Earlier this week Flipkart announced a first of its kind ‘No cost EMI’ offer for online buyers in the country. The online shopping site states that one can buy products online without paying the full amount, instead you pay equal monthly instalments.
According to Flipkart, this offer will catapult cashless transactions to buy online in the country. Various reports indicate that merely 1 percent of consumers buying online are doing so with a credit card.
And with this policy, they’re looking to attract more buyers to pay via credit card as opposed to using the Cash on Delivery option (currently preferred by 70 percent consumers).
For this, Flipkart has joined forces with Bajaj Finserv to make this ‘No cost EMI’ deal possible. But how exactly does one avail this scheme?
You Need a ‘Loan Card’ to Buy
Yes, even for the ‘No cost EMI’ offer you need a card to buy from Flipkart. Bajaj Finserv has been selling its EMI cards which can be used at over 1600 outlets across the country. Traditionally, consumers can only avail the EMI option if they have a credit card which alienated customers who didn’t have a credit card. To change that, Flipkart now gives you the option to pay through the Bajaj Finserv EMI card. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the card does not come for free.
The Bajaj Finserv EMI Card is essentially a pre-approved loan. A certain amount of money is approved for you to use when you get your card, and you can use this for your more expensive purchases.
The Finserv card is not a credit card, but as Bajaj puts it, a loan card with some amount of money pre-approved on your name. Also, one needs to understand that the amount available to consumers differs depending upon their current financial holding.
The Offer Is Not Free
You have to pay Rs 349 as joining fee to get the Bajaj Finserv EMI card, along with Rs 99 as annual fee to renew the subscription of the card. So, even though Flipkart says the ‘No Cost EMI’ offer does not include processing fees, you still have to pay some amount to avail the benefits of the card.
In fact, you also have to go through the hassle of submitting documents like ID proof, a cancelled cheque, and photos, among others. If you’ve heard of disclaimers, then this is the worst example to sell a product.
Although we like the idea of Flipkart pushing e-payment processes in the country, but it’s hard to be pleased that the offer is merely confined to the mobile app.
If they are actually committed to helping the e-commerce space in India, the least they could have done is offer the ‘No Cost EMI’ scheme to consumers via their desktop website also.
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