LatitudePay Will No Longer Be Available from 11 April 2023

eman resu on 24/02/2023 - 17:47
Last edited 24/02/2023 - 17:49 by 1 other user

Just got this email and was wondering if it is targetted or if anyone else has the same thing? What a shame as I was looking forward to using it for my Amart furniture purchase in May.

We’re writing to let you know that LatitudePay will no longer be available from 11 April 2023.

Thank you for being a customer, we’ve loved helping you shop for life’s moments big and small, but we had to make the difficult decision to stop offering this service.

We’re committed to making this process as easy as possible for you, so you can still access your account until your plan is paid in full, then we’ll close the account for you.

Here’s what you need to know

  1. You can no longer use LatitudePay from 11 April 2023 to make purchases
  2. Any balances owing will continue to be debited from your debit or credit card as usual until the balance is repaid in full.
  3. If you want to change your debit and credit card for your final payments, you can do so by updating the details on your account.
  4. Once your total amount owing has been paid in full, we will close your account. You don’t need to take any action to close
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Comments

  • Hybroid on 24/02/2023 - 17:55
    +3

    LatitudePay is closing down for everyone. https://www.latitudepay.com/

    You saved yourself $10/month fees even though "interest free".

    • AustriaBargain on 24/02/2023 - 20:26
      +1

      I don't like how zip advertises itself as "always interest free" when they charge a monthly fee if you have a balance. I like the simplicity of AfterPay, it clearly lays out the automated payments and if you make those payments then you never have any fees. You can even pay them early, they don't try to nickel and dime you by having all the payments be through direct debit like Telstra does to avoid a few cents of fees on their end. AfterPay rewards aren't the best but they are sometimes nice. And I just love financing a $1 bag of chips.

    • T3J on 24/02/2023 - 20:38
      +1

      LatitudePay (Items split over 10 weekly payments) did not have any monthly fees. You might be thinking of Latitude finance (The interest free shiz from the likes of Harvey Norman) which does indeed have fees… Same company, different products..

  • Mechz on 24/02/2023 - 17:55

    The death of interest free shopping?

  • eman resu on 24/02/2023 - 17:57
    +4

    It seems they decided to close shop due to fear of regulation that is coming through to make them offer the same protections as banks.

    • happydude on 24/02/2023 - 18:32
      +1

      I think that is passing the buck. Truth is there cost of finance would have gone through the roof just like everyone else. It may be interest free to you, but it is not interest free to them.

      • burningrage on 24/02/2023 - 20:41

        But that would be almost the same with Credit Card. When you purchase something, you could get up to 55 days interest free which would have to be financed somehow. 4 installment x 14 days (eg: Afterpay) = 56 days

        Almost no different to credit card although you could get as low as 25 days interest free days with credit card.

        • happydude on 25/02/2023 - 14:10

          It's not though because enough people pay high interest on the balance along with annual fees.

    • burningrage on 24/02/2023 - 20:38

      Not the same protection as banks, but to conduct the same credit checks and balances which would have driven people away from this product as it lacks enough differentiation with credit card and consequently, the expected drop in business.

      A perfect example of Government intervention and media (through Choice, "consumer advocates", newspaper selling sob stories about Afterpaying groceries) stifling business and innovation.

    • Mechz on 24/02/2023 - 18:25

      I'm sure they wouldn't dare as I bet it makes them a lot of money.

    • Benno007 on 25/02/2023 - 08:19

      😮‍💨 hope so! 28 degrees has been my go to for years for travel

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 25/02/2023 - 08:19

        Forget travel it’s my go to for basically any purchase due to price protection. Going to be a sad day if latitude ever can it or I reach my lifetime max

  • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 24/02/2023 - 18:04
    -2

    Does anyone else feel like they are seeing a lot of these?

    Like "temporary" companies that shutdown almost as quick as they appear.

    • spackbace on 24/02/2023 - 18:09
      +6

      Like "temporary" companies that shutdown almost as quick as they appear.

      https://www.latitudefinancial.com.au/about-us/our-company/

      Latitude has a long history of over 100 years dating back to the 1920s when Australian Guarantee Corporation (‘AGC’), one of Latitude's predecessor businesses, was founded to provide finance for the purchasing of household items. Latitude's corporate history traces back to a range of acquisitions made by GE in Australia and New Zealand, including Nissan Finance, AVCO Financial (including Hallmark Insurance) and AGC.

      In 2015, backed by Värde Partners, KKR and Deutsche Bank, we transitioned from GE into what we are today - a digital payments, instalments and lending business called Latitude.

      In April 2021, Latitude listed on the ASX. In late 2021 Symple Loans was acquired expanding our lending footprint to Canada, followed by the launch of LatitudePay in Singapore.

      Yep, damn these fly-by-night companies

      FYI the company will still exist, they're just getting rid of that BNPL service

      • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 24/02/2023 - 19:02

        I only first heard of the Pay with Latitude thing last year. Probably only noticed them when I started using ozbargain.

