Bank of America is aiming to offer a “game-changing mobile experience” with its new online, direct lending platform, Duane Freeman, the bank’s national sales executive, told AFN.
“It connects our customers who have expressed a clear interest in purchasing a car with our high-quality dealer network efficiently and effectively,” Freeman said. “Consumers are in control throughout the process and can get approved for their new car, shop real-time inventory from dealers and decide which participating dealer they want to ultimately purchase their vehicle from.”
On the dealer side, participating dealers can then leverage their CRM processes to receive the lead, support the customer throughout the sales experience, and close the deal “quickly and efficiently” he added.
The portal, which launched in early April, is currently being piloted in select mid-Atlantic states and plans to launch nationwide following testing, David Hollodick, senior vice president of consumer vehicle lending and product executive for the bank’s dealer financial services division, previously told AFN.
“This is the next step in our value proposition,” Hollodick said. “Consumers want to take more control, they want to do their research, they want to understand what their options are, and have a greater level of transparency.”
The pilot started in the Southeast region — “principally in South Carolina” — where the bank partners with more than 200 dealers and hopes to onboard as many to the pilot as possible, Hollodick said. Consumers in these areas can access the pilot directly from the company’s app or online.
“We believe we have built a game-changing mobile experience that benefits both our clients and our dealer network,” Freeman said.
Freeman will speak more about how technology is changing the auto finance landscape at the Auto Finance Innovation event on May 18. He will join executives from Silicon Valley Bank and Trinity Ventures for a panel discussion entitled, “Investing in Innovation,” at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego. To learn more about the event — or to register — click here.
