eLayaway
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Natalie asked me recently if I’d check out a site called eLayaway, so I took a look. The basic premise of the site is that you can put items from participating merchants on layaway for a 1.9% transaction fee on the final balance. They have quite a list of participating merchants, too. (I stopped counting at 100-something.)
There’s no charge to join. You’d need to feel comfortable giving them your checking account information, since payments are withdrawn automatically from your checking account. A potential downside to this could be fees from from both eLayaway and your bank (if applicable) if the ACH charges do not go through due to lack of funds, etc. eLayway’s fees for that are outlined in the site’s terms and conditions, which are clearly written in easy-to-understand language. I didn’t sign up, because I didn’t want to give out my account information since I had no intention of putting anything on layaway, but the site was very easy to navigate.
It appears to be aimed at people who either don’t have good credit (since they note that they do not do a credit check) or who want to avoid using credit cards, but for whatever reason don’t want to just save up ahead of time on their own. I liked their “credit is overrated” slogan. An article in the NavyTimes says that members of the military community can have the 1.9% transaction fee waived for their first ten transactions if they use a special code.
The site is based in Florida, which always makes me nervous. But a quick Google search on the company name didn’t reveal any negatives, so I felt better. They also have a satisfactory record with the BBB of Northeast Florida, where they are a member. Overall, I wish I’d thought of an idea like this. It seems like it has great potential as a business, and also potential for helping out those who might otherwise turn to credit cards.
