Tag: government

Digitizing the Titling Process, Safely and Efficiently

On November 14, 2022

Henry Ford shook the automobile industry with the introduction of his Ford Model T back in 1908. By turning the current business model at that time upside down, he created a path forward for every consumer and family to own their own vehicle. Now, just over 100 years later, we’re witnessing a new automotive transformation, powered by the likes of Tesla, CarMax, Carvana and Vroom, strengthened by a global pandemic and solidified by consumer demand: the digitization of car buying.

Online car purchases represent about 11% of all car sales. That’s expected to grow considerably—over 50% in the coming 4-5 years—and along with this new frontier, other aspects of the process are following suit. Vehicle titling, for example, has long been a time-consuming process for state governments and their motor vehicle constituents, in addition to being prone to errors, expensive and susceptible to fraud. That could soon change as states begin to adopt a digital solution that can effectively serve today’s unique challenges.

Prior to the digital age, vehicle records were kept via paper and filing cabinets. The process was intensive, and the information wasn’t available to anyone outside of the physical location where the records were kept. Along came expensive back-up systems, then computers and finally e-titling. While all seemed well, a bigger, more dangerous problem emerged: cyber threats. The rise of malicious attacks and other potential cyber threats made it difficult to manage the data safely. Even still today, the e-titling process remains fragmented, with each state having their own system, leaving the door open for fraud and driving up costs while lowering productivity.

“Titling is complicated, involving numerous stakeholders, and it’s getting more difficult to manage in a digital world where the average online car sale is purchased from someone living 900+ miles from the dealership and across state lines,” said Shane Bigelow, CEO of CHAMPtitles (“CHAMP”), a Cleveland, Ohio-based technology startup. “For companies buying and selling vehicles throughout the country, this issue is much more prevalent, often leading to even longer delays and more opportunities for bad actors to take advantage of the system.”

CHAMP is revolutionizing the vehicle titling and registration process with a first-of-its-kind Digital Titling, Registration and Lien Management SaaS software. Not only does it modernize DMV title and registration management, but CHAMP’s new Digital Title and Registration Services (DTRS) also offers NSA-level security protections against fraud.

“Our security-first titling, registration, and lien management platform is secured by a three-pronged approach that includes a segmented and segregated network; encryption of data in transit and at rest, using elliptic curve cryptography; and the utilization of private-public key infrastructure. In short, aggregate government is waking up to the risks of not using today’s best thinking in technology, and we are excited to be part of the solutions they seek,” Bigelow said.

The state of West Virginia was an early adopter of this innovative titling technology. “We are proud to be the first state to allow this groundbreaking technology to be a reality for all members of our community. We do believe that enabling blockchain based vehicle titling will offer significant benefits for our auto dealers, lenders, insurance companies, all of their service providers, and most importantly, our citizens,” said Everett Frazier, Commissioner of West Virginia’s Division of Motor Vehicles. “Since the launch, the benefits have been abundant for those who have onboarded to our dealer submission service or our electronic lien and title service, with lots more to come thanks to the forward-thinking design of the DTRS solution from CHAMP. Realizing benefits incrementally has really been great for West Virginia and all who are enjoying these improved ways of transacting, not least of which is the DMV.”

People often do not think of the consequences of poor record keeping, but it can and does cause major financial or legal problems, as well as the potential for data to be corrupted by bad actors. These consequences can be multiplied in the vehicle titling space, where there are so many stakeholders involved in every transaction, each represented by their state’s own unique government procedures and regulations. Paper processes create incredible costs and slow the pace of commerce, while limiting innovation and providing the easiest path for fraud. Digital processes solve these concerns but require extensive knowledge of cyber security protocols to keep information secure.

“Many of the legacy systems still in use today don’t have the ability to effectively and safely process the thousands of transactions per day and store or transfer the millions of files that otherwise become printed pieces of paper,” Bigelow said. “And when the systems go down, no one knows how to fix them because those who understand the outdated technology are no longer in the industry.”

CHAMP is on a mission to make these problems relics of the past. Its online solution creates legal, verified digital car titles that enable transferability between state governments, insurance carriers, financial institutions, auto dealers and consumers.

