Dover Federal Credit Union changed its rate sheet this summer to include an automatic payment discount for members, Consumer Lending Manager Brad Fielder told Auto Finance News.
“We aligned ourselves with our branches to where the branches as well as indirect dealers can offer an auto-transfer discount,” he said. “There is an addendum dealers can have members sign, send to us, and members can get a discount from the dealership and through our branches. We are keeping ourselves more focused on working with [dealers] as partners.”
Dover Federal Credit Union has a smart application through CU Direct’s Credit Union Direct Lending program where all auto loans go through the dealerships. “When a member comes to [Dover Federal] directly, it transfers to the dealer,” Fielder said. “Instead of taking the application internally, we are putting the application through CUDL’s Smart Approval program in the branch and that comes over to our indirect team.”
On June 1, Dover Federal made strategic changes to its rate sheet to “gear everything” to the Smart Approval program, Fielder said. “Instead of it being branch-based, it’s individual-based. … We have been marketing the Smart Approval program better to branch representatives in order for them to utilize it and send everything to the dealerships. We are working with our dealerships and not against them.”
The Dover, Del.-based credit union has seven branch locations and makes loans for 42 dealers, up from 38 dealers in November 2016.
