Online equipment dealer Machinery Partner is launching a captive financing arm, Machinery Partner Capital Solutions.
The captive is focused on fast and flexible financing strategies, according to a Machinery Partner release. Mazo Capital Solutions is acting as the primary backroom lender for the captive and fintech Kaaj.ai will automate the process.
Boston, Mass.-based Machinery Partner sells various types of new and used equipment, including construction, transportation, industrial and agriculture.
While captives are most often associated with manufacturers, Machinery Partner sees its captive as a bridge between dealership and lender, to close a gap that historically has been “wide, inefficient and slow,” Machinery Partner Equipment Lending Officer Tim Murphy told Equipment Finance News.
“With our new captive approach, we maintain a continuous relationship with the customer throughout the entire journey,” he said. “By controlling the screening, credit application and onboarding processes, we streamline the transaction, creating a true one-stop shop that guides clients seamlessly to the finish line.”
Machinery Partner Capital Solutions offers financing up to $5 million, and online applications can be completed for deals up to $500,000.
Kaaj’s AI-driven prescreening technology will be used by the captive to accelerate the financing process and match borrowers with lenders based on their credit profiles and operational needs.
Machinery Partner’s choice of Mazo Capital as its primary backroom lender was a “very easy” one, Murphy said, noting that Mazo brings “a wide-ranging credit appetite, ensuring our clients not only get approved, they also get perfectly matched rates to the client profile.”
Mazo Chief Executive John Pfister stated in the release that the company is enabling a new standard in equipment financing “that’s fast, flexible and built around how modern contractors actually operate.”
Increased need for flexibility
The captive will offer flexible financing options, including seasonal payments and 90-day deferrals.
Flexibility and creativity are increasingly important in equipment finance amid high interest rates, economic uncertainty and a potential rise in financial stress, Murphy said.
“With these tighter cash constraints, offering seasonal steps, skips and deferrals solves [borrowers’] new cash flow positions and alleviates the tension,” he said.
Machinery Partner’s partnership with Kaaj.ai also addresses growing demand for fast and frictionless financing while managing risk, Kaaj co-founder Shivi Sharma stated in the release.
“Kaaj’s AI agents verify businesses, assess risk and generate next steps in real-time,” she said. “The result is faster decisions, better matches and more approvals without the paperwork.”
