Why placing all of your assortment eggs in a single basket is riskier than you suppose

This is a situation that retains NBFC CFOs up at evening: You are managing 10,000 energetic loans with sturdy assortment charges. Then your main mandate companion hits a roadblock which may be a technical challenge or regulatory scrutiny. Inside hours, majority of your automated collections grind to a halt.

This is not fear-mongering. It is the truth most Indian NBFCs face right now.

The only level of failure downside

You’ve spent years digitising mortgage origination. Slick apps, immediate approvals, seamless disbursals. However in terms of collections? Most establishments are nonetheless operating on a single mandate channel. Whether or not it is eNACH by a single sponsor financial institution or UPI Autopay as the one choice, this focus creates a vulnerability that is simple to miss, till one thing goes incorrect.

The DCB Bank scenario confirmed us exactly what this seems like. When operational challenges arose, NBFCs that used DCB completely as their sponsor financial institution noticed decline charges bounce by 17.4% virtually in a single day. For a mid-sized lender with a ₹500 crore ebook, that meant an ₹87 crore assortment hole in a single month.

The fallout? Instant liquidity stress. A 17.4% decline spike interprets to roughly 15–20 further days within the common assortment cycle, principally, wiping out 1–2 months of usable runway for NBFCs working on tight liquidity buffers.

NPA ratios climb as automated restoration stalls. And this is what usually will get neglected: your human assortment brokers immediately discover themselves buried underneath workload that was beforehand dealt with by automated mandates.

The uncomfortable fact? Trade estimates counsel {that a} important majority of NBFCs depend upon a single mandate sort. This implies the complete sector is weak to channel-specific failures, whether or not as a result of technical glitches, points with banking companions, or regulatory shifts concentrating on a single cost mode.

What sensible diversification truly seems like

Constructing a multi-channel mandate technique is not about including complexity; it is about reaching a extra complete strategy. It is about matching the appropriate assortment methodology to every buyer whereas constructing redundancy into your infrastructure.

Begin with immediate eNACH to your core portfolio.Fast authentication for the core portfolio protecting 80% the gathering quantity, ideally suited for salaried prospects.

Deploy UPI Autopay strategicall.A handy choice for small-ticket private loans and shopper sturdy financing.

Layer in dunning automation as your security internet. When auto-debit fails, set off cost hyperlinks with TPV (Third Occasion Validation) enabled. TPV ensures repayments come solely from pre-approved supply accounts. Essential for residence loans or high-value merchandise the place regulators scrutinize fund sources.

Construct sensible cost routing logic. Two consecutive mandate failures ought to robotically set off an alternate channel or TPV-enabled cost hyperlink. No guide intervention required.

The trick is making a buyer alternative framework with out overwhelming debtors. A salaried skilled taking a ₹5 lakh private mortgage ought to set eNACH because the default choice. A rural LAP buyer might initially see bodily mandates, with digital choices obtainable for individuals who are snug with know-how.

The numbers your CFO truly cares about

Diversification with out measurement is simply hope. This is what to trace:

Channel focus: No single mandate sort ought to comprise greater than 60% of your portfolio. If one channel is dealing with 80% of collections, you have obtained focus danger.

Sponsor financial institution distribution: Unfold throughout a number of banking companions. The DCB incident taught us this lesson the arduous method.

Failure mode evaluation: Establish which assortment strategies are best for numerous buyer segments and mortgage merchandise. This knowledge drives higher mandate choice over time.

These aren’t simply operational metrics; quite, they current as danger indicators that ranking businesses and lenders scrutinise when evaluating NBFC stability.

The trail ahead

NBFCs seeking to scale back mandate-related disruptions are more and more turning to cost infrastructure platforms that centralise entry to a number of assortment rails.

Cost infrastructure platforms, comparable to Decentro, provide plug-and-play connectivity to eNACH and UPI Autopay, permitting lenders to diversify their channels with out managing separate distributors or integrations. 

As we shut 2025, the query is not whether or not to diversify your mandate technique. It is whether or not you possibly can afford to not.

The subsequent assortment disaster may goal a distinct channel. Nonetheless, NBFCs with resilient, multi-mode infrastructure will proceed to gather funds whereas opponents scramble to seek out alternate options.