        But I realize now I think I got it mixed up with Afterpay.

        They are similar companies right? Buy now pay later types that offer targeted discount codes e.g. for eBay/Myer.

    • DingoBilly on 24/02/2023 - 20:07

      The email I received said it was a tiny % of their business (0.3%) so they closed this service down, but Latitude as a company is still presumably going strong.

      • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 24/02/2023 - 20:39

        Hmm maybe that's the thing. I never heard of Latitude, only LatitudePay.

  • buckster on 24/02/2023 - 18:14

    I got similar except slightly targeted wording as it said because I hadn't used it for ages they were just going to close the account.

  • happydude on 24/02/2023 - 18:28
    +1

    All these BNPL made sense with record low interest rates. The company's loans were covered by the retailer paying service and higher transaction fees. Afterpay and Zip also make money via marketing on the app.

    Without access to cheap credit the revenue won't cover the finance costs. They are all doomed.

    • Ghost47 on 24/02/2023 - 19:01
      +1

      All these BNPL made sense with record low interest rates.

      This is exactly what I thought when I saw the news about this earlier.

      I hope all BNPL dies off. I remember when AfterPay was becoming popular a few years ago, the guys who started the business must’ve thought they were top shit, expanding to the US etc. when there’s nothing at all sophisticated about what they do and their services mainly prey on people who have no impulse control.

    • Ocker on 24/02/2023 - 19:19

      Except, they prey on the vulnerable and make the bulk of their income from late payment fees.
      Our financial regulators have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to protecting the public from the hidden traps in these products,

    • AustriaBargain on 24/02/2023 - 20:28

      You forget that Afterpay are taking a cut on the retailer end, presumably because just offering Afterpay leads to more sales that otherwise wouldn't have occurred in the first place. The margins are still low but if Afterpay remains the dominant BNPL provider for long enough then they will make billions one day. Afterpay could even position itself into selling goods and services directly.

  • brendanm on 24/02/2023 - 18:40
    -2

    God I hope all these bnpl things go under with the increased cost of money.

    • Ocker on 24/02/2023 - 19:20
      +1

      So do I !! They are nothing but leeches preying on the ignorance of the financially illiterate.

    • T3J on 24/02/2023 - 20:41

      Personally I don't as I am a fan. I have the cash balance in my account to pay off any of these BNPL limits in a heartbeat but I loved being able to have the item I wanted, use their money to pay for it whist my money gets interest. I get that those who used BNPL to get by in life have a different experience, that's life.

      • brendanm on 24/02/2023 - 21:12

        How much interest do you realistically make on the sort of stuff eligible for these things, over the eligible time period? 20 cents? The cost for all this garbage is raising the price of all goods, as there is no way the retailer is eating the cost and cutting into their profit margins.

        • T3J on 24/02/2023 - 21:15
          +1

          Yeah its smallish, but its still better in my pocket than someone else's for next to no effort or cost. With current rates I get a pretty good return per annum on a decent sum.. Enough to buy a PS5 a year and some.

          • brendanm on 24/02/2023 - 21:16

            @T3J: Each to their own I suppose, way too much hassle for the return for my liking, plus I can't stand not only how it increases prices, but also their predatory practices, sucking in people with garbage financial literacy.

            • T3J on 24/02/2023 - 21:35

              @brendanm: I understand your point of view for sure but I haven't noticed any real increase in price specifically around the ability to use BNPL although you could be right. It's going to happen regardless I think. I quite like not taking a single large chunk out of my savings even though I could, but spreading it over time for no effort or cost. I know I'm in the minority using it this way and I've used it to get things I would otherwise just say 'nah, dont really need' as well that I've debated for ages. Certainly if i didn't have the funds or ability to think about how repayments are made to my advantage then that could be a problem.

              • brendanm on 24/02/2023 - 22:00

                @T3J:

                I've used it to get things I would otherwise just say 'nah, dont really need'

                That's why they do it. People buy things they wouldn't otherwise.

                • T3J on 26/02/2023 - 14:22

                  @brendanm: Yeah totally, for me its stuff I would get, but I've just been tight and not bothered as I've done without. Certainly not one of those using it to get day to day items or things they would otherwise never purchase.

  • randomusername2017 on 24/02/2023 - 20:33

    Lattitude pay closes my account…
    Afterpay sends a $30/$100 we miss you offer on the same day.. can't be all doom and gloom in the BNPL space.

  • PissLUR on 24/02/2023 - 21:03

    They could have done the humm's way. Introducing $2 fee for each contract.

  • burningrage on 27/02/2023 - 18:13
    +1

    I love BNPLs but I don't quite like LattitudePay.

    Too many attitudes, not enough platitudes.

    I am happy with my Afterpay.

  • Xistn on 21/04/2023 - 10:43

    https://www.latitudefinancial.com.au/latitude-cyber-incident…

    Oh snap! here we go again

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