Santander Consumer Finance has more than 17 million customers throughout 13 European countries. Its expertise in personal loans and revolving funds also extends to the United States. Santander Consumer Finance is a leader in the automobile lending business in the USA, operating Chrysler Capital under license and doing business as Roadloans.com.
Objective: Faster, More Efficient Collections
To cut down on overdue loan payments, the collections department at Santander Consumer Finance Benelux relies principally on AcceptEasy. One day after a loan goes past due, the timer function kicks in and generates a payment reminder. The message appears in the inbox of any connected device, mobile or desktop, and gives both recipient and lender a chance to resolve the situation and confirm the payment status right then, in real time.
The customer can pay the outstanding amount from the inbox with just a few clicks. There is no need for time-consuming logins or passwords. After the payment is complete, the acceptemail is updated in real time, in the customer’s inbox. The status bar turns from blue (due) to green (paid).
On the Santander side of the transaction, the payment is immediately visible to the collection department. Unlike other means of automatic bank transfer within the Benelux, the payment cannot be reversed. The customer’s record gets updated and Santander’s past-due outstandings improve.
Empowering Call Center Employees
When a customer’s debt has increased to the point where a payment in full is unlikely, call center employees use AcceptEasy in conjunction with their phone calls to customers. When they reach an agreement on a partial payment against the balance, the agent generates an acceptemail and sends it to the customer. The agent only needs to fill in a few items on the email template. The customer can immediately make the partial payment and receive a confirmation. This both improves the customer’s personal credit rating and reduces Santander’s past-due balances.
Efficient Implementation and Easy Integration with Existing Systems
Casper Sonnega, the man responsible for all collection processes and activities at Santander Consumer Finance, states: “AcceptEasy is an excellent addition to our collection arsenal. It has meant fewer reminders, less cost for dunning, and more working capital. When customers can pay directly from their inbox, it is more convenient, it ensures that payment defaults don’t mount up, and we receive our funds sooner."
