LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS said Tuesday that it has completed its integration with VoltSwitch GPS’s Vehicle Tracking platform.
The technology provider specializing in originations explained that this integration can provide finance companies with a faster and more seamless funding experience for deals with GPS installation stipulations.
LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS’ appTRAKER Loan Origination System is built to offer a comprehensive set of tools for data verification, stipulation tracking and automated workflows to ensure that the verification and funding process is accurate and fast.
The service providers acknowledged that speed is essential for the process as finance companies’ dealer partners expect quick disbursement of funds after stipulations are satisfied.
“This is an integral collaboration between two companies in the auto industry,” VoltSwitch GPS chief executive officer and founder Loranz Emachah said in a news release. “We are excited to grow our partnership with Launcher and help automate the data points that are important to each transaction.”
LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS’ integration with VoltSwitch GPS also is geared so that the finance company can receive real time updates within appTRAKER LOS starting with the GPS activation. With a fully customizable setup, the finance company is able to manually or automatically trigger workflows and stipulations within appTRAKER to expedite the verification process and funds disbursement.
“We pride ourselves on partnering with companies that provide value through smart data integration and we continually look for ways to enhance the originations process,” LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS president Nikh Nath said. “Our integration with VoltSwitch GPS provides a much-needed process automation to deals with GPS requirements.”
More opportunities to enhance the insurance opportunities within your dealership finance office recently arrived.
DealerPolicy, a leading insurance marketplace for automotive retail, announced a strategic partnership with APCO Holdings, a leading provider and administrator of F&I products and home to the EasyCare and GWC Warranty brands.
With this alliance, DealerPolicy’s innovative and cost-saving personal insurance platform will now be offered through APCO’s vast network of franchised and independent dealers.
DealerPolicy’s platform is built to bring together automotive insurance and vehicle buying, providing a more holistic end-to-end car shopping experience for consumers while also converting customer buying power into profits for dealers.
On average, DealerPolicy said its insurance customers who report the amount save $64 per month on their automotive insurance. These savings can empower customers to reinvest in additional F&I products offered by dealerships.
According to a news release, dealers in DealerPolicy’s network report an average back-end gross increase of 44%.
The company added that partnering with APCO will allow DealerPolicy to further incorporate personal insurance into the car buying process at more than 2,800 dealers nationwide.
“APCO’s storied reputation and commitment to data-driven processes and results make them ideal collaborators in our shared mission to enrich the car-buying experience for dealers and customers,” DealerPolicy co-founder and chief executive officer Travis Fitzgerald said in the news release.
“Partnering with APCO deepens our pledge to provide the next generation of F&I solutions that add real tangible value to dealers and car-buyers,” Fitzgerald continued.
APCO Holdings chief operating officer John Lee added, “We strive to work with companies that are bringing new and exciting opportunities to the table for dealers.
“Our partnership with DealerPolicy underscores our commitment to providing the most innovative and efficient solutions that maximize value for our valued dealers and their customers,” Lee went on to say.
For captive finance companies interested in buying paper lower on the credit spectrum, assistance is coming later this year from defi SOLUTIONS, which recently announced expansion of its partnership with Open Lending.
The service providers highlighted the expansion includes an integration with Open Lending’s Lenders Protection platform for captives via the defi XLOS originations product.
Lenders Protection offers near- and non-prime consumers the lowest contract rates and best terms their risk profile will allow.
Using Lenders Protection, captives can increase their origination volume beyond normal prime financing guidelines to help the underserved, while earning higher yields.
The Lenders Protection integration is currently available to finance companies on the defi LOS product.
The providers also mentioned Lenders Protection also cab captives and other finance companies potentially reduce the financial impact of current expected credit loss reporting (CECL), which is changing how originators account for credit losses in the allowance for loan and lease losses (ALLL).
According to a news release, the defi XLOS integration of Lenders Protection will become available during the second quarter and will be core to the new defi ORIGINATIONS platform scheduled for delivery later in 2022.
“We are pleased to extend the benefits of this great partnership with Open Lending to all our originations clients. Our first shared XLOS client implementation is underway, and we look forward to others coming on shortly,” defi SOLUTIONS chief strategy officer Charles Sutherland said in the news release.
Ross Jessup is president and chief operating officer at Open Lending.