The patented software digitizes title and registration processes for states as well as their constituents in the title and registration process – vehicle dealers, lenders, service providers, salvers, and insurance carriers to name a few. Further, the technology allows the transfer of ownership of titles to occur in minutes instead of the weeks that most states and their constituents endure today. Other companies have offered their versions of online titling and registration but not to the extent of CHAMP’s, and none have successfully built their platforms with DTRS and limited the change management burden for states—and that’s a major differentiator. DTRS offers a proven method for encryption that certifies corrupt-free data, reducing the risk of fraud and cyber threats, while offering the fastest modernization available in the industry today.

As the world continues to move toward the digital landscape, partners in the title ecosystem are awakening to the security benefits of this digitized titling and registration process. And now that states, banks, vehicle retailers, insurance companies and many others can quantify the savings and benefits, consumers will soon benefit greatly from the adoption of this technology by government.

CHAMP’s end-to-end vehicle titling and registration solution is rapidly becoming the go-to answer for states to modernize their title, registration and lien management capabilities.

To learn more about CHAMP and its revolutionary encryption titling and registration software, please visit champtitles.com.

Digitization in Government

By CHAMPtitles

On January 6, 2022

In Consumers, Government

By Joanna Allegretti, CHAMPtitles

It is 2022, and US government is ripe for adopting digitization for two main reasons: the benefits (cost, security, ease just to name a few) are significant and the touchpoint are numerous (331 million citizens and counting).

When most people think of government, they do not consider it a first mover for adopting innovative technology, but the desire is there. According to an Accenture survey, more than 65% of public service leaders have cited creating a personalized citizen experience as a priority. More than a mere preference for policy makers, digitization in government is now being adopted at a faster pace than ever before. There are plenty of good examples of implementation to mention.

Here is one to start: Nearly all US citizens must file a US federal individual income tax return each year. If you submit your return online, you are the beneficiary of this digital government process. E-filing is a huge improvement on completing form 1040 by hand. It also saves the time spent mailing the return at the post office and the cost to send it to the IRS. Best of all, because of the digital process, the tax refund arrives more quickly. Citizens are not the only ones to benefit from this simplified process, so too does the Internal Revenue Service. Between 2010 and 2015, the IRS budget decreased in part due to increased electronic filing. It is no surprise that converting a paper return into a machine-readable format is costly! The more user-friendly digital process also means government resources are freed up for more important things. Customer engagement and satisfaction are also improving; in 2020, 94% of all individual tax returns were filed electronically! Mother nature is equally pleased about this change. Electronically submitting an income tax return is an environmentally friendly alternative to printing and mailing.

Sadly, not all government processes have transformed like this one though, and there is far from broad-based support for digital government by key decision makers. It is the reason many government agencies at the federal and state level still employ legacy and paper-based processes using mainframes or cloud-based systems to process transactions.

Take the Department of Motor Vehicles, a government agency that many adults in this country have interacted with whether it was to apply for or renew a driver’s license or title a new car upon sale. Citizens know all too well that these processes are cumbersome and paper-based: long lines and wait times at the DMV office, piles of paper to manually fill in, and the result: a paper license or title mailed home weeks later. For the DMV, these paper-based processes are costly, inefficient, and prone to human error and unnecessary delay. Even moderately sized states use an estimated 18 million sheets of paper per year to process car titles!

A digital solution for DMVs would be one that modernizes their title and registration systems. For citizens, a digital vehicle title would be profoundly better than what they experience today, lowering costs, increasing security, easing the transfer of ownership, and improving customer satisfaction. As was the case with electronic tax filing, digitization is seamless for citizens and innovative for government. Digital systems replace legacy ones for a fraction of the price, which is a direct savings to taxpayers. A digital process is also more secure for government, and the time efficiencies and cost savings realized by this transformation allow them to pursue other priorities.

The DMV is just one interesting example of the future of digital government, but the good news is interest in this idea of digitization is on the rise. We, as citizens, eagerly await the simplification and savings of all these once onerous and costly government processes.

How Government Should Change After COVID-19

By CHAMPtitles

On August 1, 2020

In Government

By Shane McRann Bigelow, CHAMPtitles

Abridged version originally posted on GCN.com

These days, it seems, everyone has a prediction about what life will look like in a post-quarantine world. In the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught Americans a lot, and there can be no doubt there are further learnings yet to come. Two things we have learned in my busy household: we are so grateful for all that can be done online, and so aware of that which remains stubbornly anchored in the physical world, dependent on personal interactions.

