Merchant Partners LLC and Acima LLC have agreed to a strategic partnership designed to make automotive financing more accessible to American households. The move is intended to make no-credit-needed financing more readily available to subprime markets across the United States.
The partnership is expected to accelerate revenue growth for automotive shops in economically vulnerable markets, while benefiting consumers that could not afford basic automotive services otherwise, according to Merchant Partners and Acima, which goes to market as Acima Credit.
The partnership combines the technological prowess of Merchant Partners — owner of the automotive payment management software, 1stMile — and the financing capabilities of Acima Credit to provide more flexible financing to thousands of automotive shops across the nation. The 1stMile software currently serves more than 8,000 automotive locations nationwide.
“Our top priority with 1stMile is to get more cars on the lifts for our customers and grow their revenue,” says Bob Church, senior vice president of sales and marketing with Merchant Partners. “The Acima program is a key contributor to help us get this done and we're excited by how this partnership can help our customers boost their profits."
Acima Credit specializes in financing options for the estimated 40% of Americans who suffer from damaged credit scores or a lack of credit history. With a 90-day payment option and direct-reporting to Experian, Acima Credit helps consumers spread payments over time and establish a credit history. By offering financing options for those with little, no, or even damaged credit, Acima Credit helps merchants increase revenue and gain customers that would have been lost to credit denial.
“We believe that our customers are more than just a credit score,” says Aaron Allred, founder and CEO of Acima Credit. “Acima’s quick and easy point-of-sale financing helps consumers in economically vulnerable markets with the much-needed resources to fix their cars when economic conditions have left them in a tight spot.”
The 1stMile platform will make no-credit-needed financing more accessible than ever before. Its software provides automotive locations with a suite of financial-integration tools that help maximize revenues and lower costs, all without a markup for payment processing. The software will also recommend alternative financing to subprime customers who fail to qualify for traditional credit. With this new partnership, no-credit-needed financing will be offered through nearly two dozen automotive point-of-sale systems that are integrated with the 1stMile platform, according to the companies.
“The 1stMile/Acima integration is second-to-none,” says Jason Burt, who manages three Burt Brothers Tire and Service Inc. locations in the Salt Lake City metro area. “It gets us more work orders. It gets us higher ticket totals. It gets us all the things that pump our business. From an owner’s perspective, it’s something every [tire] company should have. Bar none, it’ll increase revenue.”
Consumers who use credit to finance their tire purchases spend twice as much as those who pay by card or cash, according to Merchant Partners. The video below steps through the Acima/1stMile credit application process.
About Acima Credit
Acima Credit provides consumers and merchants with no-credit-needed point-of-sale financing solutions underwritten by machine learning technology. Acima says consumers love the expanded purchasing power and merchants love expanding their businesses into underserved demographics at no additional cost to them. For more information, visit www.acimacredit.com
About 1stMile
Merchant Partners’ 1stMile automotive payment management software serves over 8,000 automotive locations and allows retailers to process credit cards, fleet cards, checks, gift cards, and more, each at the lowest possible cost and the most secure environment. The software is designed to provide a state-of-the-art repair finance facility to meet the needs of nearly all customers, reducing declined services, while seamlessly providing all the necessary financial functions to a shop.
