Invigors publishes report on selecting agreement automation platforms

A detailed report has been published to help guide financial services companies through the key stages of buying agreement automation software to digitise customer onboarding. The new guide, called Agreement Automation for Customer Onboarding RFP Guide, is aimed at financial services companies looking for technology that can automate the end-to-end customer agreement process, and comes with a template RFP in an excel spreadsheet containing best practice suggestions for questions to include to find the best providers.

Invigors publishes report on selecting agreement automation platforms

Jul 19, 2018

Wesleyan Bank hires head of indirect sales

Wesleyan Bank, a specialist provider of commercial finance solutions, has appointed David Brownbill as its new head of indirect sales. Brownbill joins from Paragon Asset Finance and has 28 years’ experience in a variety of senior corporate finance positions. Prior to joining Paragon, Brownbill spent seven years as regional director at Santander Asset Finance and he has also held sales management roles with GE Capital and Royal Bank of Scotland in which he recruited and developed asset finance teams.

Wesleyan Bank hires head of indirect sales

Jul 19, 2018

New European fleet management association sets out detail on how it will work

The founding members of the not-for-profit European Fleet and Mobility Management Association (EUFMA) have agreed on how the organisation will collaborate in the future. The founder members met during the Global Fleet Conference in Rome at the end of May this year and agreed that the EUFMA will be headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. Each of the national associations will elect a representative to serve as a member of the board, which coordinates the association’s activities.

New European fleet management association sets out detail on how it will work

Jul 19, 2018

Crossing the ‘uncanny valley’ – A new era of machine-human engagement

The latest developments in machine-human engagement can offer auto finance customers an ‘almost human’ experience that could transform service levels. Meet Rachel, a ‘digital human’ created by Soul Machines as part of its work with IBM to enable greater levels of face-to-face interaction in business. According to chief business officer Greg Cross: “Humans can communicate in lots of ways. But when we actually want to have important conversations we always do those face to face.” Delegates at the Auto Captive Summit, hosted by global finance technology supplier White Clarke Group, were able to see Rachel first-hand during a presentation by Toby Woolfe, industry solutions business development executive at IBM.

Crossing the ‘uncanny valley’ – A new era of machine-human engagement

Jul 17, 2018

Alfa's hackathon drives culture of innovation

Global software company Alfa has held its second UK Hackathon to drive innovation and new ideas within the business. Staff from Alfa UK worked in teams over two days - some through the night - on projects of their choosing. Prizes were awarded to all category winners, with some given the opportunity to take their ideas forward into the development phase. The only requirements were innovation and collaboration.

Alfa's hackathon drives culture of innovation

Jul 17, 2018

Sharp increase in restaurateurs bridging finance gap to keep businesses afloat

The UK restaurant industry has seen a 49% increase in the amount of money loaned by restaurant directors to their own businesses to keep them afloat, rising to £192 million last year. According to data from Companies House that has been analysed by Funding Options, the SME finance specialist, the majority of loans are from directors running small and medium sized restaurants, who can often struggle to access traditional bank lending. Directors of smaller restaurant companies may be forced to increase their lending further in the near future, as a result of the impact of Brexit related uncertainties on consumer spending.

Sharp increase in restaurateurs bridging finance gap to keep businesses afloat

Jul 19, 2018

Societe Generale appoints Claire Calmejane as chief innovation officer

Societe Generale has appointed Claire Calmejane as chief innovation officer to help drive its digital transformation. She will report to chief executive officer Frédéric Oudéa. Calmejane's mission will be to foster an innovation culture in the company and identify new business developments and services for customers.

Societe Generale appoints Claire Calmejane as chief innovation officer

Jul 17, 2018

The digitalisation challenge – how auto finance companies need to respond

A skilled, diverse workforce is the key to successfully tackling the digitalisation challenge. By having different views and different backgrounds, a company can broaden its horizons and introduce new ideas and an enthusiasm for innovation that will lay the foundations for companies to adapt to change. According to Andy Denton, CEO of global financial software giant Alfa, companies need a cultural shift to embrace the potential of digitalisation.

