Automotive fintech payment specialist Bumper helped fund £0.5bn worth of car repairs by April and intends to grow that total by a further £460m by the end of this year.
The accelerated growth is being driven by several franchised dealer groups joining its payment solutions network this year including Glyn Hopkin, Yeomans, Sinclair and Ancaster.
The UK-based business is also experiencing rapid growth in Europe and forecasts a doubling of its repair volumes in Germany, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands.
Having launched as a Buy Now, Pay Later platform, Bumper has also grown by adding PayNow including online card payments, Google Pay and Apple Pay and PayPad options to become a full payment solutions provider with online and instore payments.
Car repair invoice values have also grown as a result of increases in the age of cars covered by Bumper.
In 2022, the average age of customer cars was 6.8 years with invoice values averaging £598, rising in 2023 to 7.6 years and £765. During the first quarter of 2024 this increased to 7.8 years and £768.
“Although hitting £0.5bn worth of car repair invoice value is a significant milestone for Bumper, we expect to see an accelerated growth of that figure as the result of more franchised dealer groups joining our network in the UK and across Europe,” said Jack Allman, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Bumper.
“Our rapid growth has been driven by consumers wanting a more affordable way to spread their repair costs without resorting to credit cards and incurring hefty interest charges.
“The ageing car parc and the rising cost of car parts is pushing up repair bills, so we’re empowering franchised dealers to help their customers spread the costs with our payment solutions.
“We’re working closely with our dealer partners to integrate Bumper into their dealer management systems to make repair payments as seamless and painless as possible,” said Allman.