If your credit union is looking to avoid and manage auto repos, these tech tools may prove useful:

1. Starter-interrupt devices that remind late-payers: “Pay up if you want to keep me.”
Devices like Lending Systems’ iPay and PassTime’s Automated Collection Technology remind borrowers about a late payment every time they turn on their vehicle, and can even shut a vehicle down if they don’t pay within a specified time. Some systems allow a limited number of emergency starts before disabling the vehicle until the loan is current.

PassTime’s Elite unit features ACT, an audible payment reminder that can be programmed to notify the borrower of an upcoming or late payment, plus reactive GPS technology to aid in finding a car that’s to be repossessed.

The device’s tones gradually increase in volume each day and emit a tone “like a French ambulance” on the final day before the starter interrupt engages, explains Jake Frank, EVP/founder of the Littleton, Colo., company. The system also includes a tamper detection system that can send notification of attempts to remove or bypass the device.

If the borrower abandons the vehicle and quits making payments, the credit union can use the GPS to track down its collateral. PassTime offers separate ACT and GPS units as well, Frank says.

Credit unions can design their own programs employing this technology. Examples include: