Equipment financing has become a standard product for banks around the world and the demand for this approach is growing. While leasing assets and equipment to customers is a well-established business model, tracking those leased assets effectively is often not so well-established with relatively manual processes and static, scattered data.
We are working with a global bank to help them improve their asset tracking operations so they know exactly who has which asset, where it is, and whether the contract terms have been respected.
The need for real-time tracking for leased banking equipment
Initially, the bank relied on a simple database setup to monitor over 100 000 pieces of machinery, equipment, and vehicles. Metadata such as asset type, equipment vendor, and customer were stored in this database. Separately contracts were stored and handled manually. The big problem with this approach is that is was no real-time insight, so the bank did not know if a customer had breached contract terms, such as permitted usage levels.
Many asset vendors provide APIs that supply the bank with critical data, including hours used, GPS coordinates, CO₂ emissions, and fault alerts. If cross-referenced with contract and customer information the bank can get instant visibility. For example, alerts could show if a vehicle is leaving a permitted geographic area or assist with calculating second-hand valuations based on usage.
The bank approached us to create a centralised system for tracking assets, customer agreements, and handling real-time information to make it significantly simpler for staff to manage the entire leasing business and optimise profits.
Centralising leased equipment data
The bank decided to enhance their database by integrating richer data, combining it with real-time feeds, and triggering alerts when specific criteria are met.
Bank equipment and asset portfolios typically involve vast volumes and a broad mix of equipment types, making them hard to manage using traditional asset management tools that limit category structures. Starhive is designed for scenarios exactly like this, allowing straightforward creation of categories and subcategories so staff can find what they need with ease.
Starhive also stores supplementary information—customer details, vendor data, contract files—all linked to specific assets. This means that with a few clicks, a member of the asset financing team can access all relevant information. Starhive can also track contract renewal dates and send alerts to the relevant account manager via their CRM, ensuring timely action.
The next step connects the comprehensive asset database with real-time vendor API feeds. Starhive can listen for API updates and refresh asset metadata such as location or hours used on a regular schedule. If an API sends a fault alert, Starhive can automatically create a notification and task for the team to contact the customer and invoke any maintenance agreement.
With all this data in one place, the bank has access to more data than ever before to help them find trends. Starhive’s powerful search capabilities means they can easily understand if a particular region has more contract breaches than others, or if a particular vendor or asset type causes more problems than average so they can take remedial actions and increase their profitability.
Exploring geofencing for enhanced real-time tracking for leased banking assets
We are also exploring the use of geofencing to give the bank even greater asset visibility. By comparing received GPS coordinates with contract-defined zones, the Starhive system can automatically trigger alerts or status changes if financed equipment moves beyond its agreed location.
Summary
By centralising equipment and contract data in Starhive and integrating real-time vendor API feeds, the bank gains instant, actionable insight into financed equipment. This enables proactive interventions, supports contract compliance, and improves asset value management.
If you have a similar setup and need to know precisely where your leased assets are and how they are being used, get in touch and let us explore how we can help with real-time tracking.
