Summary
Dealertrack, a Cox Automotive brand, announced new APIs and product updates on Jan. 23 to automate auto loan funding and reduce fraud. The effort centers on creating auto-fundable contracts—agreements that can be validated and funded without manual intervention—to shorten funding cycles and cut back-office work as digital retailing grows.
What’s new
- Pre-submission verification: AI-driven checks align deal data and documents with lender policies before submission to reduce rehashing and returned contracts.
- Stipulation management: Automated capture and clearing of stipulations at the point of sale, with a focus on income verification; real-time clearing planned later this year.
- Omnichannel APIs: Digital retailing interfaces let partners originate contracts on their platforms while keeping data consistent across online, in-store, and remote flows.
- Aftermarket alignment: Collaboration with F&I Sentinel to surface lender acceptance/compliance for aftermarket forms and enable future data validation against the main contract.
- Embedded fraud checks: Integration with Point Predictive’s BorrowerCheck to flag synthetic identity risks from credit application through final signature.
Why it matters
- Speeds funding by validating data upfront and minimizing manual reviews.
- Reduces fraud exposure without adding steps for legitimate buyers.
- Maintains data integrity as deals move between online research and in-store or remote signing.
- Simplifies aftermarket product compliance, a frequent source of delays.
How it works
- AI compares deal terms and supporting documents to lender policy sets before contracts are sent for funding.
- Point-of-sale tools standardize and automate stipulation capture (especially income verification), with plans for real-time clearing to accelerate approvals.
- Digital retailing APIs keep fields synchronized across marketplaces/channels to prevent data mismatches and re-entry errors.
- Aftermarket workflows gain visibility into lender requirements and will validate form data against the financing contract to reduce rejections.
- Fraud scoring and checks run throughout the process to identify higher-risk applications earlier.
Adoption and timeline
Dealertrack did not specify initial lender adopters. The company targets real-time stipulation clearing later this year. The pace of market impact depends on lender integration and policy engine alignment.
Who benefits
- Dealers: Faster funding and reduced administrative rework.
- Lenders: Fewer manual reviews, better focus on exceptions, and earlier fraud detection.
- Consumers: Shorter, more predictable closings with support for remote contracting.
Key stats
- 86% of auto finance contracts are eligible for digital submission.
- 91% of buyers complete some or all steps online.
- Aftermarket products appear on over 61% of contracts, with more than 250,000 form variations cited.
- Auto finance fraud costs are estimated at $9 billion in 2025.
The bottom line
By combining AI validation, omnichannel data integrity, aftermarket form alignment, and embedded risk tools, Dealertrack aims to move the “last mile” of funding from manual review to automation—reducing holds, returns, and rework as digital contracting scales.
