What customers really want — rethinking the auto finance journey from pre-approval to renewal

Summary

Finance Connect’s latest webcast, sponsored by NETSOL Technologies, brought together a seasoned panel – David Betteley, Andrew Brameld, Richard Hoggart and Jason Hurwitz – to unpack a critical question for the auto finance industry: are we building journeys based on what customers say, or what they actually do?

Price vs reality: what customers really prioritise

A central theme was the long-held belief that customers are primarily driven by price. While this holds true in some channels, the panel quickly challenged the idea that APR alone defines customer choice.

“If you’re the top with the lowest APR, you get clicked… but that’s not the whole market,” said Richard Hoggart, CEO of DSG Group.

Hoggart pointed out that while price comparison sites are heavily APR-driven, dealer-based journeys are still shaped by convenience, structure and ease. Customers value being able to complete everything in one place – particularly when deals involve part exchange or complex financing elements.

He added a critical distinction: “The APR tells you value… but the payment tells you whether you can afford it.”

That shift becomes even more pronounced further down the credit spectrum, where monthly affordability outweighs marginal differences in rate.

Finance is secondary — speed and simplicity are “table stakes”

Freelance consultant Andrew Brameld reinforced that finance is rarely the starting point for customers. “They’ve woken up in the morning to buy a car… finance is the enabler.”

This insight reframes the entire journey. Customers invest time researching vehicles, but expect finance to be quick, seamless and unobtrusive.

Brameld described modern expectations as baseline requirements: “Speed, automated decisions – they’re table stakes now.”

He also highlighted a nuanced challenge: journeys can become too efficient. At BNP Paribas, the team had to reintroduce “speed bumps” to slow down the process and to ensure customers properly understood agreements – a reflection of growing regulatory pressure and consumer duty obligations.

The myth of “omnichannel”

One of the most compelling reframes came from Jason Hurwitz, sales director Europe at NETSOL Technologies, who challenged the industry’s obsession with omnichannel.

“Customers aren’t waking up thinking ‘I want an omnichannel journey’… they want one experience,” he said.

Hurwitz described a familiar scenario: a customer researches online, builds a deal, then visits a dealership – only to start again from scratch. That disconnect creates friction, repetition and, ultimately, drop-off risk.

“They don’t want to re-key or reshare information… they expect it to flow.”

The implication is clear: success lies not in offering multiple channels, but in stitching them together into a single, continuous journey.

Pre-approval, affordability and the limits of certainty

The conversation then turned to pre-approval, an area gaining traction across the industry.

There was broad agreement that early-stage clarity on borrowing power is valuable. However, affordability remains a major unresolved challenge.

“Affordability… is still a bit of a mystery,” said Richard Hoggart. “It means different things to different people.”

Andrew Brameld expanded on this complexity: “You could have customers who score very, very high… but fail affordability checks.”

This disconnect between risk and affordability creates friction later in the journey, precisely where customer disengagement is most damaging.

Hurwitz pointed to technology’s role in improving this: “You can get pretty close to a committed offer… without running formal credit searches.”

The key, however, is transparency. If customers receive a different outcome later, they need clear explanations – something the panel acknowledged is often missing today.

AI: powerful, available — and underused

Artificial intelligence featured heavily, not as a future concept but as a present capability. “The tech is there today — but people aren’t using it,” said Jason Hurwitz.

He described how AI can already conduct needs-based analysis (e.g. changing vehicle requirements), generate tailored finance offers, predict affordability ranges, and support underwriters with decision insights.

The panel also explored how AI could replicate the instincts of experienced dealers – for example, recognising life events (like a growing family) and proactively suggesting suitable vehicle upgrades and financing options.

The flip side of AI: fraud as the biggest friction point

While AI enables smarter journeys, it also introduces new risks.

For Richard Hoggart, the biggest challenge facing the industry today is clear: “Fraud. One word — fraud.”

He warned that fraudsters are now using advanced techniques, including AI-driven “injection fraud,” to bypass digital identity checks.

“Much as AI is helpful to us… it’s also our enemy,” he cautioned.

This creates a difficult balancing act: reducing friction while maintaining robust controls. In some cases, lenders are even reintroducing manual checks alongside digital processes – a step backwards in efficiency, but necessary for risk mitigation.

Retention starts at the beginning, not the end

The final discussion focused on loyalty – and where it is really created.

While tools like PCP and equity-based renewal strategies aim to drive repeat business, the panel agreed that retention begins much earlier.

“The best way to create loyalty is to deliver really well your first time,” said Jason Hurwitz.

This aligns with poll results from the audience, which identified improved retention and re-engagement as the biggest opportunity for the industry.

Andrew Brameld highlighted the growing role of customer engagement tools: “Creating that app… and enabling the customer to engage has been key.”

But he also acknowledged that engagement must go beyond simply having an app – it must deliver meaningful value, such as credit insights, payment flexibility and timely upgrade opportunities.

Final takeaways

The webcast made one thing clear: the auto finance journey is undergoing a fundamental shift.

Customers are not simply chasing the lowest rate. They are looking for:

• Certainty – can I get approved?
• Clarity – what will it cost me monthly?
• Simplicity – how easy is the process?
• Speed – how quickly can I complete?
• Trust – is this transparent and fair?

Delivering on these expectations requires more than incremental improvements. It demands a fully integrated journey, smarter use of data and AI, and a renewed focus on trust, particularly in the face of rising fraud risk.

As the panel concluded, the next phase of innovation will not be about adding more features, but about connecting the journey end-to-end – and getting it right the first time.

Watch the full webcast on-demand here.