“Our top priority at Open Lending is to provide to our credit union, banks, captive finance partners and ultimately the emerging prime and disadvantaged customers a seamless, fast, and viable loan solution through our unique, two decade long, unmatched, market-tested Lenders Protection solution,” Jessup said.
“We’ve successfully partnered with defi since 2017, and we are looking forward to elevating our relationship to help bring next generation LOS solutions like defi XLOS to our customers,” he went on to say.
IAA and Fastlane now are working together to process financed vehicles that are damaged and declared total losses.
The digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers and process automation technology company are collaborating to leverage FastLane’s LossExpress solution, a secure platform that can connect insurers with one of the largest active lienholder networks in the United States.
As the exclusive salvage provider partner to Fastlane, IAA said through a news release that it is now positioned to become the first salvage company in the industry to reach full finance company coverage for total loss claims through its Loan Payoff tool.
IAA explained that integrating the LossExpress functionality will effectively expand finance company coverage to nearly 100% within the IAA Loan Payoff portal while maintaining all the benefits of the existing product.
The company added that LossExpress will supplement the platform’s fully integrated finance company network to provide enhanced provider coverage and expanded data capabilities.
“The integration of our Loan Payoff platform with the innovative process automation technologies of Fastlane and its LossExpress solution — and the subsequent expansion of our lender coverage and data capabilities — will create a more streamlined, fully digital claims process for our customers,” IAA chief executive officer and president John Kett said in the news release.
“This relationship reflects our focus on leading the industry in solving major pain points for our partners and reducing cycle times for total loss claims,” Kett continued.
According to IAA estimates, approximately 5 million vehicles are declared a total loss each year and up to 70% of those vehicles carry a lien.
By partnering with Fastlane and the finance companies that vehicle owners use, the company said the IAA Loan Payoff tool has been shown to deliver improved policy holder satisfaction with total loss claims.
The company added that the IAA Loan Payoff solution can reduce the time to secure a vehicle title for a total loss claim by up to 50%, which can result in greatly reduced vehicle depreciation.
“We’re extremely focused on streamlining business processes across industries with our ubiquitous and intelligent automation technologies,” Fastlane CEO Brandon Hall said.
“We are excited to accelerate the continued adoption of this automation in total loss with IAA as they deliver a best-in-class digital loan payoff to lien release process, reducing cycle times and increasing selling prices, customer satisfaction and retention rates,” Hall went on to say.
For more information on IAA Loan Payoff, visit IAAI.com.
Experian is looking to help finance companies complete one of the most important parts of underwriting — verification of income and employment status.
This week, Experian introduced new verification capabilities that can connect finance companies to more than 120 million consumer permissioned payroll accounts.
By leveraging technology from Citadel API, Experian is bolstering its existing suite of digital verification solutions to provide finance companies and other lenders with access to permissioned payroll records from more than 40 of the top payroll providers across the United States.
“We’re committed to creating greater financial opportunities for consumers, while helping lenders extend credit responsibly,” said Michele Bodda, president of Experian Mortgage, Employer Services and Verification Solutions.
“This depends on ensuring our clients are prepared with the best insights the market has to offer. With this new solution from Citadel API, we’re empowering consumers to take control of their data while giving our clients new, flexible options to achieve their verification needs,” Bodda continued in a news release.
Experian’s new partnership with Citadel API can allow consumers to allow access to their payroll accounts when applying for financing, a mortgage or employment by authorizing use of their payroll provider login credentials.
Using this consumer permissioned data, Experian said it can deliver a verified income and employment report back to the finance company, lender or verifier.
“Experian understands that investing in Citadel API’s technology can improve their customer’s experience,” Citadel API chief executive officer Kirill Klokov said in the news release.
“In partnership with Experian, we can help millions of consumers unlock their data to verify their income and employment status, enabling quicker mortgage and loan approvals often with better rates. Together, we can help consumers take control of their data and bring more transparency into the process,” Klokov continued.
Adding consumer permissioned access to payroll data to Experian’s Verification of Income and Employment suite of services is the next step in Experian’s long-term commitment to expanding its consumer permissioned verification capabilities.
Experian’s first consumer permissioned solution, Experian AccountView was introduced in 2016, and the company said the tool continues to receive strong interest and adoption from finance companies and lenders.
