USAA Bank Tees Up Subscription Services at Auto Experience Lab

USAA Bank’s Auto Experience Lab is working to enter the subscription service market, but even after seven years of development, rollout for that service is still “under the queue of projects to complete,” James Spears, assistant vice president at USAA Auto Experience, told Auto Finance News.

Much of the work in the lab is dedicated to the way mobility as a service is taking over car ownership. The lender received a U.S. patent in 2014, three years after submitting the plans for a fleet subscription-management service.

While USAA declined to provide a timeline for when this service might be available, a bank spokeswoman says the patent is part of USAA’s intellectual property portfolio and is currently being considered for testing or working with a partner.

Meanwhile, USAA continues to build out the auto finance components of its mobile banking app, which includes discounts for vehicles, tires, and repair. “We know what capabilities we’re going to deliver to our members, because we have focus groups and they tell us what they want next,” Spears said. “We’re doing member research, we’re taking those ideas and delivering them in a very disciplined way within software iterations.”

Members can access exclusive discounts from BMW, Fiat Chrysler Auto, Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Mercedes-Benz. “Part of the way we present [offers] to the member is through services like ‘Your Garage,’” Spears said, referring to a personalized service within the app.

“If you were to click on the ‘My Vehicles’ tab, [feature] we’ve built in offerings,” he added. For instance, Goodyear provides tire discounts, and RepairPal offers maintenance promos especially for USAA members. “We’re able to capture exclusive agreements with OEMs to provide incentives on leasing and purchasing and offer it to members in their car search,” Spears said.