LAS VEGAS – CUDL on Wednesday showed off its newest technology – known as the SMART Approval program – during the Auto & Mortgage Lending Symposium it is co-hosting here with Prime Alliance.
Tony Boutelle, CUDL’s president and CEO, told Credit Union Journal SMART Approval is a widget that will sit on a credit union’s website with “Get pre-approved” as a call to action. “We have done a really good job of creating a system that is efficient in originating loans at the dealership, but this new program allows credit unions to involve their current members more,” he explained. “We are trying to get credit unions focused on reaching their members as normal consumers. A J.D. Power survey found 83% of people who buy a car expect to take care of financing at the dealer. A small number come with pre-approvals, but half of those get flipped to other financing.”
According to CUDL, SMART Approval enables credit unions to provide their members with a simple and convenient online pre-approval application and loan decision, through the credit union’s website, that streamlines the overall loan process and eliminates member inconvenience of waiting for a loan decision at the dealership.
“Members no longer have to fill out a loan application at the dealer, which skips a lot of the car-buying process and makes for a better member experience,” Boutelle said.
