Personal lending fintech Driva has recently secured a substantial partnership with the renowned vehicle marketplace, Carsales.com.
In a significant development, the partnership with Carsales will introduce tailored finance solutions alongside privately sold vehicles. This will empower customers with options to pre-qualify, apply, and obtain pre-approval for financing.
Carsales executive GM, Matt Earle, expressed the significance of this deal, stating that approximately 45% of the automobile listings on their platform, which translates to around 120,000 vehicles, will now offer financing options.
Earle emphasized, “The partnership is a key enabler for us to further digitize the entire car buying experience for Australian consumers. We recognize that most Australians are financing their vehicle purchases, and partnering with Driva has been a crucial step for us in providing personalized finance offerings to our consumers as they progress through their purchase journey.”
The Driva API toolkit, now integrated into Carsales, is already widely utilized within the sector.
Driva, founded by Scott Montarello and William Brown three years ago, achieved a significant milestone by raising $6 million last year in a funding round led by Carthona Capital.
The fintech is equipped to facilitate loans ranging from $10,000 for debt consolidation to $80,000 for acquiring a caravan. Additionally, Driva offers clients the capability to provide pre-qualified finance options to their customers through online channels.
Scott Montarello pointed out, “Driva can manage a volume that traditional players in the industry would not be able to handle without substantial resources to support it. The core value proposition for both end customers and our partners is our proprietary Driva assessment engine, which enables us to instantly match customers with their lowest repayment loan option from a pool of over 40 Australian lenders in the market. This feature, while seemingly straightforward from a customer’s perspective, involves the assessment of thousands of data points for each customer to ensure we can offer genuine approvals from our comprehensive panel of lenders, something we believe is unique in the Australian market.”
William Brown, the co-founder, highlighted the company’s resilience and adaptability in the face of changing market conditions and rising interest rates. He said, “We, like almost every Australian company, were affected by changing economic conditions and rate increases over the past 12 months. However, we made swift decisions as soon as we identified warning signs, and we are now in a stronger position than ever. We are achieving record numbers each month, and our unwavering focus on margins ensures that we are doing it in a sustainable manner.