E-commerce is rising globally because consumers can buy high-end products with EMI options. However, offline retail stores are no less important, especially in an economy that relies on online shopping. Customers, specifically young buyers, have a frenzy of buying electronic products like smartphones and laptops that cost way above their range, but EMIs make it affordable for them; after all, who would be carrying a stack of cash in their wallets.
The advancement in technology has pushed the functioning of the finance industry and how it has made it possible for people to consider buying a phone on debit card EMI mobile. Many retail electronic outlets in India have claimed that offering EMI options to customers led to upselling in the store compared to the cash payment option. People always find the idea of gradually paying in installments more lucrative than cash flow instantly.
What exactly is No Cost EMI?
People have this notion about No Cost EMI that it comes without any interest rate. However, the RBI issued guidelines against this idea, so banks cannot offer loans with zero interest rates. The concept suggests that buying a product from an offline merchant through the pos billing machine would give one the option to repay only the product price in installments for a mutually fixed tenure.
Offline retail outlets are now explicitly spending on a pos billing machine because it helps their customers calculate EMI options and figure out if there is even a chance they could easily opt for no-cost EMIs for a commodity. Even more so, offline merchants are now offering clothes from luxury brands on no-cost EMI, which is beyond fantastic.
No Cost EMI Working
There are two ways offline merchants or online e-commerce websites offer to make No-Cost EMI applicable on the purchase of a high-cost product:
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Offering Discount in the Form of No-Cost EMI, where a customer buys a laptop worth Rs. 60,000 and makes a payment of the price outright, which would make the person eligible for a 20% discount. However, the 20% discount is equated with the No Cost EMI option, wherein the customer cannot get the deal but can pay the full 60k amount in monthly instalments without any interest rate.
Adding the interest rate to the product cost, the retailer would offer an INR 60,000 laptop with an added interest amount of 20% (20% = 12000). So the retailer would be charging a total price of INR 72,000 at a NO-Cost EMI. It means even if there are bank interest charges levied, the retailer simply included the interest cost and gave customers the freedom to pay in instalments without any additional interest rate.
How come no-cost EMI is a better option?
- An excellent alternative is to buy products that come under the heading of luxury commodities. The option helps you develop a good credit history by getting small loans and paying EMIs. It would assist you in applying for a loan of a massive amount. It is the best option when buying products in bulk, especially during the festive season. Unlike before, people can now choose to buy phones on debit card EMI, too, where the entire amount will be debited from the account holder’s bank and later credited in a few days. Hence, the credited amount becomes a loan to be paid in instalments. No interest or additional costs are levied, so the customer can conveniently pay the original price in small portions later.
Now, remember that before you choose to buy the phone on debit card EMI, ask your retail outlet whether they offer a no-cost EMI option with a debit card or not. No Cost EMI through POS billing machine is on the rise because of the ability to help people avail products that generally require a hefty upfront payment.
The NO-COST EMI is affordable and offers a lower interest rate than other EMI options. It is primarily a win-win outcome for customers, banks, and retailers in question. As India is rapidly moving towards digitalisation, offline retail outlets would profit more if they introduced a no-cost EMI alternative, especially in the case of luxury commodities.