The digitalisation challenge – how auto finance companies need to respond

Jun 25, 2018

Asset finance isn’t overheating. It’s just demonstrating the normal cut and thrust of the market

The UK asset finance market is mature and generally stable. Some might even say it’s slightly boring (but we don’t listen to them). So, after the Financial Times ran a feature article, ‘Banks warn about overheating UK asset finance market’, reporting a view that rising competition in the UK’s asset finance market is “pushing down profit margins and encouraging increasingly risky practices in the loosely regulated sector”, it seems worth taking a step back to consider the claims.

Asset finance isn’t overheating. It’s just demonstrating the normal cut and thrust of the market

Jul 17, 2018

Societe Generale Equipment Finance leads Leaseurope ranking of top leasing companies

Leasing industry association Leaseurope has revealed its annual ranking of the largest European leasing companies and named Societe Generale Equipment Finance as the largest company. The ranking provides a yearly update on new leasing volumes and portfolios of the largest leasing firms in Europe. Companies are ranked according to the value of their new contracts in 2017. Societe General Equipment Finance, including ALD Automotive, reported nearly 600,000 new contracts and more than €19 billion of new business.

Societe Generale Equipment Finance leads Leaseurope ranking of top leasing companies

Jul 16, 2018

British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association launches Plug-In Pledge

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has launched an ambitious ‘Plug-in Pledge’ to get hundreds of thousands of plug-in vehicles registered by 2025. The association says its members will be buying 300,000 plug-in vehicles a year within the next six years, which will see their total fleet size of zero-emission capable cars and vans surge from the current level of 50,000 to 720,000. BVRLA members and their customers will in future account for 60% of new plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicle registrations, association executives say.

British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association launches Plug-In Pledge

Jul 16, 2018

NETSOL secures Asian auto captive deal after strong start to year

Global business services and enterprise application solutions provider NETSOL Technologies has secured a multi-million dollar agreement to increase support for a major auto captive in Asia. NETSOL will deploy its NFS Ascent platform, including loan origination and contract management, with the unnamed existing customer, which is an international tier-one finance business with a multi-billion dollar loan portfolio.

NETSOL secures Asian auto captive deal after strong start to year

Jul 12, 2018

Ford of Britain launches direct online car sales channel

Ford of Britain has launched a direct-to-customer online sales channel. Users of the site can set a budget, obtain a part exchange value, review and choose cars, then arrange finance online and order. Consumers can select delivery either from a local dealership or direct to a location of their choice.

Ford of Britain launches direct online car sales channel

Jul 13, 2018

LeasePlan joins global Zero Emission Vehicle Challenge

Car-as-a-service provider LeasePlan has become a founding partner of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Challenge, a new global coalition to increase uptake of cleaner transport. The aim of the ZEV Challenge is to bring together local authorities, cities, businesses and organisations to send a clear signal to the automotive industry about the increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

LeasePlan joins global Zero Emission Vehicle Challenge

Jul 13, 2018

CWB National Leasing wins excellence award

CWB National Leasing has been awarded the 2018 Operations and Technology Excellence Award by the US Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). The Operations and Technology Excellence Award is presented to equipment leasing and finance companies that have demonstrated best practice in developing and implementing innovative uses of technology or creative business processes to improve operations, enhance customer interactions, enter new markets and build overall ROI.

CWB National Leasing wins excellence award

Jul 13, 2018

Lack of communication impacts fleet financing

Fleet Advantage, a specialist in truck fleet business analytics, equipment financing, and lifecycle cost management, has warned of a significant lack of communication between fleet operations and finance departments, which means that many organizations with a private fleet are failing to achieve the full financial benefits of leasing. Over one-third (38%) of fleet executives surveyed said their largest communications struggle was the inability of finance departments to clearly communicate the company’s financial metrics and goals to the operations department.

Lack of communication impacts fleet financing

Jul 13, 2018

Hyundai pilots car subscription service

Captive auto finance company Hyundai Capital America (HCA) has launched a pilot car subscription program that includes a special lease price, auto insurance, and service maintenance on selected vehicles. The option, called Hyundai PLUS, is available via its Hyundai Motor Finance brand and is initially being offered in Ohio at select dealerships, on the MY18 Hyundai Elantra, Sonata, Tucson, and Santa Fe Sport models, with future expansion plans to follow.