Experian AccountView leverages permissioned bank data to help lenders quickly verify income, employment and assets.
The company went on to say that both consumer permissioned offerings as well as Experian Verify — Experian’s real-time income and employment solution — can give finance companies and lender maximum coverage options for verifying income and employment so they can avoid complex and costly manual processes.
Experian Verify can provide finance companies, lenders, employment screeners and government verifiers instant access to millions of active payroll records from Experian’s growing network of exclusive employer records.
The solution launched earlier this spring and has already become one of Experian’s most successful product adoptions, according to the company.
To learn more about Experian’s Verification Solutions business and solutions, visit www.experian.com/verify.
On Tuesday, Nova Credit and Westlake Financial launched a joint venture designed to make auto financing available to the more than 1 million immigrants, or “newcomers,” who arrive in the U.S. every year.
More than 1 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. every year, according to the Pew Research Center, which also predicted that immigration will drive 82% of new population growth by 2050.
However, Nova Credit and Westlake Financial pointed out that a lack of domestic credit history means millions of recent arrivals appear only as no-file or thin-file when applying for financial services, like auto financing.
For newcomers who can’t obtain financing, the companies said getting access to a vehicle for transportation is that much harder — limiting their potential for success upon arrival.
For finance companies, Nova Credit and Westlake Financial noted that a lack of credit score makes it more difficult to know potential risk levels of who they provide access to credit, limiting their own growth potential.
Nova Credit works with 16 country bureaus — including Brazil, Mexico and India — to gain access to financial information that can enable them to translate international credit data into a U.S.-equivalent score and report in a format familiar to American underwriters, who use it to evaluate applications for credit products.
With this partnership, Westlake will gain access to global consumer credit bureau data — which is only available to Nova Credit — that could help millions of these newcomers obtain auto financing and acquire their business with no additional risk.
“Constant innovation is one of Westlake’s core values, so opening up another avenue for potential customers through a first of its kind partnership with Nova Credit aligns with our go-forward strategy,” said Ian Anderson, group president at Westlake Technology Holdings.
“This unique partnership with Nova Credit not only allows us to extend our reach but also enables us to help newcomers realize their potential here in the United States. To be a part of that is truly fulfilling,” Anderson said in the news release.
The digital-first offering will be available to applicants on Westlake’s website or users can start on Nova Credit’s referral landing page.
“Despite working hard to build their credit abroad, millions of newcomers each year struggle to gain access to the products and services they need to start a new life in the U.S.,” Nova Credit co-founder and chief executive officer Misha Esipov said. “We saw a tremendous need in the auto financing space and, with partnerships like this, we are able to help newcomers alleviate the stresses of navigating auto-related finances after moving internationally.
“We are thrilled to be working with Westlake on this partnership and we look forward to our continued work with them,” Espinov went on to say.
To learn more about the partnership and countries covered, visit www.novacredit.com/partner/westlake-financial.
Two firms that look to offer critical information to help potential vehicle buyers navigate the path toward financing now are working together.
Officials from 700Credit — a leading provider of credit reports, compliance solutions and soft pull products — recently announced a product alliance with TradeVue, a web-based and mobile-ready vehicle appraisal tool.
The companies said the new alliance adds the 700Credit prequalification platform seamlessly integrated into the appraisal process, offering consumers an opportunity to see their credit score range by simply entering their name and address.
The companies pointed out this product alliance can provide benefits to both dealers and consumers, including:
— Dealers receive a full credit report including live FICO score providing valuable information to help close deals faster
— Consumers see their score range and have the opportunity to be pre-approved for financing.
“With the integration of prequalification data, coupled with the vehicle valuation from the TradeVue platform, dealers have excellent visibility into the equity position and credit profile of the consumer and will be able to provide a valid financing quote without the need for SSN or DOB, allowing for a shorter and more efficient sales cycle,” 700Credit managing director Ken Hill said in a news release. “We are very pleased to add TradeVue to our product alliance family.”
TradeVue chief executive officer and founder Derek White added, “We are extremely excited to work with 700Credit to offer soft pull capabilities within TradeVue to our dealer-partners. This feature, coupled with Text-My-Trade, QR Code mobile scans, and Spanish language conversion turns TradeVue into the ultimate retailing tool and lead-generator.”
