The buy now pay later concept started thousands of years ago and dates back to ancient Babylon and Egypt. It spawned the birth of the credit card in the United States in the 1920s. In 1950, Frank McNamara, the founder of the Diner’s Club, introduced the first universal credit card, accepted at various establishments. In the 21st centurry, the credit card is almost a required possession since it is needed to perform such mundane transactions as online purchases or even car renting, not to mention securing a cellular telephone contract. With merchants squeezed in between harsch economic realities and reluctant consumers, more and more are turning to the buy now pay later guaranteed finance concept to bring in more customers and create additional revenues.
In the U.K., this concept primarily applies to home shopping catalogue companies, covering almost any product imaginable. With the holiday season fast approaching, merchants in almost every category will in all likelihood offer some variation of the buy now pay later guaranteed finance theme. Even the now very familiar Payday loan can be considered to belong to this segment, as they advance you the cash so that you can buy now and pay them back later when you receive your paycheck.
Home shopping catalogues abound advertising buy now pay later schemes, with numerous merchants offering no interest lines of credit for up to 12 months. If your credit score is in high standing, you can most likely expect a high limit on your credit account. And vice versa, the lower the credit score, the lower the limit, with £250 at the low end not unheard of. You can find a huge treasure trove of online sites that offer buy now pay later offers from respected and well known retailers to smaller family owned stores. Some individuals on a tight budget consider the buy now pay later guaranteed finance type of financing to be a lifeline as they cannot afford large outlays of cash and heavily depend on the concept for their major purchases, such as home furnishings or appliances.
Some offers also require minimum purchases, usually in the range of £75 or £80, quite easily reached when shopping during the holidays for the entire family. These home shopping catalogues are so popular, even for those with poor credit, simply due to the fact that in numerous cases, the lenders do not check with Equifax or Experian. The main factors considered are whether you have a steady income that will support the mostly weekly or monthly payments, along with having an active bank checking account and a debit card for direct debit options. These unsecured loans can be easily applied for online and also usually just take a few minutes of your time to finish the process. Response time is almost instantaneous.
About the only disadvantage of buying now and paying later through home shopping catalogues is simply that you are limited to making purchases from the credit issuing merchant or online store, as compared to making purchases anywhere with a regular credit card.
However, the buy now pay later guaranteed finance practice should be carefully managed as interest rates will be somewhat high, so your ability to make the payments should be of the utmost importance. If you can manage to pay the balance in full within the stated time period when you do not have to make payments, you will be assured of finding some really good bargains. If not, at the very least, be absolutely certain that you can afford the future payments. Perhaps you should ask yourself this question, if nothing else: “If you cannot afford to purchase that product now, what changes in your financial situation in the future will allow you to be able to afford such a purchase now”. Furthermore, certain fees can be assessed upon granting of the credit facility, adding to the overall price of the item you are considering. It is so very easy to get caught up in the hype of the season, and instant gratification without the pain of having to pay for it is a misnomer, even if it takes months to start paying.
But if you have to, just remember, making timely payments on these buy now pay later guaranteed finance accounts can only help you improve your credit score in the longer term.
