer.

Improved fraud prevention because contact data provides another valuable signal.

Cleaner databases that reduce operational waste and give businesses greater confidence in their customer records.

The technology almost became secondary.

Another takeaway from the event was that there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer.

Some organisations were looking for a broader platform to help improve customer contactability across multiple areas of their business.

Others had a much more specific challenge to solve, whether that was real-time number verification through HLR Lookup or ensuring compliance with TPS Unlimited.

The important thing isn't selling the biggest solution.

It's helping businesses find the right one.