Pelican Auto Finance will soon offer pay-by-text to its customers after partnering with Solutions by Text, Chief Compliance Officer Joel Kennedy told Auto Finance News. This is part of a wholesale upgrade of its merchant services toward a self-service philosophy for customers, he added.
“It’s about customer self-service, making everything as mobile as possible,” Kennedy said. Federal regulation allows lenders to text a consumer one time without consent, which Pelican used to request opt-ins from customers for the text payment feature, he added.
“At 90%, we had a very high adoption rate,” Kennedy added. He clarified that while the initial text would be automated, it would not exceed one per day, after which a lack of customer reply would merit a phone call at appropriate hours. “I feel like we’re just scratching the surface of a whole world of mobile-focused collections,” Kennedy said.
Prestige Financial Services and Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. also implemented text features for consumer communication in late April.
