BATON ROUGE, La. — Wolters Kluwer Financial Services said that Credit Union Acceptance Company (CUAC), a credit union service organization that represents 130 credit unions in the indirect auto finance market, has joined its AppOne credit union platform.

AppOne provides risk mitigation, compliance and Internet-based workflow automation technology to auto dealers and auto lenders. Using the AppOne platform, CUAC can enable participating credit unions to originate auto loans from AppOne’s network of auto dealers while helping to minimize risk, comply with applicable law, and reduce overall lender operational costs.

In April, the number of independent auto dealerships rose for the first time since 2006, according to CNW Marketing Research. The firm attributes the increase to growing strength in the used car market and layoffs at franchised dealerships. Independent dealers are focused on maintaining positive relationships with lenders as they continue to look for ways to build their business.

“Sometimes there is a misconception that independent auto dealers are only looking for subprime lenders,” said Lee Domingue, CEO of indirect lending at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. “But many prime customers are buying used vehicles, particularly in the current marketplace. Working with CUAC, we help our dealer customers connect with more credit union lending sources.”

“Not only does AppOne help CUAC’s participating credit unions build a new growth channel with independent dealers, but it also helps mitigate the compliance and operational risks credit unions face every day,” said Kurt Howard, executive vice president at CUAC. “AppOne’s platform simplifies the auto lending process from start to finish, which ultimately benefits our credit unions’ business.”