HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. and SAN JOSE, Calif. — CDK Global announced on Tuesday that startup AutoFi has agreed to consume digital retailing application programming interfaces (APIs) from the Fortellis Automotive Commerce Exchange platform. The company also confirmed that Equifax Inc., one of the inaugural publishers on Fortellis, will publish additional APIs for the open, secure and accessible global network for the automotive industry.
AutoFi joins Equifax Inc., SiriusXM, and Lyft as the first generation of developers on Fortellis, a technology platform designed to connect software developers, OEMs and dealers so they can leverage, build and integrate new solutions and workflows. The company made the announcement from the API: World conference and expo in San Jose, Calif., where CDK Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Rajiv Amar spoke on Tuesday about opening the doors of automotive commerce.
“Finance and Insurance processes have always been a roadblock for dealers looking to provide a seamless digital and in-store shopping experience for their customers,” said Ron Frey, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at CDK Global. “This is another great example of how an open, secure and accessible platform can bring together developers of highly specialized offerings that enhance the auto retail experience across the industry.”
San Francisco-based AutoFi brings to Fortellis a fully-automated F&I platform designed to provide dealers with the ability to offer a digital shopping experience powered by real-time finance source connectivity and offers. By consuming APIs on the Fortellis platform, AutoFi can deliver its digital lending technology to dealers with a connection to multiple CDK products through the DMS, Connected Store, websites and desking solutions. The omnichannel integration enables dealers to offer their customers lending options through their websites and in-store via mobile tablets on the showroom floor, while also allowing dealers to support customers with their digital purchase over the phone when they are shopping at home.
“Our fintech expertise delivers transparency and convenience to the customer by moving finance further up in the shopping experience,” said AutoFI co-founder and CEO Kevin Singerman. “We see a tremendous opportunity to bring this experience to the auto industry through CDK and Fortellis.”
At the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) annual conference this past March in Las Vegas, Equifax announced it was one of the inaugural publishers to contribute APIs for the Fortellis Automotive Commerce Exchange platform — the firm having published two unique APIs for the platform in less than five business days.
Equifax has now added an additional API to enable developers to personalize their solutions to the consumer based on their credit profile and to help drive personalized experiences in areas such as payment calculators, incentive display, and personalized deal quotes online. Equifax previously published an API for InstaTouch, a solution designed to provide dealers with a frictionless digital retail experience. It works by identifying and authenticating consumers using their mobile device so their information can be prefilled with limited inputs.
“Innovation will come from partnerships in the ecosystem, and Equifax will continue to enable developers with our unique assets and capabilities via Fortellis to help fuel this innovation,” said Jennifer Reid, vice president of automotive marketing and strategy lead for Equifax’s U.S. Information Solutions (USIS). “Fortellis has made it easier than ever to bring developers and companies together to innovate for the benefit of dealers, OEM’s and other industry third parties, which will ultimately elevate the consumer experience.”
