Payments-driven searches are likely to be the biggest development for car portals in the next year, says dealer technology specialist, iVendi.

The company says that, until now, payments searches have been limited to individual dealer or dealer group websites, but now the technology is becoming available to make itaccessible across searches covering thousands of dealers.

James Tew, chief executive, said iVendi knew, from use of its Quoteware online finance calculator, that around two thirds of consumers wiill opt for monthly payments as their key search criteria, where available.

He said: "If you know 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.

"Until now, the use of payments search has been effectively limited to individual dealer or dealer group websites. Soon, the picture will change when Quoteware becomes available on a major car portal for the first time.

"This has presented some major technical challenges fot the team at iVendi but we believe that the results will potentially be extremely impressive. Indeed, we are confident that this is a major step forward."

Tew added that this kind of search was in tune with the ongoing shift in the new and used car market to PCP as a 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 the hundreds of thousands should have definite appeal.

"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 they can afford. The distinction is subtle, but crucial and moves the possibility of a sale much closer."