Echuca-Moama residents spending more on buy now, pay later schemes

Intersport Bennetts’ owner Rowan Bennett said there had been an increase in the number of customers accessing the services.

“It is something that has kept getting popular after we started offering it 18 months ago,” he said.

“It's starting to take the place of the option of lay-by because people can have what they want, then and there.

“The structured payment system is certainly very enticing to our customers.

“And I think their popularity won't be slowing down any time soon.”

An Echuca woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the lure of Afterpay and ZipPay made it more tempting to spend money.

“I am more likely to buy a product if it offers Afterpay,” she said.

“In fact, it makes me believe I can afford the product because I’m not thinking of the big picture, but rather the fortnightly payments.

“Eventually, I forget about the repayments until they start coming out of my account. Sometimes I haven’t factored that into my weekly or fortnightly budget and it can cause problems.”

The Echuca woman said Afterpay was highly addictive but it had its pros and cons.

“I find it extremely handy when I have to pay for a flight quickly or there is a sale on flights and I don’t have the amount of money needed at that moment. Splitting it into four payments is much more affordable,” she said.

“But then again, it’s the `buy now, think about the payments later’ attitude that can get me into trouble. Especially when I have more than one purchase and payments are coming out simultaneously.

“Sometimes I’ve had to cut back on essential items like food to make it through the week.”