CARY, N.C. –

A quartet of auto finance technology firms collaborated this week on a pair of relationships aimed at enhancing both originations and payments.

First, Payix and Nortridge Software announced they formed a strategic alliance to help finance companies connect with their borrowers and improve their ability to collect payments. The alliance is geared to allow Payix to offer real-time integration between its suite of collections tools and the Nortridge Loan System (NLS).

Then, AutoGravity announced a partnership with CarFinance.com, a direct to consumer online finance company that is an affiliate of Flagship Credit Acceptance. The partnership is designed to give qualified users access to even more financing options through the AutoGravity digital platform.

Both developments come at time when the latest report generated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York declared that 2016 officially represented the year of the highest auto finance originations — at least in the 18-year history of the data officials obtained from Equifax.

Payix’s collections tools include its intuitive, engaging and affordable mobile collections application, as well as web, interactive voice response (IVR), text and collector portal applications. Nortridge explained that its clients can add the Payix solutions to their existing collections tools with virtually no IT work on their part and in just a few weeks’ time.

“Lenders are always striving for ways to improve collections,” Nortridge Software president and chief executive officer Greg Hindson said. “The integration between Nortridge and Payix makes it easy for borrowers to pay anywhere and anytime — benefiting both borrowers and lenders.”

Executives went on to men