Every year, people are charged billions in credit card fees. We want to get that number down to zero. Zilch. We’re already on our way...
By passing ad revenue directly on to our customers, retailers are getting in front of people who are primed and ready to spend, while customers benefit from zero interest and instant Rewards. It’s win-win.
Debit or credit, customers just link their debit card and away they go…
How does up to 5% back in Zilch Rewards sound? Customers can earn as they shop when they pay in full using the Zilch app – or they can Tap and Pay to get 0.5% back.
Customers can pay over time at thousands of online stores with zero interest via our app. And because we’re a Mastercard, they can spread the cost anywhere else (online or in-store) for a small fee.
It started with a small team and a big vision. Creating a way to pay that worked for everyone – with the customer at the heart of it all.
We could list all the brilliant things about Zilch right here – or you could just download the media pack and brand images.
Customers sign up to Zilch and once approved, receive a virtual payment card with a personalised credit balance. They can use this balance to make purchases at retailers that accept MasterCard and spread the cost across 6 weeks. The customer pays 25% of the cost of the purchase immediately and then the remaining balance is divided into 3 equal parts - each part payable every 2 weeks. This is known as “Pay in Four”. This is a very different repayment mechanism to a traditional interest-bearing credit card where customers can opt to pay only a minimum payment and balances can take up to years to pay off.
A customer can also use their virtual Zilch card to pay for the entire purchase in one go and earn 2% cashback in Zilch Rewards which can be used to discount future purchases - this is called “Pay in One”. The virtual Zilch card is accepted at retailers where Mastercard is accepted – currently more than 37 million worldwide.
It costs nothing for a customer to apply for and receive a Zilch virtual Mastercard with a balance available to split (which is personalised for each customer).
We also don’t charge interest on transactions and we don’t charge annual or monthly fees.
In the UK:
When a customer chooses to pay in 4 with their Zilch card via “tap and pay” in-store, and in most stores on the Zilch app, it is completely free for a customer.
In a small number of cases, when paying online using pay in 4, we charge customers a small upfront fee for using their balance. It is made clear to the customer if any transaction fees apply and the amount.
We also give some customers the option to “snooze” payments if they need a few extra days. This service is free initially, and then a small charge of £1.50 is applied if used for second or third instalments. Where any fees apply, we make it clear to the customer. Zilch does not charge default fees.
Similar to a credit card, Zilch allows customers to defer part of a purchase to a later date. The difference is that with Zilch, the payment is deferred for a limited time period (namely 6 weeks) with an upfront payment made at the time of purchase. When making any purchase with Zilch via pay in 1 (debit) or pay in 4 (credit), we don’t charge any interest for borrowing.
With a credit card, a customer may defer the entire payment for an unlimited time and unless this is an interest-free promotion on purchases, they will then incur interest costs until full repayment is made. This places customers in a revolving credit model.
Products offered by Zilch are also typically cheaper than other comparable finance options, such as bank overdrafts and credit cards.
Bank of England data shows that the effective interest rate on interest-charging overdrafts is currently around 20%, while the cost of credit card borrowing is currently around 18%. UK Finance figures show that almost £55bn worth of UK credit card balances are outstanding as of January 2022, with more than half of these bearing interest.
Meanwhile, in the US, according to the Federal Reserve, US households held an estimated $856 billion in credit card debt in the last quarter of 2021, a $52 billion increase on the previous quarter. In 2020, US consumers paid $120 billion in credit card interest and fees.
By contrast, we do not charge interest fees on transactions and do not charge annual or monthly fees. In most cases, it is also free for a customer to use their credit balance to pay in 4 through the Zilch app or if they “tap and pay” with their Zilch card at any retailer.
In addition to this, we do not allow repayments via credit card or balance transfer, which risks compounding problem debt further.