Financial technology or fintech is often touted as a transformative force in equipment finance, but is it overcoming equipment sellers’ reluctance to offer finance options to their customers? What’s the return on investment for fintech innovation in the industry? Robert Preville, CEO of KWIPPED, and other industry professionals will answer these questions and more at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Annual Convention in San Antonio during a morning session on Oct. 26 titled “Transforming Process and Perception with FinTech Innovation.”

Jennifer Martin of Key Equipment Finance will moderate the panel, which will also include Preville, Patrick Gaskins and Dan Andrew of Corcentric, Robb Zurek of Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions and Ryan Pereira of TAO Solutions.

“Our own survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of equipment sellers (91%) are hesitant to proactively present financing options to customers for a variety of reasons, all of which can be overcome with smarter, more efficient technologies,” Preville said.

KWIPPED is an e-commerce technology solution company with an online marketplace for B2B equipment rental, leasing and lease-to-own options and APPROVE, a software-as-a-service financing solution for sellers that matches potential buyers with equipment finance companies on the spot at any point of sale.

At the convention session, Preville will explain how SaaS technologies and machine learning are being used to quickly match potential customers directly with financing options based on algorithms. This technology is helping to make equipment financing the first option in sales efforts. Sellers surveyed just a few years ago, for example, said they avoided mentioning financing to customers because follow-through was considered a lengthy or potentially complex process.

Strategies to overcome equipment seller reluctance and transform the sales process will be explored in this session at the industry convention in October. Other topics will cover the span of the deal lifecycle and the ways the panel’s presenters are transforming client experience and affecting return on investment.