IDG Contributor Network: Amazon: Can't afford something? We'll loan you the money

Paying homage to its classic big box ancestors, Amazon UK is experimenting with a page lifted from 1970s Sears: loaning customers money to make purchases.

Whether it's called an installment plan or a loan, the idea is simply to make it easier for shoppers to make those more expensive purchases though Amazon. And Amazon UK is doing it out of affection for its customers — and, oh yeah, interest rates starting at 16.9%.

The Amazon U.K. experiment, called Amazon Pay Monthly, focuses on orders worth more than £400. "The loan can be spread over two, three or four years depending on the size of the purchase. Customers do not have to pay a deposit, meaning the first payment is their opening monthly instalment," said a story about the move in The Guardian. "Only products sold and dispatched by the company are eligible, meaning that products sold on Amazon by third parties are not included."

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