Soft-pull technologies driving 700Credit partnership boom

700Credit, a supplier of credit and compliance solutions to dealerships and software providers, has accelerated its industry partnerships this year, driven by the uptick in digital retailing transactions.

Ken Hill, managing director of 700Credit, said high demand for soft-pull technologies in customer relationship management software is prompting the additional business. A soft credit pull is when a customer authorizes the dealership to check their credit report without damaging their score.

“It allows dealerships to introduce credit into the conversations at a much earlier point in the conversation,” Hill said. “With a better understanding of the consumer’s credit, they can quote a more accurate payment at the top of the sales funnel.”

700Credit has announced two partnerships a month since January. The solutions provider is also integrating with dealership management company Tekion, Hill said.

The company has more than 190 industry partnerships, including 40 digital retailing providers. Thirty percent of the dealerships onboarding 700Credit products are adding pre-qualification processes, up from 10 percent before the pandemic.

Even after the pandemic winds down, 700Credit anticipates further adoption of digital retailing platforms will keep the company busy.

“We have quite the backlog, and a lot in the queue,” Hill said. “We probably see five or six different retailing products a week.”