Coming off a quarter that included the most profitable one in company history, Santander Consumer USA Holdings wants to keep its momentum by leveraging technology to serve customers throughout the credit spectrum.
Along with sharing its second-quarter results, this week SCUSA announced that it will debut an innovative digital auto finance experience that will streamline and enhance dealer interaction with the finance company and its customers.
The solution was developed with AutoFi, an established digital retail provider, to further Santander’s vision of simplifying the vehicle-buying experience.
According to a news release, SCUSA’s digital product suite will enable dealers to enjoy “self-service” across key vehicle underwriting interaction points with the finance company simply and effectively, enhancing dealers’ ability to deliver vehicles.
SCUSA highlighted the dealer digital experience includes tools to identify vehicles on a dealer’s lot that fit a consumer’s budget, as well as specifications to complete deals — streamlining the financing process.
The company went on to mention the consumer digital experience brings new “transaction-ready” vehicle shoppers to dealers in SCUSA’s network by enabling consumers to preview a dealer’s inventory online and identify vehicles they want — and can afford — before they visit the dealership.
Santander said in the news release that the digital offerings will be available to select dealers over the next several months with a national rollout planned for 2022.
“Dealers are our lifeblood and this ambitious step forward in our digital journey will make Santander Consumer easier to do business with and will allow dealers to complete transactions faster,” Santander Consumer USA president and chief executive officer Mahesh Aditya said.
“Giving dealers a state-of-the-art tool to self-service the loan decisioning process — while interacting in real-time with consumers across all spectrums of credit — will be a strategic differentiator for SC,” Aditya continued.
These initial products are the first releases in a multi-year partnership, according to the companies.
“This new technology we helped create for SC will lead to a better car buying experience for online customers,” AutoFi’s CEO Kevin Singerman. “The solution will also give dealers powerful tools to close sales faster than ever before.
“We believe this new digital solution will create a best-in-class dealer and consumer experience, increasing engagements, conversions and F&I excellence,” Singerman went on to say.
Santander Consumer USA emphasized that it continues to invest in making the financing experience as seamless as possible to the dealer community while improving the vehicle-buying experience for consumers across the credit spectrum.
And the pledge is showing in its quarterly results as its net income came in at $1.1 billion during Q2 as Santander originated 5,871,823 retail installment contracts for new and used vehicles during the three-month stretch that concluded June 30. The company also originated 2,067,741 vehicle leases.
“The second quarter was another exceptional quarter for us thanks to our team’s execution in a highly competitive market. We have positioned SC to benefit from the ongoing tailwinds with consumers and the overall auto industry,” Aditya said in another news release that included the Q2 financial report. “Demand for vehicles remains strong, as evidenced by our record originations in the quarter of $10.5 billion, despite the pressure of new-vehicle sales due to the chip shortage.
“For the first time in our company’s history, we experienced a net recovery for the quarter of $79 million supported by record used-car prices,” Aditya continued.
“The economic recovery is underway and we are encouraged by the strength of consumers and our portfolio’s performance,” Aditya went on to say. “However, the uncertainty with COVID persists and we are mindful of the potential impact going forward as we continue to remain disciplined in our approach. I am very optimistic about our Company’s position in the market, our portfolio and our employee’s ability to execute.”
In that other news release, SCUSA chief financial officer Fahmi Karam touched on a few other highlights of the company’s performance and current standing.
“Our strong performance, which included record net revenues and income, reflects the strength of our disciplined underwriting, dealer and OEM relationships and our team. More than $1 billion in net income represents the most profitable quarter in the company’s history and $1.8 billion in net income in the first half of the year is greater than any single full year,” Karam said.
“We have significant available liquidity and capital to continue to grow origination volumes and reinvest in the business. We remain focused on generating assets with strong risk-adjusted returns and managing operating expenses, while remaining attentive to the lingering effects of the pandemic on our customers and employees,” Karam added.
Repossessions agents now can secure more than just personal property from inside a repossessed vehicle.
On Wednesday, the American Recovery Association (ARA) announced a partnership with Privacy4Cars, a technology company focused on identifying and resolving data privacy issues across the automotive ecosystem, to offer a suite of privacy, safety, security, and compliance services for its clients.
