Credit unions on iLendingDirect’s consultant platform will now be able to digitally originate loans from a dealer’s website through AutoFi, the companies announced in a press release today.
Typically, iLendingDirect focuses on refinancing, but its consultants also help teach consumers about the financing process, set them up with financing for company car fleets, and assist in buying out an auto lease. This partnership appears to signal a shift for iLendingDirect into helping originate used-car loans through its conglomerate of credit unions.
iLendingDirect has previously been a middle-man helpline between consumers and financial institutions. However, in its capacity on AutoFi, iLendingDirect will operate in the background to connect consumers with up to 10 credit unions, an AutoFi spokesman told Auto Finance News. The platform will also not include iLendingDirect’s consultation services, he added.
iLendingDirect did not comment by press time.
“People want buying a car to be fast, straight forward, and more transparent,” said Kevin Singerman, chief executive of AutoFi. “That’s why AutoFi is working with lenders and dealerships to make the process easier through online sales and financing. Bringing iLendingDirect’s network of credit unions onto the AutoFi platform means consumers will have even more competitive financing options to choose from when purchasing a car online.”
AutoFi first entered the used-car digital origination space by providing its own internal financing but has since shifted to outside lenders. In January, the company added new vehicle originations to its platform through a partnership with Ford Motor Credit Co., and is now in the midst of a nationwide rollout to Ford franchise dealers.
Partnering with iLendingDirect will bring at least 10 credit unions onto the platform who are focused — although not exclusively so — on used-vehicle originations, Singerman told AFN, prior to the announcement.
“We built a platform that can enable an online or digital [in-store] transaction around both new and used,” Singerman told AFN. “Used financing is a much more fragmented market, and so we need to build a strong array of lenders to support the used car business.”