Porsche, Jaguar Help Fuel BNPL Car Repair Startup Bumper’s $12M Series A

Bumper, a British buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup that helps people pay for car repairs, has raised $12 million with the help of a pair of automakers.

According to published reports, Bumper’s Series A was led by Autotech Ventures, with the backing of Porsche Ventures and Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures fund.

The company will use the funding to expand into Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, with plans to add more European markets before the end of next year. Bumper will also add to its staff and up its marketing for its business-to-consumer offerings. Next month, it plans to launch an app to help make payments for things like tolls and parking and to approve repairs.

Founded in 2013, Bumper was initially known as Auto Service Finance. The company lets car owners spread the cost of repairs over installments, and also works with car manufacturers such as Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover.

“Bumper offers a simple alternative to unexpected car repairs,” said James Jackson, CEO and co-founder of Bumper. “It’s a very different proposition to other BNPL services, as we’re not encouraging people to buy things they don’t need, we’re enabling them to purchase necessary repairs at an affordable rate. We’ve seen huge demand for expanding the services we offer, and are looking forward to bringing Bumper to customers across Europe.”

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PYMNTS looked at the need for BNPL services to cover necessities last week in an interview with Bobby Tzekin, co-founder and CEO of Wisetack. His BNPL company finances goods and services in areas where BNPL coverage is largely absent, such as cars or dental work, but mainly focuses on the home trades.

“We focus on emergency repairs and things that are still in that range from a few thousand up to $10,000 to $20,000, which usually folks will want to take care of in a faster way than getting a home-equity line of credit,” Tzekin said.