Krungsri First Choice offers deal for iPhone 6
Play
15-month interest-free instalment loan for purchases
Krungsri First Choice has launched a 15-month, zero-interest offer on instalment loans for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus – the longest interest-free period in the credit-card industry – in order to boost lending in the final two months of the year.
Nayanee Peaugkham, executive vice president, yesterday said smart phones had been the leading items for the company’s instalment-loan business over the past two years, followed by home appliances.
With consumers having eagerly awaited the arrival of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, Krungsri First Choice and the country’s three leading mobile operators are offering attractive promotions to boost spending on the newly arrived products, she said.
The company’s campaign will also attract new customers, she added. Apart from the 15-month repayment period with zero interest, Krungsri First Choice offers 3-per-cent cash-back as well.
The company decided on the attractive campaign to ease consumer repayment costs at a time of high household debt.
Most customers in Krungsri First Choice’s lending portfolio are young people and white-collar workers, many of whom want to buy an iPhone 6 but cannot afford to pay much in monthly instalments, said Nayanee.
The campaign is expected to boost instalment lending by 20 per cent during the final two months of the year, against growth of 6-7 per cent so far this year, she said.
However, one key factor that will affect the lending target is the supply of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus devices, which is initially unlikely to support the huge demand, she warned. The campaign runs until the end of the year, but the company might extend it if device supply during the period falls well short of demand.
The executive said spending via Krungsri First Choice cards in recent months had been below target because consumers were worried about living costs and tight budgets.
Actual spending has not risen much, even though credit-card operators and instalment-loan providers launched attractive campaigns, she added.
Krungsri First Choice targeted loan growth of 10 per cent for the full year, but Nayanee acknowledged that it was facing a challenge to achieve that goal.
The company is on target in terms of new cardholders.
It projects 290,000 new cardholders this year, increasing the card customer base to 2 million.
