AutoSettle Launches Car-Buying Platform in Australia

FinTech startup AutoSettle launched a platform to improve the vehicle-buying process in Australia.

The platform is the world’s first virtual settlement exchange for cars and offers instant and secure transactions, according to a Wednesday (March 20) news release.

“AutoSettle is set to redefine the landscape of vehicle transactions in Australia,” AutoSettle Co-founder Patrick McComish said in the release.

Consumers buying vehicles face disorganized processes and open themselves up to fraud, the release said. The new platform aims to streamline the vehicle settlement process and strengthen security, allowing the industry to undergo digital transformation.

“The journey of buying or selling a vehicle has been fraught with inefficiencies and security concerns for too long,” McComish said in the release.

AutoSettle’s platform aims to address these inefficiencies by eliminating manual processes, establishing trust through digital identity verification, enabling real-time settlements and integrating with automotive dealerships, financiers, marketplaces and state registrars. The platform provides a solution for privacy, data protection and delays, according to the release.

The news follows a moderate earnings season for car sales platforms in the United States.

Vroom reported results March 13, and the results offered glimmers of positive activity, alongside some ongoing pressures.

The company is in the midst of a corporate restructuring. It plans to terminate its eCommerce operations and is winding down its used vehicle business, pivoting more fully to finance.

Carvana is using technology to optimize operations and recommendations done digitally.

“We have seen a more than $900 step-down in non-vehicle retail cost of sales since our peak over a year ago, and I think that’s been driven by many sources: getting better at managing the process of reconditioning; getting better at parts procurement and efficiency; and a number of things,” Carvana Chief Financial Officer Mark Jenkins said during the February earnings call.

Additionally, CarGurus posted results notching a 10% revenue growth on its marketplace. The quarterly average revenue per subscribing dealer was up 12% as average unique users gained 11%.