BillMeLater - Pay for stuff online without using a credit card

Posted on December 13, 2007 at 7:50 am

Hate paying for things online with your credit card all the time? Afraid someone will be able to read the data from your computer or while it’s being sent across the Internet? Or maybe you’d rather avoid having your credit info stored in the databases of online retailers?

Well, if that has stopped you from buying stuff online, it’ll be getting a lot easier soon! That’s because Amazon.com is investing in a new payment processing web service called BillMeLater.com.

Here’s how it works: shop online at stores where BillMeLater is an option (includes Apple Store, Walmart.com, ToysRus, Amazon, etc), answer two questions, and you’re done! BillMeLater will pay for the item and will bill you at a later date. So how can that work? Well, BillMeLater performs a credit check on you (a really fast one) by asking you for your birth date and last four digits of your social security number.

The credit check is amazingly fast and it must be using some pretty advanced technology to be able to approve or disapprove someone that quickly. It actually takes about 3 seconds. If you purchase something under $500, you have 90 days to pay it off with no interest charges. If it’s over $500, you have six months. However, the catch for this service is that if you FAIL to pay within the allotted time, you will end up paying 19.99 percent interest on the ENTIRE amount.

This kind of sounds like a…hmmm…credit card! Basically it is, but without the plastic! You’re basically getting a NET 30 or NET 180 days loan from BillMeLater. If you’re very diligent with your finances, this will be perfect for anyone who either needs to buy something now and pay later or someone who simply wants to hide their credit card info.

Apparently people seem to like the idea a lot because they have over 3 million people that have signed up already. They also have a “zero fraud liability” protection feature, just in case someone knows the last four digits of your social and you birthday and charges up half the retail market under your name! Another reason to keep your social secret! A crook only needs that and your bday, so be careful.

Overall, I think BillMeLater is a good service for some people, but should not be used regularly unless you have to. It makes it SUPER easy to buy stuff without thinking about it and could lead to heavy debt just like with credit cards. Source via Webware.

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