Upbound Group, owner of Rent-A-Center and Acima, has completed its purchase of Brigit.
The deal, finalized Friday (Jan. 31), adds Brigit’s financial health technology to Upbound’s offerings, the company said in a news release.
“The combined company has significantly greater scale, currently serving approximately four million active customers, including Brigit’s over one million active paying subscribers and almost one million free subscribers,” the release said.
With the acquisition, first announced in December, Upbound says it is able to meet additional consumer needs, such as offering earned wage access and credit building products.
The purchase also lets Upbound offer financial wellness solutions and educational resources, while Brigit’s cash flow underwriting data and tech stack can provide Acima and Rent-A-Center with better fraud prevention and risk management solutions.
“By combining Brigit’s innovative technology, customer-centric approach and talented team with our company, we are enhancing our ability to create a more personalized customer experience and to deliver, at the right time and through the right channels, a wider range of targeted solutions for consumers,” Upbound CEO Mitch Fadel said in the announcement.
Upbound Group was launched two years ago when Rent-A-Center (RAC) rebranded into a holding company with that name. It includes the Acima virtual lease-to-own business that RAC acquired in 2020 and the Acceptance Now flexible leasing operation.
Upbound Chief Financial Officer Fahmi Karam told PYMNTS at the time that the company holds a philosophy of “moving [customers] up the credit chain, if you will, giving them more financing solutions, more alternatives, and giving them a little bit more financial confidence.”
The company’s embrace of buy now, pay later (BNPL) comes at a time when nearly two-thirds of consumers have used this payment method to manage cash flow, according to PYMNTS Intelligence research.
“And more consumers use BNPL strategically than out of necessity. The average transaction among BNPL users is $926,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month. The research also found that a notable majority of consumers are happy with these plans, with upwards of three-quarters of BNPL users reporting high levels of satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) earlier this month issued a report on BNPL, saying that “the importance of BNPL in the credit profiles of BNPL borrowers underlines the need for further research to understand how this growing financial product causally impacts borrowers’ financial health.” Findings from the regulator found that more than 60% of BNPL users held simultaneous BNPL loans.
Investing giant Warren Buffett has warned that President Trump’s tariffs could hurt consumers.
“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree,” Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway invests in a number of industries bound to be affected by the tariffs, said in an interview with CBS News Sunday (March 2).
“Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ’em!” Buffett said. “And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’”
Trump announced last week that the U.S. would impose new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China beginning March 4. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he argued the tariffs will deter the flow of illegal drugs from Canada and Mexico, as well as the manufacturing and supply of drugs by China.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump wrote in the post.
“China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date,” he wrote. “The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect.”
The levies on Canada and Mexico will be 25%, while the 10% tariff on China will be placed on top of the 10% one that took effect last month.
The tariffs have shaken U.S. consumer confidence, and have led to warnings from industry groups about their effect on commerce. For example, the National Restaurant Association has written to the president, saying the tariffs could cause that sector more than $12 billion and bring about higher menu prices.
“We urge you to exempt food and beverage products to minimize the impact on restaurant owners and consumers,” the association said in the letter seen by Bloomberg News. “This will help keep menu prices stable.”
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that 57% of consumers and small businesses who consider themselves knowledgeable about the tariffs have a negative opinion of them.
“They’re not only worried about the big picture economy (though 40% are concerned about that, too),” PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote last month.
“They’re worried about their own bottom line. That’s because 78% of those consumers anticipate higher prices and 75% expect product shortages. If you’re getting flashbacks to those empty store shelves during COVID, you’re not alone. It’s the same kind of anxiety that consumers now express, just with a different root cause.”