Online automotive market site Carwow has launched a new payment solution for dealers that purchase stock use its daily online auctions.
Carwow Wallet, launched in partnership with leading global payments company Airwallex, is stated to securely and efficiently process payments for dealers who purchase used cars from thousands of private sellers via Carwow’s daily online auctions.
The secure digital payment system lets dealers pay for their online auction wins at the click of a button, speeding up the entire car-changing process. The service can handle payments to multiple beneficiaries during the vehicle sale, such as the seller and a finance house, as well as the management of any negative equity balance.
Retailers will not be charged for the service whether they choose to use it or not, but those who opt in will be allocated a digital wallet built into their Carwow account, through which they can store, withdraw and transfer funds securely and easily.
Dealers connected to the service can track the status of their payments, while sellers are notified when payments are sent, bringing greater transparency, security, and efficiency for both parties.
Commenting on the launch of the wallet Carwow chief commercial officer Sally Foote said that particularly for many large dealer groups and despite best intentions, there are many operational hurdles that limit their ability to arrange same-day payments when purchasing cars from private sellers.
“Our goal is to make it as quick and simple as possible for retailers to purchase stock,” Foote added.
“Our teams do the heavy lifting for dealers by collecting sellers’ documents, verifying their bank details with Experian and reviewing all information submitted. All the dealer then needs to do is add funds to their digital wallet and authorise the payment transfer.”
Edward Ford from dealer Fords of Winsford has been sharing feedback with Carwow over the past few months and described the new payment structure as a very welcome addition to the auctions. “It’s saved us massive amounts of time and resources that we can now invest elsewhere, whilst also enhancing the experience for the private sellers,” he said.
The Wallet is available to Carwow’s enterprise dealer group customers and will be rolled out to independent retailers later this year.
