Xtime Partners with CenPOS to Speed Service Payment Process

The fate of a dealership’s success or failure depends on its ability to retain customers. To do so, dealers must be making an active effort to engage customers, make their lives easier, and give them a reason to return. For many dealers, achieving this means finding a way to make administrative processes such as paying go faster and more smoothly. A 2019 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study found that dealership customers who report themselves the most satisfied spend 2.5 hours or less at the dealership for service.

The Xtime Service Experience Platform, which counts Cox Automotive as its parent company, is marketed as a way to increase vehicle owner loyalty by ensuring that service appointments are a breeze (or as much of a breeze as they can be). It’s a fixed-op solution that’s used by many of the world’s largest car brands. Now, the company is setting its sights on the checkout and payment processes by partnering with CenPOS, which was acquired earlier this year by Elavon, to help customers with faster online and in-lane payment options. CenPOS is a secure, cloud-based solution that enables acceptance for all payment types across multiple channels. Integrated into the Xtime’s Spectrum Platform, the payment service makes it easier to capture and report customer payments efficiently either in the service lane from a tablet device or any service department workstation.

According to the companies, all U.S. and Canadian franchise dealership customers can use the CenPOS payment functionality. The goal for dealers is to create more convenient, reliable payment options without requiring a significant investment or process change. One beta customer of the combined solution noted that it has provided a way to exceed customers’ expectations and drastically streamline the active redelivery process.

“Dealers should look at the service experience they are offering their customers in order to drive greater customer loyalty and retention,” said Tracy Fred, VP and general manager of Xtime, in a statement. “The powerful combination of CenPOS and Xtime’s single platform gives both service management and advisors a more streamlined and easy-to-use solution that meets consumers’ demands and saves them time and energy throughout the entire service experience, from write-up to payment.”