Wolters Kluwer, a global company in professional information, software solutions and services, released new Q3/25 analysis from its Equipment Lease Finance Digital Transformation Index, a resource that tracks the rate at which equipment lessors and service providers are seeing growth in the evolution from paper-based finance back-office processes to digital.
According to the index, the rate of adoption for digital contracting in Q3/25 decreased 12.19% compared to the previous quarter (Q2/25). Despite this quarterly pause, the index remains positive year over year, increasing 7.11% compared to Q3/24. More importantly, the four-year trend continues to show strong digital adoption growth, up 47.99% since Q3/21, an acceleration of the long-term trend observed last quarter.
The Q3/25 digital contracting dip follows a similarly downward trend in broader equipment lease finance industry confidence, driven by economic uncertainty and policies directly impacting the cost of equipment acquisition. This dynamic is reflected in mixed economic indicators, where the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s September 2025 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) remained elevated for the fourth straight month, while the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) recently reported U.S. companies borrowed 2% less to finance equipment in August than a year earlier.
Wolters Kluwer considers the Q3/25 performance as a recalibration period, not a reversal of the long-term digital trajectory. As companies continue to face supply chain volatility and pricing uncertainty, digital tools that offer real-time asset tracking, contract visibility and predictive analytics become more critical than ever.
“The third quarter represents a brief, but necessary, recalibration period for digital adoption in equipment finance, directly mirroring the broader industry’s caution regarding economic policy and equipment costs,” Matt Babcock, digital lending product strategy for Wolters Kluwer, said. “However, the underlying trend is undeniably strong, demonstrated by the continued year-over-year growth and the continued increase in adoption since Q3 2021. This dip should serve to reinvigorate conversations around digital transformation ROI. Sustained investment in digital workflows will not only help lessors weather current economic uncertainty but also ensure they are optimally prepared for future growth as dealer inventories improve and NBV stabilizes.”
