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Can’t We Just Text? A Conversational Approach to Auto Lending

Published: October 22, 2025

You can’t deliver my package to me if you’re knocking on the wrong door.

Many auto lenders today are knocking on the wrong door. They’re trying to engage people via calls, emails, and even snail mail. But the reality is borrowers frequently ignore emails, let calls go to voicemail, and file mailers in the recycling bin — all while texting with friends on their smartphones.

The future of auto lending is sitting in your borrowers’ hands.

Borrowers have more loan options available today than ever before and are increasingly making use of them. According to recent research on auto loan borrowers conducted by Datos Insights, a full third of borrowers submit multiple applications for an auto loan so they can shop for the best deal. Lenders who stick with outdated engagement methods — email, or worse yet, traditional mail — will disadvantage themselves in an increasingly competitive environment.

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Borrowers who live in a world of texts, tweets, and snaps expect speed and convenience at every scroll. Miss a beat, and they’ll swipe to the next lender. Fortunately, the answer for lenders seeking to engage new borrowers is simple: meet them where they — where most of us today — live: on our phones.

Of course, shifting loan conversations and processes to “where people live” can’t avoid compliance. Remaining compliant is the first step to success. That might seem daunting and a reason to avoid anything that might increase the risk of a misstep.

But it’s actually easy to be both innovative and compliant. By using a compliant-first platform, you can navigate the maze of regulations and carrier guidelines and stay focus ed on what you do best: lending.

Meeting Borrowers Where They Live

Mobile-first engagement prioritizes the design and delivery of content, products, and services such as lending for mobile devices over any other platform. Experiences designed for smartphones and tablets factor in screen size, touch interaction, and portability.

Why put mobile first?

Think for a moment: How much is your organization spending on direct mail? The cost of print and postage is staggering compared with the cost of sending a text. Yet when you compare how often people check their texts versus the daily run to their mail box, it’s not even close.

People check their phones on average 5-15 times an hour. Clearly, mobile-first engagement will help lenders reach potential borrowers where their attention is. It can also connect lenders to a much broader audience and increase application volumes.

As of July 2025, 64.35 percent of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. And social media users overwhelmingly use their phones. Case in point, 98 percent of U.S. Facebook users access the platform from a mobile device.

But reaching potential borrowers on their phone may still not be close enough to home for lenders to engage them successfully. In the Datos survey, 82 percent of respondents favored receiving status updates via text, and 71 percent expressed interest in two-way communication — like texting — during the application process.

But while 63 percent of borrowers would prefer to submit documents via text during the application process, only 14 percent actually get that option. Lenders that create a seamless, text-driven experience will be meeting borrowers where they live and have a distinct advantage over lenders relying only on more traditional engagement channels.

Reducing Loan Abandonment

The same survey found that of borrowers applying for more than one loan, up to 22 percent didn’t activate approved loans. This represents more than just lost revenue, as it incurs significant processing and operational costs. It represents a missed opportunity for engagement and a customer relationship, an opportunity that a competitor likely has made good on.

A leading reason cited for not activating a loan is poor digital experience. In the Datos study, 30 percent of respondents said they would have been more likely to open their approved loan if text communication had been an option. Texting as a primary channel for communication makes it simple to offer real-time updates, answer questions about loan specifics, and close the engagement loop with the borrower. This translates to better conversion rates and improved customer satisfaction.

Speeding Up Approvals

Two onerous aspects of a less-than-stellar digital experience? Submitting required documents and then waiting. Although many digital lending application processes have been simplified over time, the old days of making paper copies and submitting them in person or by mail can still be cumbersome. And the waiting game continues.

Surprisingly, in this digital age, 48 percent of respondents to the Datos study still submitted documents in person. Just under a third uploaded them to a website portal, 21 percent to a designated mobile app, and 5 percent via postal mail.

Here again, the immediacy and ease of texting can make things better. Slow submissions make for slower approvals. And anything out of the normal daily routine required — such as registering for and signing into a web portal or downloading and using a new app — causes friction and potential delay. But almost everyone already texts, creating the perfect seamless and efficient channel for completing applications and getting speedy approvals.

From a borrower’s perspective, it’s less hassle and an end to the endless waiting game.

Meeting Generational Expectations

Generations growing up with a new technology use it differently than those who are catching up. Recognizing generational preferences has real implications for how best to engage with borrowers. Equally important is accounting for where a generation is in its car-buying and auto loan-needing journey.

Gen X made up 30 percent of the borrowers in the study, probably because they are in their peak earning years. Baby Boomers made up a similar amount, though that group split tellingly into 18 percent younger Boomers and only 12 percent older Boomers. Millennials made up 28 percent, 19 percent of which were older Millennials. Gen Z seems to be emerging at 12 percent.

An engagement model needs to use technology that appeals to the generation it wants to engage. But texting offers another opportunity for lenders to be generationally savvy. Traditional mail and email lack the immediacy that two-way communication requires. With texting’s immediacy and two-way capabilities, a lender can establish real conversations that will appeal to the borrowing generation it is trying to reach.

Conversations that Win Borrowers and Build Relationships

Approval and acceptance of a loan marks the beginning, not the end, of a relationship between lender and borrower. Borrowers need updates, reminders, and support throughout the life of the loan—and where better to have rich, meaningful conversations with them than on their phones.

According to the survey, 52 percent of auto loan borrowers received text messages during their application and payment setup, but 44 percent received none. That’s a huge missed opportunity. Lenders who use text for real-time updates, two-way conversations, and automated payment reminders are building stronger relationships and driving more on-time payments.

While only 16 percent of borrowers used text messaging to make their first payment, 58 percent said they’d be likely to pay via text if given the option. That’s a massive untapped market—and a huge opportunity for lenders who are ready to innovate and improve payment collection.

It’s not difficult to put ourselves in a borrower’s shoes, since all of us at one point tap credit to make important purchases. We all want lenders to listen to us, understand our needs and preferences, and value a relationship with us.

What could be simpler than engaging with us through the channel we use every day?

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Dave Baxter is the CEO of Solutions by Text, the only compliance-first provider of enterprise texting solutions in the market. A visionary in the payments space, Dave has been driving growth in the complex and evolving consumer finance industry. Dave and his team are now transforming the compliant payments experience with Solutions by Text’s innovative FinText(™) platform.
Dave has extensive experience in financial technology, payments, and consumer finance. Prior to joining Solutions by Text, Dave led business development for ACI Worldwide, where he oversaw the largest SaaS sales team for ACI’s real-time payments solution for large merchants, financial institutions, and other billers. He joined ACI during its acquisition of Online Resources and grew and scaled the original $20 million business to over $600 million, taking ACI’s biller segment ranking from No. 12 to No. 1. Dave is also the former Director of International at Fidelity National Information Services, where he was instrumental in building a book of business that was ultimately profitably sold to First Data. Earlier in his career, Dave held management positions with AOL and Monster Worldwide. Dave received a BA from Manhattan College.