1 A system for online rental finance application and approval FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system for online rental finance application and approval, in particular a real time automatic system for online rental 5 finance application and approval. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The provision of rental finance at the point of sale in a retail environment is highly desirable from all parties involved. The purchaser enjoys the convenience, the retailer enjoys the opportunity of more sales as finance 10 considerations are overcome and the financier is perfectly placed to secure customers. Whilst rental finance has been available in the retail environment it has been a cumbersome and lengthy manual process. Typically a retailer representative would gather the customer data and phone it through to a 15 finance call centre. The call centre operator would then verify the customer identification, check their creditworthiness, prepare the documentation and e-mail/fax them to the store for signing. At best such a process would take half an hour, at worst several days. Even with the best case turnaround such a lengthy procedure has proved to be a deterrent for both customers 20 and retailers. Being largely manual such procedures are also hard to scale thus limiting growth in the rental finance industry. The object of this invention is to provide a system for online rental finance application and approval that alleviates the above problems, or at least provides the public with a useful alternative. 25 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a system for online rental finance application and approval comprising: 2 a user interface means for initiating a rental finance application and entering application data, said application data including identification details of an applicant; a database means for storing application data; and 5 a server means for generating the user interface means, assessing the application data to determine approval or not of the application and a credit limit, collecting details of rental equipment and producing contract documents, wherein 10 the user interface means is deployed remotely from the server means. Preferably the assessment of the application data to determine approval or not and a credit limit are performed in real-time with no manual intervention. 15 Preferably an application can be initiated and assessed, then suspended and subsequently resumed. Preferably once the application data has been assessed to determine approval or not and a credit limit, the application data cannot be altered. Preferably the server means downloads credit information for the 20 applicant from a credit bureau based on the applicant identification details entered and uses the credit information in combination with the application details for determining approval or not of the application and a credit limit. It should be noted that any one of the aspects mentioned above may include any of the features of any of the other aspects mentioned above and 25 may include any of the features of any of the embodiments described below as appropriate.
3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the preferred implementation of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages 5 and principles of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic showing the components of the system according to the present invention; Figure 2a is the first part of a flowchart of the system operation; Figure 2b is the second part of a flowchart of the system operation; 10 Figure 2c is the third part of a flowchart of the system operation; and Figure 2d is the fourth part of a flowchart of the system operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. 15 Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the system 10. The various components are interconnected by a communications medium 60. The communications medium is typically the internet, but could be any form of LAN, WAN or even a series of point to point connections. The core of the system is the server 20 being a computer running the system software. The 20 server generates the user interface 40 which is deployed remotely, preferably as a series of web pages accessed via a web browser, but could also be deployed as an installable application. The user 50 enters application data via the user interface which is then stored by the server in the database 30. The server assesses the application data together with 25 credit information retrieved from a credit bureau 70 according to a predetermined set of criteria to approve the application and determine a credit limit. The server also accesses a financial institution 80 to secure an 4 initial payment by credit or debit card and third party verification providers 90 to verify details such as identity, ABNs and BSBs. The system is designed to simplify the entry of the required information for a rental finance application and then use this information to automatically 5 assess the application. An automatic assessment will be able to be completed for the majority applications and provide approval in a matter of minutes. If an automatic assessment cannot be made the system allows for manual intervention. The user of the system is nominally a salesperson in a retail store 10 soliciting data from a customer/applicant and then entering it into the system. The user accesses the system via a web browser over the internet. This would typically be done in a retail store after the customer had chosen merchandise to rent. The user may however use the system to gain 15 approval for a rental limit for the customer before the merchandise to rent is selected. To support this use the system allows for suspension and resumption of transactions. Alternatively the customer can be the user and use the system themselves to establish a rental limit before they begin shopping. This 20 could be done in the retail store or even in the user's home before visiting a retail store. Whilst using the system a telephone hotline is available for general help and to handle situations where manual assessment is required. Figure 2 is a flowchart for the system operation broken down arbitrarily 25 into Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d for representational convenience. Elements in the figures are joined by connectors A, B, C and D. The application and approval process starts at step 100. The user accesses the welcome page of the system via a web browser over the internet and then proceeds to the login page where they log in to the system 5 using their username and password. The system verifies the login details and establishes a user session. The welcome page is accessed using http, subsequent pages are accessed using https to maintain data security. For the case where the user is the customer the login page is bypassed. 5 At step 110 the applicant is asked some pre-qualifying questions to ensure that they are a suitable candidate for rental finance. The types of questions may be as follows, depending on the application: age (must be over 18); citizenship/residency (e.g. must be Australian); 10 income/turnover (must be > $30,000/$35,000 p.a.); and possession of a credit or debit card for the first payment. If these questions cannot be satisfied the application cannot proceed. At this step details of the salesperson may also be captured. At step 120 the applicant is presented with a privacy declaration which 15 they must read and accept before proceeding. At step 130 the applicant enters some preliminary data regarding identity, address and contact details. The identity details include name, gender, date of birth and drivers license number if available. Address details include time at address and if this is less than a set time such as 1 20 year then time at a previous address. Contact details may include phone, fax and email. The address details are verified against a database to confirm if it is legitimate. If the address is not legitimate the application cannot proceed. At step 140 the applicant will select if they are renting the equipment for 25 personal or business use. If the equipment is being rented for business use the applicant will need to verify that they can act on behalf of the business.
