CINCINNATI — Online car lease marketplace Swapalease.com reports credit applicants registered a 70.7% approval rate in March, a rise from the February rate of 65.9%.

A higher number of qualified applicants led to more lease takeover approvals, analysts said. Only 67.3% of lease applicants were approved in March 2018. March approval rates also were the strongest for the first quarter, having started at 67.5% in January, followed by a slight dip to 65.9% in February.

“We are impressed by the number of applicants looking to take over another person’s lease for the month of March, as well as the increase in lease approvals,” said Executive Vice President Scot Hall. “It is very likely that we saw more activity in March from people receiving their tax rebate checks and using them toward a lease in our marketplace, which in many cases avoids a down payment.”