Friday, 29 March 2024
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Ride it away opens interest free ‘Buy Now Pay later’ option

Having just last month broken its monthly sales records, Ride it Away retail finance has announced an interest free Buy Now, Pay Later product, available until November.

As discussed recently by the ACT’s head of business development Chris Hall, the opportunity to defer payment is a great way to make larger purchases more attractive, particularly at a time of year when customers may not otherwise be able to afford what they really want. With this option, customers can ‘buy now pay later’ with up to 6 months payment-free, after which they pay back in interest free monthly repayments, just like they would with standard retail finance.

Live from August 20th and in time for the bank holiday, retailers will now be able to offer customers the option to buy now with a minimum 10% deposit and pay nothing else for 3 or 6 months. After 3 or 6 months they’ll pay the remaining balance on 0% APR over 12 or 18 months.

The buy now pay later finance option is available for limited periods only, and available only on purchases over £1000 (unlike the minimum £280 minimum purchase for other finance options). This product is designed to help push premium bike sales at a time when customers may be watching their spending.  It should be used alongside a retailer’s usual finance offering to give customers even more of an incentive to buy immediately, rather than coming back when they have the money in 6 months’ time – helping the retailer secure the sale the same day and get their money sooner.

This works especially well for the launch of 2017 models, giving customers the option to buy the 2016 model on finance (with an interest bearing APR to allow retailers to offer discounts and still protect their margins) or to get the new 2017 model on 0% finance with no repayments for 3 or 6 months.

With the November cut off, the intention is to allow retailers to protect their Christmas trading and the start of the New Year – traditionally a period where finance sales are high.

The buy now pay later option will then be re-introduced around Easter 2017 for a limited time to boost sales before the busy summer period and will continue to be made available at specially selected periods throughout the year.

Since the buy now pay later product extends the 12 month payment term by 3 or 6 months, this offering is only available to retailers with FCA authorisation, something the ACT can help you achieve. You can find out more about authorisation on 01273 427 700, or info@theact.org.uk.

Already have FCA authorisation? To access the buy now pay later option from the end of August, retailers will need to opt in via V12. Email salessupport@v12finance.com with your shop details, requesting the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ option, or call 02920 468 918.

If you want to better understand the potential of retail finance for your bike shop, click here for our recent analysis.