As it turns out, many of the routine tasks we used to carry out in person were ripe for migration into the digital realm – grocery shopping is one example to which many can relate. The rapid growth of virtual doctor visits is another remarkable adaptation during our troubled times. Some of these changes may become habits borne of heightened convenience, long after COVID-19’s stay-at-home policies are lifted.

However, there are many tasks that can still only be completed in-person. Many examples involve personal administrative work – tasks that rely on paper, pen, and another person present. Examples that spring to mind are those where we may need to visit a government department or another local authority: a visit to the DMV, a passport application, a home purchase, the execution of a will.

Of course, it is precisely these sensitive, even crucial, administrative tasks that have been most disrupted by the pandemic as offices have been closed, employees sent home, and no secure digital alternative exists.

To elaborate on just one of these examples, in nearly all of the United States you cannot complete a driving license application, ID application, or car retitling online today, nor is it possible to designate someone to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles on your behalf. A car trip cannot be replaced by a video-call transaction with a DMV representative. If a driver needs to register their newly purchased car with the local DMV, there is simply no alternative to travelling to the DMV, waiting in line, presenting ID, and signing on the dotted line. In the current moment, it is clear to see how such a visit unnecessarily risks public health and safety. It is worth noting that since the DMV is responsible for issuing IDs, as well as licenses, many who travel on public transit to reach these local DMV offices are disproportionately affected by not being able to acquire these standard government services. Unfortunately, the poorest in our communities or the ones most negatively effected in these circumstances.

In time, we hope that the public health and safety concerns which occupy us today will fade. However, in the interim, it is reasonable to assume that Americans will have become increasingly accustomed to shopping, communicating, and conducting their business online, securely and efficiently. In the wake of COVID-19, society will have become even more expectant of paperless, online, secure, and always-open services. In short, we will expect all services – both private and governmental – to be responsive to our needs as customers, taxpayers, and citizens.

How can we be so certain which changes taking place today will persist in the future? Will we not simply revert to the prior status quo in many aspects of life? Of all the predictions offered these days, those with the greatest likelihood of materializing fall into two categories. Firstly, those trends which were already underway before the pandemic and which have only been accelerated during it. Secondly, those trends which are being propelled by strong financial incentives.

For example, it is reasonable to imagine that working remotely will continue to be a feature of professional life long after COVID-19, because it promises real estate savings for employers and saves commuting costs, both in terms of time and money, for employees. These are strong financial incentives. Moreover, we know that many employees have long wanted to work remotely for lifestyle reasons. In other words, this trend was already well underway and has simply accelerated, particularly in light of recent announcements from major technology sector employers.

I propose that the digitization of administrative processes and transactions, such as those carried out at the DMV today, is another candidate for permanent change. Digitization has swept through innumerable industries and is a trend set to accelerate. With clear financial incentives in place for taxpayers, consumers, government, and private enterprise, we should all welcome this evolution.

We are pleased to report that numerous state governments, agencies, and businesses are collaborating in an effort to embrace the digitization of critical records and paper processes currently responsible for much cost, time, and inconvenience. Perhaps one day before long, your car title will no longer be filed away in a safety deposit box, or worse yet, exist as a crumpled piece of paper in your glove compartment, but will instead be a secure online record – always available to you, and always current, without a trip to the DMV.

As we tackle the issue of the day, perhaps digitization of vital records can even help securely and safely reopen the American economy. The more day-to-day business can be executed instantly, securely, and without long-lines, signatures, copy machines, mail, and face-to-face interactions, the more resilient our economy will be.

The good news is that investment in new ways of recording, storing, and sharing data is set to accelerate due to the stress on legacy systems during these uncertain times, and the growing awareness of the opportunity within reach. As interested citizens, we should demand from government the service level we have come to expect from our best service providers during these difficult times. As a technology and business community, we must continue to develop and implement secure, scalable, and efficient information systems that can win the trust of both government and private enterprise.

The prize is clear, and within reach: a world where taxing but vital offline processes are finally migrated into the digital world, unlocking vast efficiencies and benefits both predictable and unforeseeable.