6 At step 150 the applicant must enter additional information which is pertinent to their suitability as a rental finance candidate. The information required is different for personal and business use, for personal use the details may include: 5 current employment details, occupation and employer and employer phone contact details; previous employment details if time with current employer is less than 2 years; number of dependents; 10 number of credit cards; household income; and residential status (rent/own-mortgage/own-no mortgage). Following step 150 the additional data entered together with the preliminary data entered at step 130 is stored for checking against future 15 applications If the same applicant makes a subsequent application an alert is raised and the application must be manually assessed. At step 160 the applicant's identity is electronically verified via a third party verification provider. If an electronic verification is not possible, a manual verification is performed at step 165. If the verification is 20 unsuccessful the application is terminated. At step 170 a credit rating for the applicant is downloaded from a credit bureau. At step 180 the system assesses the application. The information from steps 130 and 150 together with the credit information from the credit 25 bureau is combined and assessed to determine if rental finance will be offered and the maximum amount of finance without further assessment. The further assessment is typically a manual process.
7 Critically, after the application has been assessed the user cannot return to the preceding step 150 and change any details. This is to ensure that the details used to determine creditworthiness of the applicant are not changed to produce a more favourable assessment. 5 If the assessment is unsuccessful the applicant is informed at step 190 and the application is terminated. If the assessment is successful the applicant is advised of the approved rental finance limit together with a unique Application Reference Number (ARN) at step 200. 10 The ARN identifies the application for future reference. After a successful assessment the applicant is given the opportunity to request an increased finance limit. If this increase is required a manual process is initiated at step 210. If the applicant wishes to proceed, details of the rental equipment are 15 captured at step 220. Details of the equipment can include: type; make; model; and price. 20 The type of equipment is limited to a pre-approved list by the finance provider. The price details are totaled to ensure that the approved finance limit is not exceeded. At step 230 the applicant must ensure that the rental equipment will be 25 adequately protected. The applicant can either provide a policy number for pre-existing insurance cover or take a protection plan as part of the rental finance package.
8 At step 240 the applicant can select the term of the rental agreement and is then presented with an indicative quote for monthly payments. The applicant is also presented with the terms and conditions to read. If the applicant does not accept the quote they have the option of changing the 5 term, the equipment to be rented or to abandon the application. At step 250 the applicant enters details for the first payment and for ongoing payments. The first payment must be by credit or debit card as this method of payment can be verified online automatically. The first payment is taken at 10 step 260. If the first payment is not cleared alternative methods can be tried until a successful one is found or else the application is terminated. Ongoing payments can either be by credit or debit card or via direct bank debit. In the case of a direct bank debit an account number and BSB is recorded. The BSB is verified by a third party verification provider. 15 At step 270 all of the contract documents are produced electronically. The documents may comprise: application welcome letter; application checklist; privacy declaration; 20 payment details; and rental application (including terms and conditions). The documents incorporate a printed barcode encoding the ARN. The barcode facilitates automated handling of the contract documents when returned to the finance provider. 25 At step 280 the documents are printed in the store then signed by the applicant.
9 At step 290 the salesperson confirms that the applicant has appropriately completed and signed the documents. The salesperson verifies the applicant's identification details in the documents against a form of photographic identification such as a driver's license. 5 At step 300 authority is given to release the equipment to the applicant. To complete the process the documents are copied and returned to the finance provider together with a tax invoice for the equipment so that payment to the store can be made. Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the 10 present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of 15 the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in this field. Thus although the above description referred to an on-line rental 20 application it may be used for other finance applications. Obviously the system is appropriate where the rental is going to occur over some time and involves funds that are not insignificant. In the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word 25 "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.