How to Overcome Bad Debt in Your Affiliate Business

Navigating Economic Uncertainty in 2025

The affiliate marketing landscape has undergone significant shifts since 2024, with economic pressures creating new challenges around payment reliability and program stability. Although the UK economy registered only 1.5% growth in 2024, affiliate marketing’s total advertiser spend surged to £1.7 billion, up 9% year-on-year, yet this growth masks underlying tensions affecting payment cycles and program sustainability.

Affiliate relationships remain built on trust and reputation, but the current economic climate has introduced new variables into this equation. Trust and authenticity continue as measures affiliates use to evaluate whether to promote a brand, but economic uncertainty has made payment issues more prevalent across the industry. Revenue pressures on publishers are increasing, with declining metrics like ePC (earnings per click) and downward adjustments in commission structures tied to advertisers’ budget constraints.

When payment issues arise in today’s challenging environment, understanding your options for debt recovery becomes crucial for maintaining business viability.

Initial Contact: The Foundation for Resolution

First and foremost, reach out to your account manager with the operator. In the current economic climate, small issues may come to light more frequently – outdated payment details, system glitches, or administrative delays caused by downsizing. These can often be resolved quickly, so give the operator the benefit of the doubt initially, as genuine mistakes remain fixable.

The landscape has shifted though. In 2024, 966 startups shut down, compared to 769 in 2023, according to Carta. That’s a 25.6% increase, meaning your account manager might genuinely be dealing with unprecedented internal pressures or restructuring.

Escalating Through the Chain of Command

If your account manager isn’t responding and you’re still waiting for payment, identify the next person up the chain of command and contact them directly. Most operators still care about their reputation, though response times may be slower due to lean teams and economic pressures.

At this stage, you might discover program changes that weren’t properly communicated. Affiliate marketing isn’t as cost-effective as it once was. As ecommerce businesses increasingly rely on it, the demand for affiliate services has driven prices up and led to ROI challenges. This economic reality means operators are cutting costs wherever possible, sometimes including affiliate programs or specific advertising methods entirely.

The current environment has made communication breakdowns more common. Companies are restructuring, downsizing communication teams, and sometimes cutting programs with minimal notice to preserve cash flow. For insights on how political and economic changes are affecting the industry, understanding these broader implications can help affiliates prepare for potential program changes.

Understanding Payment Delays in 2025

Payment delays now often stem from legitimate verification processes that have become more rigorous. Understanding how to manage affiliate fraud helps explain why operators are implementing stricter verification processes. Operators might be investigating:

• Player verification to prevent fraud
• Traffic quality analysis to ensure authenticity
• Compliance checks driven by stricter regulations around the affiliate industry
• Cash flow management during economic uncertainty

These verification processes can create genuine payment delays, particularly when operators experience sudden traffic upticks that require manual review. The difference between legitimate delays and problematic practices has become harder to distinguish in the current climate.

When Programs Refuse Payment

Economic pressures have unfortunately made payment refusals more common. Operators under financial strain may scrutinize affiliate performance more aggressively, looking for reasons to withhold commissions. They might claim traffic manipulation or program abuse, even when affiliates have operated legitimately.

The challenge for affiliates remains proving traffic authenticity. Terms and conditions still typically favor operators, allowing program termination at will. However, the current economic environment has made operators more likely to invoke these clauses to preserve cash flow.

Key strategies for 2025:

• Document everything meticulously
• Maintain professional communication
• Keep detailed traffic source records
• Save all program communications and terms updates

Seeking Industry Support and Validation

If you feel an affiliate program is treating you unfairly, you’re likely not alone. The current economic climate has created more affiliate grievances industry-wide. Reach out to other affiliates through networking or events to gather intelligence about specific programs.

Industry forums and review sites remain valuable resources:

• Ask Gamblers for gaming-related programs
• GPWA for broader affiliate community insights
• Industry-specific platforms for your vertical

These platforms have seen increased activity as affiliates share experiences about payment issues and program closures. However, maintain professionalism when posting grievances – stick to facts rather than emotional responses, as this documentation may be valuable later.

The Economic Reality of Debt Recovery

The decision to pursue unpaid commissions has become more complex in 2025. Economic pressures including credit crunches have reduced consumer demand, while rising costs of doing business continue to tighten margins. This means both affiliates and operators are operating with reduced financial buffers.

Consider these factors when deciding whether to pursue debt recovery:

For Small Amounts: The cost of professional debt recovery may exceed the potential recovery, especially when operators may be genuinely struggling financially.

For Significant Amounts: Professional debt collection may be worthwhile, but success rates may be lower if the operator is facing legitimate financial distress.

Documentation Requirements: In the current environment, having watertight documentation becomes even more critical. Courts and collection agencies are seeing more cases where companies claim economic hardship as a defense.

Prevention Strategies for 2025

Given the challenging economic landscape, prevention becomes more important than recovery:

Diversification is Critical

Don’t rely heavily on any single affiliate program. The emergence of retail media networks has fundamentally altered how brands distribute their marketing spend, creating new opportunities while potentially reducing reliability of traditional programs. Consider exploring high-performing affiliate programs in diverse verticals to spread risk.

Regular Program Health Checks

Monitor these warning signs:

• Extended payment cycles
• Reduced communication frequency
• Changes in commission structures
• High staff turnover at operator level
• Industry news about parent company financial health

Build Relationships Beyond Single Contacts

Establish connections with multiple people within each program to protect against communication failures during staff reductions.

Consider Alternative Partnership Models

Cross-Border Affiliate Programs: Brands are establishing partnerships with affiliates who have a global reach, allowing them to scale campaigns and tap into high-growth markets. Geographic diversification can provide stability when domestic programs face economic pressures. Additionally, affiliate marketing in news media is becoming an increasingly vital revenue stream, offering new opportunities during uncertain times.

Industry Adaptation and New Opportunities

The affiliate marketing industry is adapting to economic challenges in several ways, as outlined in our comprehensive guide on industry developments in the UK.

Advanced tracking and analytics tools are helping affiliates make data-driven decisions, which can help prove traffic quality and legitimacy when payment disputes arise.

With third-party cookies being phased out and privacy regulations tightening, brands and affiliates are turning to first-party data to drive campaigns. This shift creates new partnership models that may offer more stable payment structures, as detailed in our 2025 affiliate marketing trends analysis.

A Word to Affiliate Managers

For affiliate managers reading this: the current economic climate has made affiliate relationships more fragile than ever. Paying affiliates quickly is one of the best ways to show that a brand values its partnerships, which can make all the difference in retaining top-performing affiliates. For strategies on unlocking new affiliate traffic and building stronger programs, these principles become even more critical in challenging times.