Play now, PayLite later

All right, before you say that credit cards can ruin life and lead to divorce and homelessness, you need to take a deep breath and recite my favorite mantra: "The mall is not my natural habitat, the mall is not my natural habitat, the mall is not my natural habitat."

Whoever said that money is the root of all evil obviously didn’t hear the one about credit cards being the cure of all sadness. Sure, I’ve seen Oprah shows where couples are on the brink of divorce because of credit card debt, I’ve talked to people who have sworn off credit cards in their lifetime because of financial ruin, but I’ve never actually seen that favorite movie scene where a cashier actually cuts up a credit card because the bank ordered it. As long as they don’t do that here, the world is still all right.

I look at it this way: Having a credit card is like owning a dog. It can cheer you up on the bleakest working day of your life, but you have to take care of it. You have to walk it regularly, but you mustn’t overdo it or you’ll end up as its slave.

Let’s face it, credit cards can be a dream for shoppers, but they can also be a nightmare of epic proportions (think Cecil B. DeMille and a thousand Romans chasing you out of the market). You don’t want to be Becky Bloomwood in Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series either, what with her pathetic attempts at dodging her creditors and her heart-pounding shopping sprees.

Oh, if she only had zero interest! Dear Becky could have shopped until she wore down the cashier.

Now here’s the pitch. Citibank Philippines has an ongoing promo that lets shoppers win back their purchases made with PayLite. It goes like this: You make a purchase using your Citibank credit card (Visa or MasterCard), avail of the zero interest plan, choose your term of payment and you get a corresponding scratch card. The card has four silver boxes; if you get four PayLite logos, you win back your purchase, meaning it gets credited into your account and you don’t have to pay for it. If you get two or three logos, you get a consolation prize ranging from ballpens to mouse pads to movie tickets for Ayala Cinemas, Robinsons and Shangri-La Plaza.

If you choose the 24-month payment scheme, you get 24 scratch cards; if you use the 12- or 3-month scheme, you get the corresponding number of cards. The longer the term, the more chances of winning, the lighter on the pocket.

Citibank has put up redemption booths at Shangri-La Mall, Alabang Town Center, Glorietta and Ayala Center Cebu, Robinsons Galleria and Robinsons Place Ermita for cardholders to get their scratch cards. You just need to present a receipt of purchases worth P3,000 or more.

PayLite program head Jay Bengzon says that every year, Citibank holds a promo "that gives back to its customers." Last year, the bank gave away four Volkswagen Beetles to cardholders, and this year, until November 15, they are giving away actual purchases with the Win What You Buy promo, on top of the zero interest plan.

"We have over 600 stores accepting PayLite with the zero percent offer. Before, installment plans were only for big-ticket items such as appliances, but we’ve expanded the categories to make things more affordable to cardholders, especially in these hard times."

You can now PayLite clothes, hotel accommodation, wedding banquets and tuition fees. Citibank says there are two ways to do this. First is to use PayLite directly with the vendor, or if the merchant only accepts straight charges, you just need to call up Citiphone and ask the bank to convert your charges to PayLite and they will bill you accordingly. This second feature was added, according to the bank, because some people really think of paying on installment only after they have charged the entire amount.

At a recent presscon, Citibank spokespersons Paolo and Suzi Abrera, who were then expecting their first child (a few days later she gave birth to a baby girl), talked about how easy it was to shop with PayLite especially since new parents need to buy a lot of things for their baby. "It’s very hard, especially for big-ticket items and for those times when you don’t want to carry around a wad of cash," said Paolo. "I’ve discovered the convenience of paying with the card rather than running to the ATM all the time."

Suzi says, "We’ve been wanting to get a video camera to document every moment of our child’s growth, but the one we want costs P80,000. PayLite will make it possible for us to buy it now, and settle it over affordable installment terms to suit our budget."

The most useful feature of PayLite for parents has to be being able to pay their children’s tuition fee on installment. Schools like Ateneo, AIM and La Salle offer the PayLite option. "The basic thrust here is to be able to make payment easier for cardholders," says Bengzon, "You can PayLite basically anything that is at least P3,000."

The deferred payment concept is nothing new. Even before banks institutionalized it, Filipinos have always had a thing for hulugan. "I guess it’s because this type of payment makes it easier to purchase what you need now," says Bengzon.

So excuse me while I shut Oprah up and go to the mall.