RALEIGH, N.C. — In response to increased demand for services to support the repossession and remarketing of non-performing assets, Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems and PassTime USA announced they have formed a strategic partnership.

This partnership will allow the companies to incorporate real-time assignment, tracking and management of assets through Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems' I-BEAM (Internet-Based Electronic Asset Management) Web portal and PassTime USA's payment assurance solutions.

"For the first time, finance companies have complete transparency into the repossession and remarketing process," said Terry Groves, executive vice president of Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems.

"It is now possible to analyze a portfolio in real time to determine status, costs, condition and location of any asset. Decisions can be made faster to determine the proper action to minimize loss through lower operational costs, higher asset valuations and reduced time to final disposition," he added.

By coupling the I-BEAM portal to a lender's collection system, data can be shared seamlessly with Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems' nationwide community of more than 400 repossession agents and remarketing specialists.

Information from the field is displayed in real time, providing instant updates to lenders. It is no longer necessary to chase agents down on the phone or wade through piles of documents at the fax machine, officials indicated.

"We are excited about our relationship with Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems," said Chris Macheca, executive vice president of operations for PassTime USA.

"Together we will be able to deliver the industry's leading recovery and remarketing solution," he continued.

The combination of PassTime USA's payment assurance devices coupled with Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems' nationwide services solution provides the highest level of asset and payment protection for lenders and dealers, according to company executives.

"As a part of our continuing customer commitment to deliver value-based solutions and, aligned with our strategy to provide true differentiation in the market from device-only manufacturers, we have partnered with Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems and are excited about the best-in-class services they bring to the table," stated Stan Schwarz, founder and chief executive officer of PassTime USA.

Steve Norwood, founder and CEO of Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems, added, "Paper-based traditional models must be thrown out because repossession is at an all time high. Optimizing the supply chain through performance monitoring and consolidating spend from several lenders to preferred agents is the only sustainable model that will produce the best results while controlling costs in the current economic climate.

"Agents have a choice and forcing the agent community to burden the costs alone will result in poor performance and increased losses," he concluded.