AAMCO offering franchisees new financing options

HORSHAM, Pa. (May 10, 2016) — AAMCO Transmission Inc.'s franchise operation has partnered with Versatile Credit to provide financing options for the car repair chain's franchisees.

Privately held Versatile offers what it calls “an ecosystem of leading lending partners, proprietary software and services” along with hardware and “engaging visual content” aimed at driving more credit applications, more approvals and more sales for retailers.

AAMCO said its partnership with Versatile — a provider of solutions linking lenders with consumers applying for credit in retail stores — will provide “enhanced consumer financing options to its franchisees.” Versatile recently introduced the new technology platform options as part of its current consumer financing program that allows customers to submit one credit application to access multiple lenders in order to maximize loan approval rates.

“Our vision was to develop a consumer finance platform and portfolio of lenders that provided the best possible approval rates and terms to AAMCO franchisees and their consumers in the easiest possible way,” said Jim Gregory, CFO of AAMCO. “Versatile Credit aligns with this vision and we are pleased to partner with them on a consumer finance solution that we believe will drive long-term growth in profitability for AAMCO franchisees.

“Versatile Credit's kiosk offers consumers access to multiple lenders in a much more efficient way. Through in-center testing, we've already experienced a jump in loan approval rates and average approval amounts for customers, which will only increase as the program continues to roll out.”

As part of the new program, AAMCO said customers will have the option to apply for a loan for their automotive repair services through a single application completed at a Versatile Credit kiosk at a local AAMCO service center. The kiosk solution “provides a private, secure and fast credit application process for consumers,” according to the company, while franchisees “are able to benefit from applications denied by a primary lender being instantly sent to a secondary lender — reducing credit denials by up to 40 percent.”

This single “cascade” application with access to multiple lenders and instant approval decisions has no credit risk to AAMCO franchisees, the company added.

Vicki Turjan, president of Versatile, said the company's proprietary software “has a proven track record of providing a network of leading lending partners and services that can reduce lost sales. Our self-service, kiosk-based solution will allow AAMCO's customers to apply for credit using a secure and reliable touch-screen interface that requires little to no assistance from staff.”

AAMCO began testing the platform last summer at a select number of service centers nationwide, including Doug Peterson's shop in Canton, Ohio.

“Having more than one financing option has been a major tool for our customer service managers. Many customers feel more secure using the Versatile kiosk because they do not have to verbally give out their personal information,” Mr. Peterson said in an AAMCO press release. “In addition, our customer service managers no longer have to tell customers that they were not approved by a lender, which has helped decrease negative customer interactions.”

Prior to its partnership with Versatile, AAMCO said it offered financing options to franchisees through Synchrony Financial, a consumer financial services firm that is integrated into the Versatile Credit solution platform as well.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the success of its franchise owners, AAMCO said it “will continue to vet other lenders to add to the platform throughout the year.”

Established in 1962 and known as a transmission repair provider, the company has evolved into a total car care brand providing a variety of services including brake repairs, tune-ups, shocks and struts, routine maintenance and more.  It operates nearly 700 centers throughout the U.S. and Canada.