What is Buy Now Pay Later? It’s literally that, buy it now and you can get your hands onto it (instant gratification) and pay later in installments.
Oh, don’t forget the fees when you don’t pay on time!
Oh sorry of course we all pay everying on time all the time right? Maybe you do but I know for a fact that I don't so I guess I’m preaching to myself
Current BNPL Companies.....Ever Growing....
In my research these are the current companies I could find who offer this. Only recently when shopping online I’ve started to see more and more pop up. I was super surprised to see how many. So here they are! I'm sure there are more now, but this is what I could find in my search. This is enough if you ask me! What are the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) companies in Australia? * Afterpay - This is Australias Number 1 * Zip Pay and Zip Money * Humm & Bundll * Onepay * CommBank BNPL and Klarna * PayPal 4 Payments * Laybuy * Latitude Pay * Brighte * PayRight * Sezzle * Pay It Later * Fupay
This isn’t a new concept. I’m pretty sure Harvey Norman was one of the first ones to offer it in Australia. Afterpay has triggered a rife retail industry product to suck you into more debt! Yep that's what it's about, if you're in debt they make lots of money off you. It looks like many folks are getting into this, like, 8.5 million customers!
This astounds me but at the same time I’m not surprised. I wanted to be surprised, I did, I wanted it to be different when I looked at the numbers, I wish I was surprised in the numbers being that we as a nation are so financially savvy and in control that there wouldn’t be the need for 13+ companies offering this service and 8.5 million that we know of using them.
Afterpay, Zip and Humm are the largest so far. SO FAR as I can’t imagine big banks missing out on their piece of the pie. Commbanks jumped right on in. Paypal has just released no fees, but we will get to that!
This system isn’t designed to help YOU? Nope it’s designed to make money FROM YOU! It’s designed to play on YOUR human nature to put these small repayments as secondary as other bigger payments come through. Then THEY get their little iddy biddy fee that grows bigger over time and costs you more MONEY.
I guess I don’t LOVE after pay...have you noticed?
OMG, my research is showing that by 2023 BNPL is expected to DOUBLE! I just want to cry and chuck a fit. Really I do because this ties your money up, effects your life! I HATE it! I really do. I know it seems small but each small compound grows either positively or negatively and this aint a positive compound!
Do you know about compounding? Well stay tuned I'll get to that in my next blog!
AFTERPAY is the biggest so let’s look at them.
They have 3.4 Million Customers….Yipee for Afterpay rolling in the dough. Let’s go have a party with them!
No Credit Check, wow easy money, let’s just grab you while your here!
No time to think about it and make an informed decision!
Late fees charged up to $10, Capped at 25% of the order
Up to $1000 credit range
Four Fortnightly repayments
No interest
Not ridiculous if you can stay to your payments, pay on time and don't go and get another company to buy somehting else....but really, is that human nature?
Zip Co Let’s have a quick look at them! Zip money is used for purchases over $1000 or account limit so multiple purchases Zip Pay for smaller purchases with your account limit under $1000.
CREDIT IS CREDIT! Yeh we can go over $1000 I'm super excited now! I can go through them all but here’s the thing credit is credit and debt is debt. The minute you don’t pay for something upfront you have debt. Not good. It all just seem so good on the surface but the problem is these companies wouldn’t exist at all if people were more inclined to pay on time than not. It’s a multi-million dollar business that companies are being formed from the human nature factor of people just DON’T pay on time. Sorry but that’s sort of Real. Life. (yep that was a full-stop) circumstances get in the way YOU TELL ME, OR ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION… Why would paypal jump into this space. Do they not make enough from their over 9 million customers using their service already in Australia? Oh and as of 14 July 2021 they aren’t charging any fees! Yipee…..nope, it’s just marketing to get you into the habit of using their platform, and you can be sure they will introduce fees somewhere down the track when its become a part of your life! So clever, nearly as clever as the $500million per year minimum spent to work out how to keep us all on social media....better not start down that path! "Our primary driver is to make the PayPal wallet the most versatile and useful digital wallet available by giving more payment choice and flexibility to our customers while maintaining the highly secure processes they know and trust," Mr Toon said. Thanks Mr Toon for that, look forward into getting into the habit of CREDIT/DEBT! All you have to do is have a little bit of a google to see what’s happening in this area. I don’t care what they say, they make money from you being late. That's it. Debt is a BILLION Dollar business! Your debt that is!!!! ARE YOU SURE? Before you jump abroad this BNPL scheme are you 100% sure you can pay on time? Yep nope? How about just wait 4 weeks or 8 weeks and put the money aside into a no fee bank account and just go buy it cash….now there’s a thought! If you need help setting up your account please reach out. We are here to help! In fact, maybe I should open a bank! I'll take your money and give it back when you need it or better still I'll just have it rather than you waste it, I'll invest it for you and give it to you in 20 years.....just joking but seriously that would be better than this stuff. SCARY SCARY SCARY! I’ve read an article that states these as benefits….I’m now totally scared that this is the case! - They are easy to apply for quickly…..BE AFRAID - You can easily sign up to multiple as they have less extensive credit requirements….KILL ME NOW! - FOUR IN FIVE consumers (81%) find BNPL convenient and easy to use (ASIC)....REVIVE ME THEN KILL ME AGAIN! - Flexible and simple repayments…..IF YOU STICK TO THEM! - Many stores offer BNPL….GET STRONG PEEPS CASH IS KING! THINGS TO PONDER........ Looks like they can be cheaper than credit cards but you know what some don’t have the fee cap. Your late fees can add up because if you need to use BNPL in the first place maybe you shouldn’t be buying it...FACT. Credit cards are an absolute NO also, we have been conditioned over our lives to accept them and credit as a part of every day life. The ONLY credit you should EVER have is credit for something that grows….an ASSET, like a house. Full Stop!
BIG ISSUES WITH BNPL I have, I'm sure you've figured that one out.
It's easy money to help you get into debt. Whether debt is small or large it's still debt. If you are considering buying a HOUSE soon, like within the next 2-5 years lenders will most likely not give you the loan because reality is if you can’t afford a small purchase and need to use BNPL then you really can’t afford a big one like a HOUSE. What about Car loans, same deal, if you want to get a car loan your more likely to be rejected because you’ve used BNPL. WHICH BNPL PLATFORM IS BEST? NONE! PAY CASH! JUST BECAUSE IT EXISTS DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD USE IT! It’s that simple! AFTER-THOUGHT! Oh goodness here she goes! Lol! If you have used it, if your stuck don’t stress enormously, or at all really, we are here to help you get through this. Following our Strategy you’ll have the joy of what it feels like to pay your debts off. It’s not all bad. I’m just trying to catch you before you do it. Before I was educated about money I used all this stuff for my furniture and anything I could on credit I did, I loved it until I had to pay it all off. Now I have no Credit, zip, zero. Don’t have a credit card, nothing. The only loan acceptable is for an ASSET!
Happy Shopping with CASH!!
Disclaimer: I’m not a financial counsellor, financial advisor, I’m a coach. It’s always recommended to check all information with your professional of choice. Each situation is different, this is my opinion and there are many options to help you if you are distressed. Please reach out and we can guide you to the best possible path. But check everything!