Pelican Auto Finance plans to release a new smartphone app in the fourth quarter, as a result of ubiquitous mobility in the subprime lending space, Compliance Chief Joel Kennedy said. “We’re blowing past web design and going right for the mobile — we’re giving the website a second seat,” he said.
The app is in its “build-up stage,” but Pelican will decide what new developments it will feature in August, he added. The app is part of a broader move to expand further into the customer-centric digital environment, Kennedy explained.
This comes at the heels of the company’s introducing a text opt-ins for compliance inquiries with customers, which has been very successful, according to Kennedy. “All the new texts we sent out had the same questions — whether they are regarding delinquency, posting a check, or if a credit card didn’t roll through — and we had a low opt-out percentage,” he said. “That shows there’s an appetite for the customers. If there were high opt-outs, we would simply be annoying them.”
The lender is also considering the possibility of e-statements, to reduce the firm’s letters and remittance costs. “Customers can opt-in to receive statements in electronic format. As we progress we might present it as HTML, where a user could click through and manage their entire account,” Kennedy explained.
Pelican is also working to incorporate two-way messaging functionality into the app, which will allow communication between an agent and a borrower, similar to Facebook Messenger, Kennedy said.
