DealerCentric Debuts Mobile App for Auto Loan Preapprovals

Technology provider DealerCentric Solutions has created a mobile app that generates loan preapprovals ― untied to any specific lender.

The mobile version of DealerCentric’s “Get Pre-Approved in Seconds” app ― available for tablets and smartphones ― allows car shoppers to apply for financing for a specific vehicle in a particular dealer’s inventory. Essentially, the consumer supplies his name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address, and the app churns out a qualified preapproval for the vehicle.

DealerCentric’s new app is essentially the mobile version of the company’s “Get Pre-Approved in Seconds” platform, which has been around for years. The company says the app is the only auto credit app to include “Mobile Detect,” a system that formats the application automatically when it is accessed from a mobile device.

Maybe a more telling differentiator about the app is the fact that it’s not tied to any specific lender. Typically, auto finance apps are developed by lenders, so preapprovals hinge on the developing lender’s underwriting guidelines. In DealerCentric’s case, dealers forward the resulting loan applications to the lenders in their networks. (To that end, DealerCentric’s preapprovals include disclaimers that protect dealers should there be circumstances in which initial offers cannot be met.)

Might DealerCentric’s ability to keep the dealer involved in the process be the key to a successful app?