Called AutoScan, the technology allows prospective customers with a mobile phone to gain prompt access to finance and apply it at the dealership to buy a new or used vehicle.

Buyers using the AutoScan app can get finance approval and settlement in as little as under 60 minutes. The service can  be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week without needing any input from dealership staff.

Speaking to GoAutoNews Premium after the AADA conference, MoneyMe Autopay partnership director Alex Luther said he is seeing 40 per cent of finance for top dealer partners coming through Autopay.

Mr Luther said that Autopay has been introduced in the dealerships over the past 12 months and was “showing some great traction” and was increasing finance conversion because of “the product’s accessibility and ease of use by customers”.

“From a dealers’ perspective, AutoScan puts them at the forefront of the technology wave that’s coming into the industry. It means that they can adapt our technology and start promoting how tech savvy they are without having to consider building an app.

“They can leverage our technology offering something that is unique to a customer and a finance solution that offers a conditional approval in a matter of seconds.”

AutoScan gives customers a summary of a repayment plan for vehicles offered by the dealership – including their interest rate and monthly repayments to see if the vehicle fits their budgets.

“We’re in testing at the moment and expect to launch between July and September this year,” said Mr Luther.

“It will be available to any dealer using Autopay, so all of our existing dealer partners will get immediate access to the AutoScan feature and the same will apply to any new dealer partner once they sign up.”

The AutoScan feature applies to most cars, SUVs, vans and utes that Autopay currently funds.

“At the moment, we do not fund trucks, trailers, motorbikes and recreational vehicles such as caravans,” he said.

“Other asset types are not a focus of ours at the moment as we already have a phenomenal product that is outperforming our competitors and disrupting the industry. We want to build on this and focus on expansion within this niche.”

Mr Luther said it was too early to confirm if AutoScan could be offered to dealership groups as a white-label product. 

“We had lots of people trying to get their hands on a white-label product within the first few months after we launched Autopay,” he said.

“We’ll take the same approach with AutoScan as we have with Autopay. We’ll build its name and capability in the market, then we would be open to have conversations further down the track once we are comfortable with its presence in the marketplace.”

AutoScan is said to be the first of its kind. It was developed in Australia with the concept adopted after seeing the potential of augmented reality used by products such as Google Maps.

The application was merged with the ability in NSW for people to scan vehicle registration plates to gain details such as whether the vehicle is licensed or not via the Service NSW app.

“The technology, in certain parts, has already been out there,” said Mr Luther.

“It was just connecting the pieces and trying to figure out what the best user experience would be for our customers and dealer partners.

“We already collect the data from existing integrations and the AI that we use can provide monthly repayments data – the rest was just getting creative on how to deliver something unique for our industry.”

Mr Luther said Autopay’s top-tier partners are ready to start testing AutoScan, with the next step to take it to a live environment with select dealers.

By Neil Dowling