Consumers are always looking for ways to shop with purchasing flexibility. Zilch has designed a virtual card and app to meet this need. The Zilch card allows you to buy now, pay later (BNPL) using a simple, interest-free payment plan. Read on to learn how the Zilch card works and how it could potentially save you money.
How Does Zilch Work?
Zilch differs from other buy now, pay later services in that it provides a virtual Mastercard that can be used on the Zilch app or saved in mobile payment and digital wallet services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Once you’ve loaded the Zilch card into your mobile wallet, you can use it to shop online or in-store anywhere you would use a traditional Mastercard.
The interest-free payment plan allows Zilch users to make Pay in 4 purchases with an initial payment of just 25% of the total cost. The remaining 75% is spread across three equal payments, with one payment made every two weeks over a six-week period.
0% APR Payment Options
Zilch has partnered with thousands of top retailers to offer its users the ability to buy now, pay later with 0% APR* at thousands of stores. Zilch retailers are found across a myriad of industries, including fashion, food and groceries, home and electronics, and even travel and events. Whenever you use your Zilch card at one of these partner retailers, you can choose to Pay in 4 with the six-week, 0% APR* plan.
Let’s consider an example of what this would look like for easyJet, a Zilch partner. If you spend £400 on an easyjet flights using a Zilch card, here’s what your payment plan would look like:
Initial purchase: £100
Week 2: £100
Week 4: £100
Week 6: £100
Total cost: £400
With Zilch, the total cost of the purchase remains the same, but it’s divided into four equal payments and spread over a longer period, giving Zilch users the flexibility to make purchases when they need to without the stress of interest or fees at Zilch-partnered stores.
If you’d rather pay for your purchase in full immediately, you can use Zilch’s Pay in 1 in the same way you’d use your bank card, subtracting the total cost of your purchase from an available balance personalized to you. Zilch users can completely pay for a purchase at any time via Pay in 1 with no penalty, so you don’t have to wait the full six weeks if you don’t want to do so. In fact, you’ll earn 2% cashback in Zilch Rewards instantly after paying in full with Zilch.
Zilch Rewards
As you make purchases with a Zilch card, you accumulate Zilch Rewards that can be applied to future purchases. Zilch users receive 100 Zilch Rewards for every £1 that they spend. You can also earn Zilch Rewards by referring friends.
Zilch Rewards differ from most traditional credit card rewards programs in that you don’t need to pay any annual fees or interest to be eligible for them. All you have to do to earn rewards is complete payments on any purchase you make with your Zilch card. When you choose the Pay in 1 option at checkout for any purchase you make with a Zilch card, you earn 2% cashback in Zilch Rewards.
You can apply Zilch Rewards to your purchases for both online and in-store shopping by toggling a simple switch in the Zilch app. When Rewards are enabled, they’ll be automatically applied to reduce the cost of any purchases you make, whether you’re using the app to shop at an online store or shopping in-store using the Zilch virtual card to Tap and Pay.
Shop In-Store or Online
Because Zilch is a virtual Mastercard, you can use it just as you would a traditional card to shop in-store. While it’s not a plastic card, it can be easily added to your digital wallet for Tap and Pay. For Zilch users, this is a more environmentally friendly alternative to using plastic cards that ultimately end up in landfills. With the widespread acceptance of digital wallet services, there’s no loss of convenience.
Whether you’re using the Zilch app to Tap and Pay at a Zilch partner retailer store like Iceland, or purchasing products online from participating brands like Nike or Apple, you’ll be eligible for the interest-free payment plan and eligible to earn Zilch Rewards on your purchase.
Shopping online is easy using the Zilch app. You simply search for the online store in the app and Zilch lets you know if the store is one of the thousands of leading online stores that partners with Zilch, such as Amazon or eBay. If it is, then your purchase is eligible for the 0% APR* buy now, pay later option. If the store is not a Zilch partner, you can still use your Zilch card through the Zilch Anywhere service, but your purchase may be subject to a small fee of up to £2.50.
Zilch Anywhere
You may be wondering how Zilch can offer interest-free payment plans while other buy now, pay later companies rely on charging interest to make a profit. The answer is that Zilch partners with companies that pay Zilch when you use your Zilch card to shop at their stores. These companies value your business and pay Zilch so that you don’t have to, which means that Zilch can offer flexible payment plans without relying on interest or fees.
Zilch Anywhere allows you to pay using your Zilch card at any online store or in-store location that accepts Mastercard. If the store isn’t a Zilch partner, you’re still eligible for the Pay in 4 plan, but you’ll be charged a small fee up to a maximum £2.50.
For example, if you make a £400 purchase at a non-partner store, you’ll pay £102.50 at checkout, followed by 3 equal payments of £100 over the standard six-week period, for a total cost of £402.50.
Pay Zilch. Buy Now, Pay Later. Earn Rewards. Anywhere.
The Zilch virtual Mastercard is a tool that can provide you with financial flexibility and a responsible payment plan, saving you money as you earn rewards. To recap, here are the card’s key features:
— Pay in 4 offers the ability to make equal payments over a six-week period with 0% APR* or fees when you shop online or in-store at a Zilch partner store. Zilch partners pay a small fee when you shop so you don’t have to.
— Earn Zilch Rewards whenever you use your card, including 2% cashback when you choose to pay for your purchase in full with the Pay in 1 option at checkout.
— Use Zilch Anywhere to make purchases at any online store or in-store location where MasterCard is accepted. You can pay using the Pay in 4 plan for a small fee of £2.50.
*Please spend responsibly. Credit is subject to status, 18+, UK residents only. T&Cs apply. Zilch No fees, 0% APR at all eligible stores. At non eligible stores, Zilch Anywhere applies a fee up to £2.50 (max) per transaction, 11.5% APR Representative based on a loan of £400.
