For consumers who needed a subprime auto finance company to accept their application because of a soft credit profile, Merchant Partners and Acima Credit are collaborating to assist those same individuals who encounter financial hardship stemming from vehicle repair.

The partnership revealed this week combines the technological prowess of Merchant Partners — owner of a leading automotive payment management software, 1stMILE — and the financing capabilities of Acima Credit to provide more flexible financing to thousands of repair 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," said 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 percent 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 said it can help consumers spread payments over time and establish a credit history.

By offering financing options for those with low FICO scores (or no credit history at all), Acima Credit can help merchants increase revenue and gain customers who would have been lost to credit denial.

“We believe that our customers are more than just a credit score,” said Aaron Allred, founder and chief executive officer 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 can make no-credit-needed financing more accessible. Its software can provide automotive locations with a suite of financial-integration tools that can help maximize revenues and lower costs, all without a markup for payment processing.

The software also can 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.

“The 1stMILE/Acima integration is second-to-none,” said Jason Burt, who manages three Burt Brothers Tire locations in Salt Lake City. “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.”