With many big online and high street names offering customers greater flexibility Buy now Pay Later is growing in popularity. Currys, Ikea, Very.co.uk and many others engage consumers with offers of slicing their bills and delaying payments.

Buy now pay later is a finance option that allows you to make purchases either by splitting them into monthly payments and/or delaying the payments to a later date.

Some providers have interest bearing BNPL options so it’s important to find out before applying, however this will often be made clear to you beforehand. Other providers, such as Bumper for car repairs, is interest free and won’t charge you extra for splitting your bill.

Why is Buy Now Pay Later becoming more popular?

For online shoppers using sites such as Pretty Little Thing, Missguided and ASOS BNPL allows customers to purchase more items and return clothes before payments are made. Retailers offering BNPL on larger items, for example washing machines at Currys or 

, allows customers to split often unexpected bills into affordable monthly payments.

Will using Buy Now Pay Later affect my credit score?

As some BNPL options require a credit check it can be used as a way to boost your credit score. Regular on-time payments are reported back to the credit reference agency and can be looked upon as favourable by lenders in the future. For advice and to see your credit score you should consult a credit reference agency such as Experian.

Bumper is an interest free solution for car repairs and services that is customer centric and responsible. To get your Credit Limit and find participating garages and dealerships clickhere.

Buy Now PayLater: Fastest Growing Payment Method Globally

We are excited to announce our latest partnership with CitNOW, which will continue to offer increased flexibility for customers when paying for repairs through CitNOW’s workshop app.

Now customers will be able to see required repair work with dealers using CitNOW via video and apply to split their bill into monthly instalments in just a few clicks.

Chief Technology Officer, Colin Tinto commented, ‘What has become clear during this pandemic is that consumers are becoming more accustomed to communicating and transacting digitally and are realising that the associated processes can be a lot more efficient. As we emerge from lockdown, convenience will continue to be a priority for consumers, which is why it made perfect sense for us to partner with Bumper.

“Like us they are a leader in their field, and, more importantly, they share our vision for cutting-edge digital solutions that benefit car buyers”.

The integration is available now in the CitNOW workshop app and is free to eligible sites.

Bumper is an interest free solution for car repairs and services that is customer-centric and responsible. To get your Credit Limit and find participating garages and dealerships visit the Bumper website.

Announcement: Bumper and CitNOW partnership offers increased flexibility for drivers

Bumper has been selected to join Tech Nation's highly specialised growth programme for the FinTech sector.

The programme is specially designed for companies ready to achieve their potential and scale. It consists of insights sessions delivered by some of the most established fintech entrepreneurs, investors, and partners.

The programme lasts for six months and includes an in-depth induction, a series of learning sessions and networking events with key stakeholders.

A record number of applications have been narrowed down to just 31 companies. The companies include Automated Intelligence, Aveni, Balkerne, BankBI, Bankifi, Caura, Coincover, Credas and Creditable.

Bumper CEO, James Jackson, said, “It’s great to be recognised by this Government-backed programme which selects the 30 most exciting FinTechs in the UK to help support them through their growth phase and includes an international showcase tour to help raise Bumper’s profile and potentially new investment. Previous graduates of the programme include FinTech Unicorns including Starling Bank, TransferWise and Revolut”.

Bumper is an interest-free financing solution for car repairs and services that is customer-centric and responsible.

We’re delighted to announce a partnership with RTC Automotive Solutions. The collaboration will see Bumper’s aftersales payment integrated into RTC’s aftersales platform and will mean Bumper’s ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ service will be easily offered to aftersales customers at dealerships using RTC’s software.

RTC’s Aftersales management technology, which provides dealerships with inbound booking, workshop loading and management, electronic vehicle health check and deferred work contact capabilities, now also includes the ability to offer customers the option of splitting their payments across a number of interest-free instalments.

Decisions are offered and processed immediately within the platform using Bumper’s proprietary risk management technology, helping to speed up the customer approval process and enabling dealerships to sell work that might have otherwise been declined.

Bumper is now used by more than 2,000 dealership sites in the UK, including sites belonging to brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Peugeot, Citroën, Ford and Vauxhall. The business has also started working with Volkswagen Group brands across the country. Dealerships typically pay a percentage of the work sold using Bumper to the company.

James Jackson, Co-founder and CEO of Bumper, said:

“Having the ability to offer customers flexible payment options is becoming increasingly important to retail businesses, and dealerships are no different. Customers also have high expectations for convenience and by integrating our solution with RTC Aftersales, we will be able to provide dealerships with a quick way of streamlining the approval of work, with the ability to split payments a seamless part of the process”.

Richard Robinson, Chief Operating Officer at RTC, said:

“We’re constantly looking to develop our solutions and integrate with new partners. The ability for our dealerships to offer their customers a simple way to choose flexible payments as part of the approval process for any required work will ensure a smoother aftersales experience.”

Find out more about RTC’s Aftersales platform here.

