Smart payment

The equated monthly installment (EMI) schemes have turned out to be a masterstroke for Apple. Since the company started offering EMI schemes on the iPhone, sales have zoomed almost 300 per cent. Its rivals, Samsung, HTC and Blackberry, too have latched on to the EMI concept. The schemes are being offered on credit cards of banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, American Express, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India. We take a look at the EMI offers available and whether there are any hidden costs of the phones on flagship models of smartphone manufacturers.

APPLE IPHONE 5 (8GB)
Price: Rs 45,500
Down payment: Rs 16,900
6 EMIs: Rs 4,752 (Zero processing fee)
12 EMIs: Rs 2,376 (Processing fee: Rs 855)
No exchange
No cash back

 

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4

Price: Rs 40,300
Down payment: 0
12 EMIs: Rs 3.358 per month
Zero per cent interest
Zero processing fee

 

No exchange
No cash back

BLACKBERRY Z10
Price: Rs 42,490
Down payment: 0
9 EMIs: Rs 4,799
Zero per cent interest
Zero processing fee
No exchange
No cash back

 

HTC ONE

 

Price: Rs 42,990
Down payment: 0
9 EMIs: Rs 4,799
Zero per cent interest
Zero processing fee
No exchange
No cash back

While manufacturers advertise that there is no processing fee, read the fine print. Many banks charge processing fees on select smart phones. It also depends on the stores. The average processing charge on credit cards can be up to 8.75 per cent on the principal amount. An iPhone 5 in that case can cost up to Rs 49,990. Before opting for any EMI scheme, do find out about the processing fee.