New Service Approves Auto Loans in 15 Seconds On-line
17 November 1998
New Service Approves Auto Loans in 15 Seconds On-line, AAA Says
ORLANDO, Fla.--Nov. 17, 1998--How long did you have to wait for approval the last time you applied for a car loan? A day? A week?
How about 15 seconds?
A new online service from AAA Financial Services allows users to apply for an auto loan and get credit approval in as little as 15 seconds in some cases, AAA said of the Web site at www.financial.aaa.com.
Currently, 15-20 percent of submitted applications are approved online within 15 seconds, and "we are enhancing the software to make more decisions when the application is submitted," said Scott Denman, strategic planning and development director for AAA Financial Services. He said that online approvals could be as high as 70 percent within a year.
AAA Financial Services' partner, PNC Bank, developed the application which features 128-bit encryption, the highest form of security. PNC's system enables 90 percent of AAA members to access and complete the application without a browser upgrade, a time-consuming step.
"This is one of the first sites on the Internet that gives customers fast approval online," said Denman. "Most online applications are e-mailed to a financial institution and then re-keyed into their computer system."
This new service speeds up the process by eliminating that step, and instead feeds the user's information directly into a decision model. Users are then informed by e-mail if they have been approved.
"If more information is needed, the computer directs the customer to call a toll-free number to check on their application status," said Denman.
Also cutting down on customer waiting time is the ability to print loan documents and a check at a AAA branch office. "More than 100 AAA offices are capable of receiving the approved loan documents from our financial services provider on a printer in the office," said Denman. "All the customer has to do is go to the AAA office, sign the papers and pick up their check." The documents and check can also be sent by overnight mail to the applicant's home. Plans are to have remote printing capability in another 11 AAA offices within a month.
To apply online, users access the website, enter their zip code, then click on a banner that reads, "Apply Online for Lightning Fast Auto Loans." After filling out the brief, user-friendly application, applicants simply click on "continue."
If approval is immediate, users are notified with an "approved" message on their computer screen. A follow-up e-mail with approval notification and the loan reference number is usually sent within one hour.
This service is considered a first step in providing customers the capability to transact business on the AAA Financial Services' Web site. Other projects on the online horizon for AAA Financial Services include financial applications such as credit card and consumer loans; deposit accounts including CDs, money market and checking accounts; and Web banking.
AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 93 clubs with 1,100 offices providing more than 41 million members in the United States and Canada with services such as travel, insurance, financial and auto-related.
PNC Bank, FSB, member FDIC, and its affiliates are the providers of financial products and services for the AAA Financial Services program.
AAA news releases can be downloaded from http://www.aaa.com/news