AUSTIN, Texas — Space City CU here is giving Craigslist a run for its money with a new, free online auto marketplace for members.
Known as Members Private Sale, the "software as a service" product is intended to serve as a lead generation system to boost CUs' auto loan volumes, leases, and ancillary products associated with car purchases. For members, it also provides a fully integrated vehicle listing with a free Auto Check report, auto-population of Kelly Bluebook data, condition reports, social media integration for sales optimization and more. The site also provides guaranteed offers for sellers through a third-party service which allows users the option to sell their car quickly, among other services.
Space City CU is an early adopter of the service, and CEO Craig Rohden said in a statement that Space City has "been excited about the opportunities this tool offers for both the credit union and our members. Ultimately, this is a terrific lead-gen tool for our loan officers, and provides us with an opportunity to engage our members directly."
Rohden also cited the social media component, which "provides us with a dialog and relevant content to drive member-to-member engagement that was missing before."
Space City CU currently has more than $64 million in assets and serves 8,400 members. It has been using MPS in its beta phase, but the service is expected to roll out to CUs throughout Texas during 2014 and gradually expand nationally after that, depending on market response.
