Westlake Financial Teams Up with Pagaya to Transform Credit Decisions in the Auto Industry
In a strategic collaboration, Westlake Financial, an automotive FinTech powerhouse managing nearly $24 billion in assets, has joined forces with Pagaya Technologies, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for the financial sector, as stated by PYMNTS. The partnership aims to revolutionize credit decisions for auto dealerships, ultimately providing a more seamless and efficient car-buying experience for customers.
Westlake Financial, known for its innovative approach to automotive finance, is set to leverage Pagaya’s cutting-edge tech-enabled credit decisioning product. By doing so, Westlake aims to empower dealers with competitive loan approvals, enhancing their ability to facilitate financing for a broader spectrum of consumers.
According to Don Hankey, Chairman of the Board of Hankey Group, the parent company of Westlake Financial, «Pagaya’s AI technology and two-sided lending network allows us to unlock new opportunities for our team and facilitate seamless transactions, ultimately helping our dealers sell more, and our customers get approved faster.»
This partnership marks an expansion of a successful pilot program initiated in 2021, which focused on increasing access to auto financing for consumers through two auto retailers. The program successfully broadened the scope of auto financing options available to everyday customers.
Through this collaboration, Pagaya’s auto partners can make quicker and more precise credit decisions, expanding their product offerings and enhancing the overall customer experience. Additionally, Pagaya’s fully pre-funded model enables its auto financing partners to approve more loans without tapping into their own balance sheets.
Pagaya Co-founder and CEO, Gal Krubiner, expressed optimism about the partnership, stating, «Through this expansive partnership, our tech-enabled, two-sided lending network will integrate with the thousands of Westlake dealers and dealer groups, accelerating the growth of our auto product and our presence in auto dealerships across the country.»
In a related development within the FinTech landscape, Upgrade, a prominent player in the industry, announced on August 30, 2023, its expansion into consumer auto loans. Upgrade aims to blend the automation characteristic of a FinTech lender with a more personalized approach reminiscent of traditional lenders, promising to bring a unique offering to consumers in the auto financing space.