Billions of dollars in turnover and hundreds of complaints: the main players in the collection market are named
20 October 13:29
The market of collection companies in Ukraine continues to grow rapidly: last year, 74 registered companies earned more than UAH 1 billion, and the number of complaints about their activities is growing every year. The largest profits are made by a few companies that control the lion’s share of the industry’s revenue, while citizens complain about violations of their rights and pressure from debt collectors. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to data from Opendatabot.
Complaints about debt collectors are growing
The NBU has received more than 3.1 thousand complaints about the activities of collection companies since the new law on collection activities came into force in 2021. More than 60% of these complaints were received in the last two years alone.
Since the beginning of 2025 alone, Ukrainians have filed 958 complaints, which is already more than in all of 2024 and one and a half times more than two years ago.
On average, the NBU receives 104 appeals per month, a third more than last year and twice as many as in 2023.
The number of complaints against debt collectors:
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of complaints | 227 | 383 | 595 | 938 | 958 |
Why there are so many complaints
Since 2021, Ukraine has had a law requiring all collection companies to register with the NBU and adhere to standards of ethical behavior.
However, it was after the introduction of the regulation that citizens became more active in reporting
- threats and psychological pressure,
- calls to relatives and colleagues,
- disclosure of personal data,
- blackmail and intimidation.
Appealing to dishonest collectors can now result in fines, restrictions on activities, or exclusion from the register.
How many collectors operate in Ukraine
It is worth noting that starting in 2021, only those collectors registered in the NBU’s Register of Collection Companies can contact debtors. Due to violations of the rules of work described in the law, dishonest collectors may be subject to sanctions: from fines to work restrictions and even exclusion from the register.
82 collection companies have been included in the NBU’s special register since the Register was launched. Registration was most active in the first year, when 62 companies were included in the list.
Later, the process slowed down significantly: in 2022, only five companies were added, and in 2025, only one company was added so far.
Currently, 74 companies remain in the Register.
During this time, 8 companies have lost the right to operate in the market: half of them voluntarily, the rest due to violations of the requirements. Among those excluded are two companies with the same name, Credit Enforcement Service, which belonged to the British EXTRA VENTURE LTD.
More than 70% of collection companies from the Register are registered in the capital – 54 companies. Another 6 operate in Zaporizhzhia region and 5 in Chernihiv region.
How much does the industry earn
last year, the total revenue of 74 collection companies reached UAH 1.01 billion, and the net profit amounted to UAH 384.7 million.
The absolute leader was the financial company EAPB, which is part of the financial and industrial group TAS of Sergey Tigipko. In 2024, its revenue amounted to UAH 409.2 million, and its profit was UAH 156.4 million. Together with its related company EAPB, which is also in the Register, TAS Group accounted for 41% of the industry’s revenue and 92% of net profit.
The top three also includes Smartfinance with a revenue of UAH 90.3 million (owned by Olga Duma and Oleksandr Drozd) and Credit Express Ukraine EL.EL.C. (UAH 71.3 million, beneficiary – Swede Jost Lennart Ogren). Together with the second company of this owner, Debtfort Ukraine, they received almost UAH 93 million in revenue.
It should be noted that the Register contains many companies that have the same owner. The record belongs to Viacheslav Holub, who owns eight companies at once, i.e. almost every ninth company in the Register. In total, they generated UAH 52.8 million in revenue in 2024 and received UAH 4 million in net profit.
Where to go if you are being harassed by debt collectors:
The National Bank of Ukraine, together with OpenDataBot, has created a special service where you can
- check whether the company is operating legally,
- file a complaint online,
- find out how the law protects the rights of debtors.
In March 2021, a law was passed that protects debtors in the settlement of overdue debts. According to the new law, collectors received clear regulations on ethical work.
In particular, the law prohibits debt collectors from interfering with a person’s personal life, threatening, blackmailing, exerting psychological and physical pressure, calling outside of business hours, communicating with friends and relatives, etc.
