Driving Auto Loan Success with PayNearMe and Auto Master Systems Integration

Optimizing payments is mission-critical for auto lenders. With fierce competition and delinquencies on the rise, being able to collect more on-time payments and operate more cost-efficiently is key to profitability. Making it possible is PayNearMe’s robust integration with Auto Master Systems, a leading loan management system for BHPH auto dealers and finance companies.

For 10 years, PayNearMe has partnered with Auto Master Systems (AMS), to help clients increase acceptance rates and automate processes to drive growth, while using the core system they know and love. With seamless integration, these technology partners are able to innovate faster for auto lenders. For example, PayNearMe enables AMS to more quickly roll out new capabilities, such as offering more payment types, real-time account updates and automated retries for autopay.

Nearly 50 clients are using PayNearMe’s solution integrated with AMS to achieve big wins. Dealerships like Drive Now in Illinois and Heritage in Indiana, and auto financers such as HCAC and CapitalCredit LLC, are dramatically reducing the cost of accepting payments with self-service and automation. Here we’ll look at what makes this integration so powerful for auto lenders and their customers.

Simplifying payments for auto dealerships

Integrating PayNearMe with AMS enables BHPH dealers and auto lenders to manage everything in one place, including payment acceptance, disbursements, agent collections, reporting and more. It’s a crucial way to future-proof the payments stack using a platform that grows with their business.

For starters, with PayNearMe, companies can accept all major payment types in a single platform, including alternative methods that are increasingly popular. Beyond cards and ACH, they can accept digital wallets (PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App Pay) and cash at retail locations where customers frequently shop (e.g., Walmart, CVS, 7-Eleven, etc.). 

Offering customers more ways to pay is essential to improving on-time payments – and with PayNearMe it all happens through an easy-to-use self-service app. Using a personalized Smart Link™, customers can jump directly into their account in the payment app (on mobile or desktop), and pay in just a few taps using their preferred method.

Shifting workflows to self-service is a primary factor in driving cost-saving efficiencies, but wait, there’s more. The PayNearMe-AMS integration provides added capabilities that help streamline back-office operations. For example, Single Sign-On makes it easier for the business to manage payments without having to deal with multiple logins or screens. And from AMS, they can send customers an email or text message with their personalized PayNearMe Smart Link. The business can even automate bulk text messages, sending digital reminders before payments are due.

AMS users love the PayNearMe waterfall bypass feature because it enables agents to process partial payments and correctly allocate funds to specific items in AMS, such as CPI, principal-only payments, miscellaneous fees and more. The list of items is dynamically generated based on rules configured in AMS, allowing for customization that varies by client. This feature saves collectors time by preventing the misapplication of partial payments that can occur with the AMS automated waterfall system.

Even handling common exceptions like ACH returns and card declines is made easier and less costly. With Autopay Retry, the system uses logic-based business rules to automatically retry autopay attempts later the same day or the next day. As the system pings the customer about the decline and alerts them about an upcoming retry, it prompts the payer to resolve the issue, and many times the retry is successful.

The Impact: Real-time benefits for Auto Master Systems clients

Providing flexible, convenient self-service is saving AMS clients significant time and money. For instance, giving customers personalized access to their account (without needing a login), along with more payment options, substantially reduces call volume and late payments. Customers no longer need to call to reset forgotten passwords or pay by phone because the biller portal is confusing or doesn’t offer their preferred way to pay. And equally important, customer self-service frees up staff to focus on more complex collections and strategically valuable work.

AMS clients using PayNearMe are exceeding success metrics for self-service adoption. Drive Now has more than three-quarters of their customers (77%) using the app, and Heritage rose even higher with 80% adoption. In fact, Heritage’s head of customer experience noted he was worried their phones were not working because “implementing PayNearMe drove down our call volume to almost silence.”

Yet another pivotal success is the ability to simplify the monthly close process. Traditionally, reconciliation has been complex and time-intensive, requiring days of work for accounting staff. PayNearMe’s automated workflows and data-rich reporting enables AMS clients to streamline operations and close monthly books much faster. 

Client success snapshot: Drive Now

Integrating PayNearMe with Auto Master Systems is delivering measurable benefits for Drive Now Acceptance, a used car dealership and financing company based in Illinois. In a 2024 webinar, Drive Now’s CFO explained that word-of-mouth referrals are vital for their business, and part of setting customers up for success is to make it as easy as possible for them to pay their auto loan. 

Using the PayNearMe payments platform, the company has seen a ‘phenomenal transformation’. Customers love the simple and smooth process, with 77% now using self-service to pay their loans. And streamlined reconciliation has delighted their accounting staff, enabling them to close the books 7-9 days earlier than before.

With dramatically reduced call volume and simplified processes, Drive Now has grown 17% in the past five years – without having to hire more collectors – to enjoy greater profitability. CFO and Partner, Lisa Patterson notes the financial savings and time savings ‘have been amazing.’

“I can’t express how happy I am to have a payment processor that the integration was seamless. Anyone thinking about changing, don’t hesitate because you’re going to work with professionals that know what they’re doing, who listen and who actually care.”  

Lisa Patterson, CFO and Partner, Drive Now

Value beyond technology: Client resources

As technology partners, PayNearMe and Auto Master Systems offer more than an optimized payment solution. They also collaborate to provide learning resources such as webinars and training to help clients maximize the benefits of using the payments platform.

To explore more client success stories:

• Read case studies – such as Drive Now, Automotive Partners Funding, and more

• View on-demand webinars – featuring clients like Heritage Acceptance and others

• Register for upcoming webinars 

Get ahead with PayNearMe and Auto Master Systems

BHPH dealerships and auto financing companies are often hindered by legacy payment processes that make collections costly and cut into profits. The modern, reliable PayNearMe platform is built to solve the biggest payment problems. It empowers companies to accept more on-time payments with lower cost and fewer exceptions, and optimize efficiency to better serve customers and their business.

Check out the PayNearMe platform with our interactive virtual demo, or reach out to schedule a personalized demo.