Credit Card EMI purchases are increasingly becoming commonplace in India yet there is a large proportion of the Indian population that is yet to avail them. Come to think of it, as it is, if we look at the actual percentage of people owning a credit card in India, that would be a single-digit figure.
Some estimates have pointed towards a figure which is as low as 1.8% (which simply looks at the total number of credit cards issued, versus the overall Indian population). Clearly, the actual, active ownership ratio would be even lower since many folks have multiple credit cards; also a lot of the credit cards issued are never used.
It is against this backdrop that we especially wish to highlight the benefits of opting for credit card EMI purchases. Once more Indians are aware of such benefits, there is every chance that credit card adoption and usage in the country will increase incrementally.
Interest-Free EMIs
A lot of retailers and credit card companies alike are offering interest-free repayment tenures on EMI purchases.
So, let’s say you purchase a mobile phone for Rs. 18,000/- on your credit card and convert that purchase into an EMI one where you will be making fixed monthly payments to your bank/credit card company.
In an interest-free scenario – for let’s suppose a 6-monthly tenure, you will simply be making 6 equal payments of Rs. 3,000/- each, adding up to a total of Rs. 18,000/- – the exact same amount you paid to get your mobile phone.
This is a priceless advantage to have since it means you do not repay anything extra to the bank or credit card company in question.
Big-Ticket Purchases
Yet another major advantage of credit card EMI purchases is that they allow you to make big-ticket purchases with enormous ease.
In this instance, for convenience sake, let us assume you are intending to purchase a big screen, High Definition Television which costs Rs. 1 Lakh. Now to forgo 1 Lakh in one go might be difficult for many Indians. But that same purchase, when it is broken down to perhaps 10-monthly installments of Rs. 10,000/- each (with no additional interest charges being added on), that brings things within the reach of a lot of Indians.
Credit Card EMI Transactions Make Repayment Comfortable
The instance above highlights the fact that bigger purchases can also be made with reasonable ease. As a consequence, repayment also becomes much easier; otherwise, if you have to make purchases of significant value in a single go, repayment for that also becomes a whole lot tougher.
In the same High Definition Television example that we cited above, to make a 1 Lakh Rupees purchase in one go and then to repay that amount altogether to the credit card company is by no means easy.
Yet, when the purchase – and its repayment, are both done on a Credit Card EMI transaction basis, things get a lot more comfortable.
No Deferring Desires & Wants!
The inability (or perhaps challenge) to make timely repayments to credit card companies often defers many of us from making purchases which are perhaps important, if not essential.
An apt example would be the extreme air pollution in Delhi which mandates protection in the form of air purifiers, anti-pollution masks, and so on.
Now, some may look at such devices as simply important, while others would look at them as absolutely essential. The latter, no doubt, would be more likely to make due purchases to keep themselves protected from the air pollution while others may remain on the fence, probably ignore the gravity of the situation altogether, purely for cost reasons.
Credit Card EMI purchases ensure that people do not have to make such tough choices, deferring what are clearly important needs and wants of life.
Credit Card Discipline Stays
A final advantage of Credit Card EMI purchases is that overall discipline remains; it has to be sacrosanct so that the monthly payments which are due are actually made on time each month.
Knowing the fixed amount to be paid – as well as the benefit which that payment has brought about (say the High Definition Television we cited above), most folks remain disciplined on their credit card repayments.
There is absolutely no doubt that Credit Card EMI purchases come with truly priceless benefits.
