Payment-driven searches could be the biggest development for car portals in the next year, according to technology provider iVendi.

The company said that, in the past, payment searches were limited to individual dealer or dealer group websites. However the technology has become increasingly available across searches covering thousands of dealers.

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James Tew, chief executive officer at iVendi, said that by looking at the use of the company’s online finance calculator Quoteware, iVendi found that around two thirds of consumers opted for monthly payments as their key search criteria.

Tew said: "If you know that you can afford £250-300 per month, it makes sense for this to be the basis of your search. We very much live in a pay-monthly society and this is how many consumers think today when purchasing a car."

Tew added that this kind of search was very much in tune with the rapid and ongoing shift in the new and used car market to PCP as the primary purchase tool.

He said: "If, in 2015, car buyers have a definite pay monthly mindset, then being able to present them with a tailored payments search into a database of cars running into hundreds of thousands should have definite appeal.

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"This, to our mind, is a game changer for car portals. Instead of a car buyer searching for a vehicle that they like, they will instead be identifying one that they believe they can afford. The distinction is subtle but crucial and moves the possibility of a sale much closer."

Earlier this month, Motors.co.uk has launched a function to search by ‘monthly cost’ for buyers on its website.