Today, the grocery store chain Iceland introduced a “buy now, pay later” programme that enables consumers to get loans with no interest to support families through the current housing crisis.
Customers may now borrow up to £100 in small loans on a pre-loaded card from Iceland under a new project established in collaboration with the nonprofit lender Fair for You to pay for their food shopping.
On Fair for You’s website, customers may first apply for a Food Club Card that has a pre-loaded balance of between £25 and £75.
Additional credit may be withdrawn for additional Iceland stores. The maximum amount that may be owing at any one time is £100.
People may select the day they make their repayments and will pay back £10 each week, with the option to pay more when it’s more convenient.
With the initiative subject to availability and an online checker for who can use the system, new consumers are eligible for the project.
Benefit recipients are eligible to apply as long as they have a reliable source of income and a bank account they can use to make their repayments.
Online applications for the programme are accepted, and applicants will hear back from the programme during regular business hours.
Within five to seven business days, those who are successful will get a prepaid card.
The card balance may subsequently be used by customers to make purchases at Iceland stores or online.
With six open periods throughout the year, Iceland’s new programme seeks to provide clients in the UK with an inexpensive, flexible loan option to fight food poverty.
The programme is especially designed for the summer so that parents can keep their cabinets filled.
okay for You claim to be aware of the possibility of circumstances changing, and if you are having trouble making your payments, you may count on them to work with you to reschedule a payment schedule to assist you resume your financial obligations.
With their new programme, Fair for You and Iceland seek to provide clients the ability to even out their salaries and avoid having to use loans continuously throughout the year.
Their programme was introduced after a successful regional trial with 5,000 participants.
Statistics from the experiment showed that 71% of participants were less likely to fall behind on rent, council tax, and other expenses as a consequence of the plan, while 95% of those participated in the trial considered it useful.
With 92% of those who participated reporting that the programme reduced or eliminated their need for foodbanks, it also had a beneficial impact on people’s dependency on them.
Additionally, 57% of participants indicated that the programme had helped them feel less “stressed, nervous, or sad” about their money.
According to ITV, 65% of respondents stated their nutrition has improved.
HM Treasury, NESTA, and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation have all backed this project.
According to Tyla, the programme has so far loaned clients of Iceland £1 million.
Iceland said via its partner Fair For You that they do “credit searches” on applications but do not conduct “generic credit scoring.”
The grocery store noted that they would rather look at how consumers “repay items today” than at an incident from years ago.
Richard Walker, the managing director of Iceland Foods, stated: “Business and government must use innovative thinking to discover practical answers.
More than ever, people are struggling to afford basic necessities amid this persistent cost of living crisis.
‘With Fair for You, we launched Iceland Food Club to provide our customers with even more assistance and assist them in budgeting for necessities on their own terms.
“Our ethical credit programme gives genuine aid when most needed to individuals attempting to worry less about how they will purchase vital items, and I think it will make a key contribution to ending the cycle of food poverty in this nation.”
The launch of the new programme coincides with the fastest increase in supermarket prices since 2008 as a result of the cost of living problem.
In the four weeks leading up to August 7, grocery inflation increased to 11.6% from 9.9% the previous month.
This increases a household’s shopping price in the UK by £533 annually, according to the research company Kantar.
Three products—butter, milk, and poultry—have significantly raised prices in the UK.