While claiming that a “majority” of the nation’s top auto finance companies already leverage its employment verification service, Equifax unveiled its newest technology platform during the recent National Automobile Dealers Association Convention.

Equifax highlighted AutoConnect can enable partners to deliver credit, marketing, risk and verification solutions seamlessly to their clients.

“AutoConnect will help partners pursue opportunities across all segments of the automotive ecosystem," said Kathi Mehall, vice president of technology for automotive services at Equifax.

“It uses auto-specific APIs (application programing interfaces) based on the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) to help streamline partners' implementation and deployment of Equifax data and services,” Mehall continued.

With the automotive industry experiencing significant growth and evolution in the consumer online shopping experience the last several years,  Equifax explained that it’s making this crucial investment to deliver a platform as well as capabilities that allow partners to quickly deliver the next generation of solutions to their customers.

Recent partner, CreditMiner, a consumer qualification solution provider, announced it will be leveraging Equifax real-time technology platforms and data to empower delivery of their products.

“CreditMiner is committed to providing automotive retailers with transparent, and financial-driven solutions that allow dealers to increase profitability and decrease exposure to compliance burdens and potential violations,” said Don O’Neill, vice president of sales and marketing at CreditMiner.

“Equifax is a trusted brand and is renowned for innovation,” O’Neill continued. “We are excited to partner with their automotive team and look forward to delivering on our commitment to our customers.”

Equifax also mentioned AutoConnect can provide third parties access to unique data from the company, such as verification of income and employment, which is accessible through an API designed for the auto industry.  Equifax vice president of marketing for automotive services Scott McMahon stressed this availability can open up new opportunities for partners who deliver solutions to dealers, lenders and OEMs and help to propel their business forward.

“Innovative and secure, the AutoConnect platform will be a cornerstone of all our auto marketing solutions — including the ones we have launched and those that we are developing for future deployment,” McMahon said.

“Our ongoing investment in AutoConnect will enable growth for our partners' business, with particular focus in the upfront marketing, online and consumer qualification space,” he went on to say.

Unique Income and Employment Information through Equifax

While not a new platform like AutoConnect, Equifax highlighted that within the last 24 months, a “majority” of the nation's top auto finance lenders have leveraged The Work Number to enhance a critical component of the loan origination process. 

The Work Number is owned by Equifax, and is one of the largest database of employer-direct payroll records. The tool can provide income and employment information in seconds to banks, mortgage companies, dealerships and other entities when authorized by the consumer, and utilized in compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations.

Within a hypercompetitive auto finance market, Equifax acknowledged that finance companies are working to improve their capture rates, efficiency and ensure accurate risk assessment without having to continually reduce interest rates and/or increase terms and loan-to-value (LTV).

In many cases today, Equifax’s Lou Loquasto pointed out the deciding factor for finance companies winning deals is not tied exclusively to rate, but rather, the institution with the fewest stipulations and the fastest decision times.

Loquasto, who is the auto finance leader at Equifax, explained the company’s income and employment verification via The Work Number can empower finance companies to quickly clear stipulations through instant direct access to unique data that is updated with each pay period.  He said this process can result in more efficient loan applications through the elimination of cumbersome, manual processes while also reducing overall risk by mitigating fraud associated with income overstatement.

“The leading auto lenders are recognizing that Equifax provides a tangible, competitive advantage in securing and closing loans,” Loquasto said.  "Additionally, more and more lenders are venturing into the subprime market, and they will need new data sources to improve risk mitigation.

“We see the accelerated rate of adoption for our income and employment verifications as indicative of the market need to increase loan volumes without sacrificing rate, structure or quality,” he went on to say.

Equifax Expands Automotive Team

In other company news, Equifax shared during the NADA Convention that the company expaned its automotive services team.

Industry professionals Angelica Jeffreys and John Giamalvo joined Equifax to add decades of real-world automotive expertise to an already seasoned team of industry veterans.  Jeffreys came on board as vice president and automotive dealer leader and Giamalvo is now as vice president of dealer services.

Jeffreys brings more than 25 years of automotive experience to the Equifax auto leadership team, with an impressive track record of driving growth and improving business performance. As vice president and automotive dealer leader, her responsibilities include developing a tactical plan to inform and support the auto strategy for dealers, as well as identifying and implementing key growth drivers.

Prior to Equifax, Jeffreys was vice president of strategic partnerships for DealerRater where she negotiated, closed and executed substantive alliances. Before DealerRater, she held several sales leadership roles at Cox Automotive’s AutoTrader.com.

Giamalvo joins Equifax as vice president of dealer services with an extensive background in the automotive market. He will oversee the collaboration among top national dealer groups and enterprise alliances to provide auto insights and solutions to help dealers acquire, engage and facilitate efficient transactions with consumers, both on and offline.

Prior to joining Equifax, Giamalvo served as director of dealer initiatives for Edmunds.com and appeared as a regular industry commentator on multiple national media outlets. He also held leadership positions at BarNone (a division of CoreLogic), AutoNation and Star Auto Group.

“Expanding our team is a direct reflection of both our successes in 2014 and our continued commitment to support the automotive industry, and we plan to stay in lock-step with the market's upward trajectory,” said Gary Hughes, general manager of automotive services at Equifax.

“Automotive Services at Equifax is dedicated to finding innovative ways to solve for real-world pain points — because our auto solutions are built by auto people who have spent their careers working directly in the business,” Hughes continued. “We expect 2015 to be an even stronger year for auto and we’re confident that with Angelica and John’s extensive backgrounds, our auto business will have the best tools and consumer insights needed to succeed in a highly competitive market.”