ARA acknowledged awareness of an industry-wide concern with the personal data stored in the electronic systems of repossessed vehicles. As technology continues to advance, vehicles will store growing amounts of nonpublic personal information (NPI), which may be accessed, without the knowledge or consent of the previous vehicle user, by future occupants. This may include sensitive personal information such as detailed geolocation, home address, garage codes, text messages, phone contacts, personal identifiers, biometrics and more.
Not deleting NPI is a risk, considering the many federal and state laws regulating privacy, data security, data breach, data retention and biometrics, according to a news release from ARA.
“When auto finance companies repossess a vehicle, they end up owning the NPI stored in the asset, and consequently have to put administrative, technical, and physical safeguards in place to ensure the privacy and security of customers’ information.” Privacy4Cars chief executive officer and founder Andrea Amico said in the news release.
“A growing number of manufacturers’ privacy policies state that the NPI stored in vehicles must be removed at handoffs to prevent future owners from gaining unauthorized access to customers’ sensitive data,” Amico continued.
With repossessions, this responsibility clearly falls on the lender, which is why we applaud the American Recovery Association who, through this partnership, is looking out to the best interest of both consumers and the auto finance community they serve,” he went on to say.
Under this new partnership, ARA now can offer its clients safety nets and protections to improve customer experience, reduce risk, and extend data governance across vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
“We are excited to work closely in partnership with Privacy4Cars,” ARA president Dave Kennedy said. “This initiative will allow ARA members to feel secure in regard to their ability to protect the consumers’ privacy, and receive standardized records proving their data protection and record disposal policies are regularly enacted.”
For more information, contact ARA executive director Les McCook at homeoffice@americanrecoveryassn.org.
Allied Solutions is continuing to forge industry relationships aimed at enhancing output for all firms involved.
The newest one with Tracers — a cloud-based public and private records research software — is designed to create an “all-in-one” resource for improving collections and repossession with comprehensive consumer data and delinquency management tools.
Tracers includes a wide variety of tools in its proprietary public and private records database to help financial institutions save time, cut costs and maintain compliance throughout the entire collections cycle.
To increase right-party contact with contract holders and lower overall delinquency rates, the service providers highlighted that finance companies can access comprehensive reports on both people and assets.
Along with offering customizable searching solutions that can be tailored to fit each client’s unique needs, Allied Solutions and Tracers also are collaborating to ease the burden of compliance by enforcing and monitoring security regulations through credentialing and other procedures.
“Like Allied, Tracers seeks to arm credit unions, banks, and financial institutions with the solutions they need to boost revenue and minimize risk,” Tracers chief revenue officer Shauna Gaus said in a news release.
“As a proud partner of Allied Solutions, we will offer Allied clients Tracers powerful data for efficient and effective collections and repossession tools,” Gaus continued. “We look forward to working with the Allied team to find the solution that best fits their clients’ business.”
In another news release, Allied Solutions announced that it has teamed up with Illinois Bankers Business Services (IBBS) the for-profit division of the Illinois Bankers Association (IBA).
Allied Solutions indicated this partnership has helped the Illinois banking community successfully deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning through www.interface.ai, which has several decades of experience building enterprise-grade technology for financial institutions.
The company highlighted that its Intelligent Virtual Assistant has already enabled financial institutions across the world to achieve greater efficiencies in their top-line and bottom-line while ensuring the best customer experience.
With the tool, Allied Solutions noted that financial institutions are automating 60% of call center volume within 60 days, ensuring consumers have access to their financial services provider 24/7 with zero wait times, seeing a 500% increase in online application conversion, a 30% increase in average revenue per customer and experiencing 0% call abandonment rates.
“We are living in a digital world where 24×7 access and self-service options are a must for all organizations providing financial services. Allied Solutions and IBBS are excited to partner with interface.ai to help aid our mutual clients in meeting their consumers where they’re at, retaining revenue and enhancing efficiencies,” Allied Solutions chief executive officer Pete Hilger said.
IBBS president Brian Hoffman added, “We are excited to partner with Allied Solutions and interface.ai to help expand their relationships across Illinois and help propel our banks to be digital leaders.”
As an added benefit, Hoffman also said IBA members will receive 10% off the licensing fees.
