For most buyers, the whole point of consumer finance is to help spread the cost of ‘big ticket’ items and reduce the immediate impact of a large one-off spend.

Of course, it’s a system that works well for the seller, too. Offering your customers a flexible range of payment options can drastically reduce rates of basket abandonment, or embolden buyers to invest in products and services they otherwise might not. Better yet, duologi’s consumer finance solutions, including 0% Finance, have been designed such that there’s no effect on normal cash flow into your business.

Not all such products are created equal, however: in many cases, buyers might find that this ‘flexibility’ only extends in one direction. If you find yourself in a position where you’ll benefit from paying off finance early, the options for doing so can sometimes be rather limited.

Let’s talk a bit about why this might be – and why, here at duologi, we don’t think it’s an especially helpful approach.

How to pay off finance

The terms of the financing you were offered in the first place will reflect your circumstances at the time – but, of course, these can change. When it comes to financing agreements, it’s no secret that these periods of flux can introduce risk. However, they can also be a cause for celebration: if you find yourself in a position to clear any outstanding debts earlier than planned, you should feel entitled to view that as a good thing.

Unfortunately, the consumer finance landscape can be a complicated one at times. Even where arrangements fall squarely under the Consumer Credit Act, there simply isn’t any one hard and fast rule about early repayment that unites all lenders and providers. Depending on the specific terms of the arrangement and provider in question, you could have multiple options for paying off finance early – or none at all. (Note: you really should be very clear about which camp your particular agreement falls into before signing up!)

Even where there is a reasonable degree of flexibility on offer, the range of available methods could be plentiful, or fairly slim. Sometimes you’ll be welcome to increase the size of certain payments, but you may not always be able to add in additional monthly instalments on top of the ones you’ve already scheduled.

In other scenarios, there might be no barrier whatsoever to paying any remaining balance off in full – but the provider in question might charge you a fee for the privilege. In most such cases, early repayment penalties will typically be added to cover any perceived loss of interest incurred.

Obviously, in finance agreements where no interest is added to repayments, this is far less likely to apply. However, you might still find that an early repayment fee is added in some capacity: the additional admin costs of amending your initial agreement and schedule are a commonly cited reason.

To be honest, that’s not the sort of approach we think works best here at duologi. We pride ourselves on being a customer-first business, and we always want our consumer finance solutions to work for you.

That means different things to different people – we understand this, and that’s why we put flexibility at the heart of everything we do. When you take out financing through us, you’ll encounter no such difficulties in paying off finance early. Neither will you be charged if you want to make larger or additional payments at any time.

In short, if you’d like to settle up your financing more quickly, we believe that should absolutely be an option for you..

Again, it’s vitally important for all parties involved to carefully check the full terms and conditions of any consumer finance contract before putting pen to paper. Always do this before tying yourself into anything, and make sure you ask any key questions well in advance – including the all-important ‘Can you pay off finance early?’.

Common questions about financing products

Will offering customer finance impact cash flow into my business?
Not with duologi, no. You’ll receive full payment for your goods or services up front as normal, and we’ll handle the repayment scheduling with the buyer on your behalf.

Is consumer finance something I can offer in my eCommerce business?
Absolutely – in fact, issues around buyer confidence and basket abandonment are far more acute when selling online, as you’ll be all too aware. Offering a range of flexible ways to pay is a fantastic tool for empowering your customers, helping them to spread costs more effectively. If that’s something they’re looking for, giving them the option is a great way to make your business stand out against the competition.

How easily does consumer finance integrate with my current payment systems?
We can’t speak for everyone, but duologi design products from the ground up to fit in seamlessly with the way you do business. We’re a tech-forward company, and we work hard to make sure you’re fully supported across all physical, digital and mobile points of sale. We even include marketing support for your available finance packages as part of the service.

If you’d like to find out more about offering or using our various flexible financing solutions, head over to our Customer Finance page to find out more about how it all works for you.