BATON ROUGE, La. — AppOne, which is now a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, announced late last week that Universal Special Auto Finance has joined its network of lenders.

Through AppOne, Universal Special Auto Finance has the opportunity to expand its independent dealership customer base while continuing to provide financing alternatives to credit-challenged customers, officials explained.

Universal Special Auto Finance currently operates in 33 states. AppOne will help the subprime lender reach its goal of expanding to all 48 continental states by mid 2008.

"AppOne's strong risk mitigation and compliance features, such as the RECON score system and automated contracts that include the trusted compliance content of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services' Bankers Systems product line, make it a tremendously useful tool for us to reach independent dealers nationwide," explained John Scordo, chief executive officer of Universal Special Auto Finance and 30-year veteran of the auto finance industry.

"AppOne's 10-year record of proven experience and service to independents makes it a strategic business partner for Universal Special Auto Finance," he continued.

Meanwhile, Lee Domingue, CEO of AppOne, added, "Dealers on the AppOne platform have asked us to find lenders who are able to provide financing for their customers who do not have prime credit.

He went on to say that adding Universal Special Auto Finance to the platform helps to fill this financing niche for the company's independent dealers.

For more information on AppOne, visit www.appone.net.