Automobile Consumer Services, Inc. (ACS), announced the establishment of FlexPath™ DXP, LLC (FlexPath), a FinTech (Financial Technology) connected retailing platform company.
The new venture again raises the stakes in automotive fintech. FlexPath CEO Tarry Shebesta has been a proven industry innovator and leader in soft-pull credit prequalification solutions for the last twenty-plus years. FlexPath is positioned to power the credit-first generation of Digital Retailing.
FlexPath and Shebesta are off to a fast start – already making bets the startup will grow larger and faster than an unrelated fintech company he sold in 2021. Major customers, industry partners, and strategic investors are lined up.
“This has the potential to be a really big company, bigger than my previous fintech venture for sure,” says Shebesta. “Lenders, dealers, OEMs, marketing agencies, vendors, and marketplaces who are racing to incorporate credit-first into their connected retailing solutions will benefit from the FlexPath platform.”
Shebesta coined the term “Credit-First vs Credit-Last” years ago to illustrate how building marketing and shopping tools using credit early in the process ensures more accurate monthly payments and realistic vehicle purchase and financing expectations when consumers want to shop based upon a certain monthly payment.
The lead strategic investor in FlexPath is Keith McCluskey, owner of McCluskey Chevrolet, Inc., the largest new and used vehicle Chevrolet dealer in the world. “Shop-by-Payment technology has consistently been the top conversion tool on our website for years,” states McCluskey. “It works as a stand-alone marketing tool and complements digital retailing solutions on our website.”
The heart of FlexPath’s proprietary technology is the credit-first lender waterfall decisioning engine Trillium™. Unlike other monthly payment quoting services that use only a credit score, the Trillium™ AI engine uses real credit bureau data and hundreds of rates, rules, and lending guidelines to ensure credit-perfect payments.
In contrast, the current ecosystem of disconnected credit-last digital retailing platforms, disjointed marketing campaigns, and fragmented systems create consumer mistrust, and false payment expectations for buyers resulting in poor conversions, and lost sales.
FlexPath enables companies to custom build their own tech using Trillium™ web APIs, or plug-and-play a white-labeled proven model that’s flexible to fit into any digital marketing campaign or online/in-store sales process, enabling fraud prevention technology and speed to market without spending millions on development costs.
“35 years ago, I started a company, unlike any other in the industry, to change the way consumers bought and financed vehicles. I’m still energized and working as hard as ever!” Shebesta said. “I made it to the other side of the startup journey. If I can finish what I started with FlexPath, I’ll feel like I made my impact upon and contribution to the industry that I’ve been a part of since 1989.”
FlexPath is available within different channels and industries where consumers shop for finance-based collateral, such as automotive, powersports, recreational vehicles, and marine.
About FlexPath DXP, LLC
FlexPath DXP is a Digital Experience Platform, with deep roots in automotive sales and marketing, developing revolutionary SaaS fintech solutions, enabling organizations to deliver more personalized and targeted marketing efforts, enhance customer experiences, and drive efficiencies and value for all parties involved.
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