Strengthening motor finance through smarter vehicle verification
There was a time when car buyers looked through Autotrader magazine to find a decent second-hand Ford Sierra on their home patch. But Autotrader’s vast resource of vehicle data has long since developed into a valuable tool for the motor finance profession. In particular, it allows lenders to check whether a car underpinning a finance agreement is everything it’s supposed to be.
Autotrader was always a digital pioneer – it launched its first website in 1996 (two years before Google) and switched from its print heritage to a 100% focus on online content and data in 2013. The team at Lenvi has since developed a successful track record of working with Autotrader to build trust and reassurance for both lenders and their funders.
We achieve this through our PF1 lending platform, which is compatible with reliable third-party plug-ins that provide lenders with additional verification. When we plug Autotrader into a client’s PF1, they are able to check vehicle provenance for any potential issues such as stolen markers, write-off history or outstanding finance. It’s an extra level of security that interrogates the information supplied by customers seeking finance – and one of a suite of options open to our clients.
The partnership with Autotrader is all part of Lenvi’s strategy to enhance client services through our ecosystem of partner integrations – spanning everything from payment tools and digital communications to decision systems and risk analysis.
And that ecosystem has just evolved a little further as we’re now also integrating Autotrader into Lenvi ALVIN – our pioneering automated loan verification system. Given recent high-profile cases of alleged lender fraud in the UK and US, this provides an extra level of reassurance for funders that the loan portfolio they’re investing in is further protected from the risk of double-pledging. The funder simply provides key information such as the credit box, advance rate, covenants and tolerance for a penny difference, and ALVIN then enforces that every night across the entire portfolio, with the reconciliation of every remittance (and up to 11 independent verifications).
“The collaboration with Lenvi works well for us as we’re both committed to building transparency in the market,” says James Standing, Head of Finance Partnerships at Autotrader. “Plugging our vehicle check and valuations services into PF1 and ALVIN brings valuable reassurance to funders and lenders that loans are properly matched to fully verified vehicles. And while the consumer taking the loan out will be largely unaware that these precautions have been taken, it also protects them and helps to keep lending competitive.
“Autotrader is the UKs leading vehicle marketplace, evolving from a print magazine in 1977 into a tech-led, data-driven digital ecosystem that underpins the modern UK car-buying and selling experience. We look forward to continuing to work with Lenvi to drive transparency and trust across auto finance lending.”
To find out more about how Lenvi can help you bring the benefits of Autotrader verification to your loan portfolio, get in touch with our team.