Bumper is an interest free financing solution for car repairs and services that is customer centric and responsible.

New RTC and ASF integration offers customers seamless application process

Bumper has teamed up with Ecologi to set and achieve goals for a carbon neutral future.

Bristol based, Ecologi, was set up to empower everyday people and businesses to help tackle the climate crisis. Funds raised go directly to planet saving projects. A key area of focus is Tree Planting, one of the best tools to help keep our temperatures from rising, and carbon reduction, the process of removing more greenhouses gases than are produced.

So far Bumper has funded the planting of 1,000 trees, which is 73.53 tonnes of carbon reduction. This is equivalent to 56 long haul flights, 148,428 miles driven in a car and 221 square meters of sea ice saved.

Bumper’s funding has already contributed to several green projects.

This project aims to provide long term access to clean water for families in the Zoba Debub district of Eritrea by repairing water boreholes. Boreholes are used in the region to access clean water however a large number are broken. Repaired water boreholes access naturally cleaned water purified as it percolates through pores in the rock and reduces the number of residents using fired wood as a means of purification.

Forest plantation on degraded grassland in Uruguay

Previously used for cattle grazing for 300 years, 21,298 hectares of land have been turned into sustainable managed forestry. The project, which is over seen by Rainforest Alliance, should remove 7,644,973 tonnes of CO2 in the next 60 years.

Our goal is to help plant 100,000 trees in the next 12 months and become a carbon neutral business.

To learn more about the work Ecologi is doing 

Bumper team up with Ecologi to tackle urgent climate crisis

A recent forecast produced by the DVSA predicted the number of MOTs carried out in October and November will be 60% higher than normal levels.

Their recent ‘Beat the Rush’ campaign caused one million vehicle owners to bring forward their test last month. More than one million MOTs that took place in September weren’t due until October 2020 – January 2021.

The DVSA said: “The key message now is for customers to book their MOT as early as possible. By encouraging customers to book early, we hope you are able to plan effectively for this busy period and maximise the number of MOTs you can complete.

For garages wanting to get involved in the DVSA’s ‘Beat The Rush’ campaign, you can find more information here. To find out more about how Bumper can help your customers with their repair bill in just a few clicks, click here.

If your MOT is due soon book in as early as possible. To split your next MOT or repair bill into monthly instalments at no extra cost and find garages in your area visit the Bumper website.

DVSA predict number of MOTs to be 60% higher than normal in October and November

Bumper are pleased to announce that they are now a Living Wage Accredited Employer.

The Living Wage Foundation campaigns for businesses to pay their staff a wage which meets everyday living costs.

Their proposed living rate is based on what real people need to live; a weekly shop, utility bills, rent and unexpected bills.

CEO & Co-Founder, James Jackson, said “As a responsible lender with a keen focus on treating customers fairly, it seemed only right to extend this to all our employees who all play such a vital role in offering a world class service to our customers and dealerships. The accreditation doesn’t just cover our direct employees, but also our contractors and suppliers – meaning our pledge has an even wider impact.”

Other companies taking part in the scheme include Ikea, Nationwide, Nestlé, Aviva and many others.

The new Living Wage is announced each year in November and Living Wage Accredited employers are expected to make any due pay rises within 6 months.

To find out more about the Living Wage Foundation visit 

Bumper is a Buy Now Pay Later provider for car repairs and servicing.

Bumper Becomes Living Wage Foundation Accredited

Bumper and Vehicle vision have formed a partnership enabling dealerships to offer a fully digital experience to customers.

Vehicle Vision’s Aftersales product, which enables technicians carrying out workshop inspections to record videos and share them with customers, now also includes the ability to offer customers the option of spreading the cost of any repair work across a number of interest-free instalments and an additional option to pay now if preferred.

The new integration gives customers greater financial flexibility in uncertain economic times and reduces the need for service advisors and customers to interact during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing Director of Vehicle Vision, Steve Dean, said: "This announcement comes at a hugely important time for car dealerships, garages, but also for motorists.

“As well as empowering dealerships and garages to provide customers with total financial flexibility in relation to repairs, which could be a real lifeline for drivers during tough economic times, the Bumper integration also provides efficiencies and real opportunities for increased business where works may have been put off due to tighter household budgets.

“The integration also provides customers and dealerships with an additional opportunity to trade safely.”

There will be three options to pay for repair work, with customers retaining the ability to pay on collection of the vehicle, on the platform.

Bumper Co-founder, Jack Allman said, “We are delighted to see Bumper integrated within Vehicle Vision.

“Giving customers flexibility and convenience is more important than ever – particularly in the current environment. By combining our two platforms we are enabling dealerships to provide a fully digital experience to their customers.

“We see customers transacting in under 115 seconds on average, so this provides a huge time saving to service departments. Together Vehicle Vision and Bumper act as a digital service advisor - an additional resource for a dealership.”

The new feature is available within the Vehicle Vision aftersales platform at no extra cost.

Alastair Shephard

Content Writer