Costco is introducing its own “Buy Now, Pay Later” program.
The wholesale retail chain will offer a payment plan option on some online purchases through its payment partner Affirm.
Buy Now, Pay Later programs offer flexibility to customers and let them purchase products by paying for them over a specified time period.
Costco’s Buy Now Pay Later program can be applied to transactions on its website that total between $500 and $17,500, with repayment periods ranging from three to 36 months.
The new Buy Now, Pay Later option will also charge interest, with APR rates between 10% and 36%. A $500 purchase at 20% APR, with payments spread out across 6 months, for example, will cost $88.27 per month and the original $500 item would cost $529.61 overall.
Payments must be made through Affirm’s app or website but customers can also set up automatic payment deductions.
A Buy Now, Pay Later plan can help stretch a large purchase, such as an electronic device or home appliance, across multiple months and paychecks, but there may be penalties for customers. Missing Buy Now, Pay Later payments or paying installments late can hurt one’s credit score.
The 2030’s Costco Bubble
Bankruptcy button
not sure when the Affirm APR would kick in after purchase date but just for comparison’s sake, credit cards have been around 20% in my experience. 36% is fucking highway robbery.
A lot of these pay later programs are wrecking people’s credit scores as well, since each one counts as a new line of credit constantly being opened.
I mean there’s a whole conversation about the nonsensical credit score system in itself to be had but even at face value this is such a clear example of degradation of capitalist society.
It’s like the moment in The Big Short when they realize the bubble is about to pop, except we keep fucking having that moment and it never fucking pops.
…yet
think it’s on residual when paid according to plan, probably 36% kicks in after missed payment