- Amazon has started offering loans to customers buying products off its website in a move that could shake up the UK furniture and electricals market.
The world’s biggest online retailer is offering a new pay monthly option on orders of more than £400, which can include multiple items.
Amazon Pay Monthly poses a new threat to established high street retailers such as John Lewis and could attract a wave of new customers to the website.
The loan can be spread over two, three or four years depending on the size of the purchase, with Amazon charging interest at an advertised rate of 16.9%. Customers do not have to pay a deposit, meaning the first payment is their opening monthly instalment.
So... a credit card then? 17% is not bad for a first CC but i want to see what the fees are.The loan can be spread over two, three or four years depending on the size of the purchase, with Amazon charging interest at an advertised rate of 16.9%. Customers do not have to pay a deposit, meaning the first payment is their opening monthly installment.
I got an Amazon "store card" -- just FYI it comes with a 40 dollar gift card and has no fees etc so it's free money. I'll never use it but it does come with 5 percent off Amazon purchases and it attaches automatically to your account, so it's kinda handy as long as you remember to pay it.
I'm actually holding off on opening a Charles Schwab bank account because they require a link brokerage account which makes a hard credit pull. Mine's not bad, but if I'm going to make another hard pull I'm going to get my balances down a little more first. Pity, cuz PNC is sucking out $15/month right now, those vampires. It's good to know, though I have to be annoying and point out that whenever a company makes a hard pull on your credit score they're required to disclose this and obtain your consent for the pull prior to doing so, it's a part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) - I've done my fair share of FCRA compliance reviews, though, so I'm biased. I know way too much about banking.
Oh I'm aware. I'm buying a damn house. FCRA is on my radar. What amazon did was dress the "store card" up as closer to a gift card than a credit card (it's absolutely closer to a limited debit card...) and bury the check in the fine print. Ah well. My cred's fine.
Mine is a standard credit card that rewards me with Amazon points. I use it for everything and pay it off in full every month. I paid no fees or interest on this card in 2015, but made very close to $800 in cash back. My CC has a rate of 12% (started about 20%) and I look at this as a way to pay for my literature addiction.
Debt is a tool, and like any tool, when misused it can destroy your life. Learning to manage debt is about as critical a life skill as any. Use a no-fee or low-fee card that gives the rewards that will best help you in your goals and use that card, pay it off in full every month, etc. Easy to say, hard to do.
Amazon wishes to add new entries into their stock. They'd like to diversify their properties into new real estate: like owning YOUUUUUU...
I know you're being sarcastic, but that's kind of a legit concern if you ask me. Amazon lends itself really well to impulse buying and a lot of consumers that spring for store credit cards and the like don't always have the best spending habits. I don't know what kind of consumer protection laws the UK has (from what I can gather this is a UK based program), but I can see this turning into a sour experience for a lot of people who are unable to spend wisely.owning YOUUUUUU...
More like tongue in cheek because I firmly believe there's merit behind it. I mean, hasn't that been China's takeover plan for the last 4 decades alreadu? Amazon, Walmart, and McDonald's just want a piece of the pie. It's a pretty real concern to people who are a lot smarter about global economics than I am. The buying and trading of debt is ironically lucrative.
Yeah. I was about to ask "How is this legal [in the US]?" when I realized that this article is centered around the UK. Even in the US, store credit cards have to be arranged between the store and a bank of some sort - someone services those credit cards. It's not something Amazon should be able to do independently, they would need to rely on a card issuer like FIA (BOA in disguise) or similar to service their accounts. I think this is awful, but interesting, I guess.
Whose terms are they competitive with? There are credit cards that charge half the interest they do.The loan can be spread over two, three or four years depending on the size of the purchase, with Amazon charging interest at an advertised rate of 16.9%.
“The new Amazon Pay Monthly programme provides our customers with further payment options to suit their needs when shopping on our website, and it is easy, convenient and offers competitive rates and flexible terms.”
A lot of store credit cards, for places like SEARS, Kohls, etc., often have even more outrageous rates. We're talking 20-25% APR (I think APR is the right term here). Despite the fact that they seem like bad ideas, they exist and people sign up for them. Since people seem to shop Amazon more and more each year, I doubt they'll have trouble finding people who want to participate in this program.