Car Loans Take the AR Turn

Capital One’s car financing subsidiary unveils an Augmented Reality based feature enabling customers to take a picture of a vehicle on the streets, and be granted instant access to the monthly costs of a loan. This institution goes for an innovative means of communication applied to car financing, while streamlining loan application and granting processes.

This new pre-qualification feature is accessible through the Auto Navigator mobile app. It relies on Machine Learning algorithms able to identify thousands of vehicles. This feature also makes it possible to be provided information regarding credit eligibility, estimated monthly instalments and nearby car dealers.

Once the picture taken, the app analyses the car comparing it with the American bank’s database. When the given car is identified, the customer is sent a financing simulation including the amount of the monthly payment –based on personal information specified when he downloaded the app. The customer must then visit a car dealership and inform them of the selected option’s terms, or customise them. The financing process remains paperless, since the contract can be signed through the Auto Navigator app.

This service is only available in iOS but relies on Google’s AR Framework; it should soon be ported to Android. Alternatively, the users may upload car pictures to Auto Navigator via the bank’s website.

Comments – Car financing in a picture

According to a study commissioned by Capital One, more than half of those surveyed believed that choosing a car is more time-consuming than choosing a university college. Customers’ needs have been evolving and this American bank meets this evolution through proposing an AR, Machine Learning-based mobile app.

This initiative isn’t the first of its kind on the consumer credit market. Capital One’s solution is also reminiscent of the one launched by Record Bank a couple of years ago. They rolled out a mobile app allowing customers to scan a TV or paper add so they can access a loan simulation. Unlike this Belgian initiative, Capital One’s solution is part of their main app, their customers do not have to download a dedicated app and benefit from this offer. Also, Capital One Autofinance users can subscribe a credit from their mobile phone. Visiting a car dealer remains necessary to customise options and test drive the car, but the financing application process is streamlined and no longer presented as a constraint.