Dealership technology provider RouteOne, in a venture with Toyota Financial Services, says it has successfully processed the industry's first remotely captured, electronic customer signature on a finance contract arranged through a dealership.
The contract was booked last month by a Toyota dealership employee through Toyota Financial Services, which is piloting RouteOne's technology called Remote eSign, RouteOne said Dec. 14.
The initiative, if it spreads, would mark a significant step in the auto finance industry's pursuit of a vehicle purchase that can be conducted completely online, making the vehicle financing process simpler and faster.
Customers have long been able to get pre-approved for credit online, but RouteOne says remote, electronic signatures are an industry first.
RouteOne is in talks with another captive finance company and expects to complete a deal before year-end, CEO Justin Oesterle told Automotive News.
RouteOne -- formed by Ally Financial (formerly GMAC), Ford Motor Credit, TD Auto Finance and Toyota Financial Services in 2002 -- provides technology that connects dealerships with lenders. RouteOne's technology supports indirect financing, in which consumers arrange their vehicles' financing through a dealership, rather than directly with a bank or other finance company.
The Farmington Hills, Mich., company is one of the industry's electronic contracting leaders, with more than 6,600 e-contracting dealerships and more than 40 e-contracting lenders on its platform.