NASHVILLE — Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. recently received the Auto Finance Excellence Award, which was presented to the company for its e-leasing efforts during the Auto Finance Summit Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas.

"Perseverance is the key word when considering Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.'s e-leasing initiative," explained J.J. Hornblass, chairman of the Auto Finance Summit.

"NMAC has been more than just at the forefront of the industry's technology. It has been an evangelist for moving forward for trying to reinvent the status quo," Hornblass continued.

E-leasing offers customers an easier and faster process for filling out contracts. It also eliminates many of the errors that can occur when filling out contracts the traditional way with pen and paper. For dealers, e-leasing can improve cash flow, lower compliance issues, reduce contracts in transit and improve customer service, officials highlighted.

"Even though e-leasing has been a big challenge from the start, its value to NMAC and to our dealers has been evident from the very beginning," said Jeff Edwards, vice president of operations at NMAC.

"We are proud to be paving the way with this new technology and to be recognized by the finance industry," he added.

NMAC said it started e-leasing in July of this year and is currently in five states. The company plans to expand the program to another seven states by the end of the year.

In addition to e-leasing, NMAC noted that it has been processing retail contracts electronically since the summer of 2004. About 50 percent of Nissan and Infiniti dealerships in the U.S. utilize that service, executives concluded.