iVendi

iVendi has been a fintech with a Wales HQ forever (well, for 15 years!), but it's great to now be an official part of the FinTech Wales community. Thanks for the warm welcome! #ivendilife

👏This is fantastic news for IVendi partner motor dealers across the UK, after the culmination of months of hard work by both iVendi and Marsh Finance Ltd teams. We cannot wait to assist the dealer market place to grow their vehicle sales on a simple, high tech, and fully automated journey! Don’t suffer from FOMO on something new. Get onboard with both parties to accelerate your growth and profitability 🤜🤛🤝

This week at iVendi has been bustling with activity. Lender meetings filled with informative 'show and tell' sessions have shed light on the alignment among motor finance companies regarding disclosure. While the overarching focus remains on updating finance agreements with commission disclosure, recent discussions have introduced new buzz words like 'fiduciary duty' and 'timely manner'. Delving deeper into the notion of 'timely manner', the critical question arises: when should disclosure occur? Adopting a customer-centric approach, we believe that disclosure should occur at a point of 'no detriment', coinciding with the decision-making process for selecting suitable finance products. While major lenders resonate with this perspective, the challenge lies in disseminating information to customers pre-application. The reliance on 3rd party API-driven systems complicates the pre-application disclosure process. Although providing estimations is a plausible solution, it introduces potential issues and ethical concerns. Ensuring transparency by disclosing actual commissions and their calculation mechanism, with explicit customer consent, becomes paramount. Viewing the lender finance agreement as a safety net, upfront disclosure serves as comprehensive evidence for all stakeholders, including potential legal scenarios. Stay tuned for further insights on this topic next week. As we navigate these discussions, it is imperative to safeguard not only consumers but also lenders, retailers, and individuals in SMF roles at dealerships. Upholding regulations is crucial, as compliance is distinct from legality. Mere claims of adherence hold little value without substantiating evidence. We all need to prioritise accountability and transparency in all financial dealings.

It’s been an unnerving few days for the retail motor industry in that the importance of the Budget has been largely overtaken by the Court of Appeal announcement on discretionary commission arrangements. New and used car, van and motorbike sales are largely dependent on the motor finance sector working efficiently, and that decision has caused much consternation. This means what we really need right now from the government is greater clarity around how the situation will be resolved. Against this backdrop, the additional costs that are being placed on our businesses in the Budget look more onerous than they would’ve just a few days ago. Moves such as increasing NI on employer contributions will be taking effect just at a point in time when there is a strong wave of uncertainty passing through our sector. Added to ongoing difficulties around electrification, it is clear that this is a potentially difficult moment to be selling vehicles. On a brighter note over the past 24 hours a number of lenders are back trading however there is a huge reliance on the larger lenders to "get back to the new normal". There's still a lot to figure out to protect the automotive eco-system. The lender-dealer relationship is symbiotic and finance is the oxygen that fuels automotive retail. I knew my biology A-level grade D would come in useful one day! Lender Status update page

Following the recent Court of Appeal decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd, our teams have been hard at work over the weekend, and we are now releasing a ready-to-go solution for lenders and dealers that fully supports commission disclosure in online and showroom journeys. Throughout the weekend we’ve been supporting lenders to provide compliant solutions, offering support, and keeping dealers informed through our Transact dealer platform. By adding commission consent to our award-winning Consumer Duty process, which also provides lender product information and suitability questions, we are ensuring lenders and dealers are able to adhere to this now lawful requirement. We are liaising with lenders to switch on the feature from today. For the latest status updates on our lender partners, click here: https://hubs.la/Q02V_wc70

Thank you for your kind words Kami Enninful CertAutoFS We were delighted to host you and glad you enjoyed your stay in North Wales.

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A powerful and brave message from Jana Jones MCIM—more than just our SVP of Sales, Marketing & Communication, but a friend to many of us. She has our unwavering support as she courageously battles breast cancer. If you have a moment, please watch this video of her journey. We’re sure you’ll be as moved as we are by her incredible strength and determination, transforming a difficult time into a positive opportunity, raising funds for the MWL NHS Charity Breast Care Fund. You can read more, and watch the video, below. Well done Jana. We are all behind you 💪

Team iVendi looking forward to our shared success with the new kids on the block 😜 Rob Severs James Tew Michelle Southward