Consumer Credit
The firms represented through Eurofinas members provide a variety of different kinds of loans, the bulk of which are granted to individuals.
These loans can be divided into the following categories:
Personal loans (also referred to as direct loans)
These are loans made directly available to the customer and are not linked to a specific purchase.
Revolving credit
The types of credit falling under this category usually do not involve a predetermined number of repayments. The best known product in this category is credit cards but there are other types of revolving credit such as lines of credit made available for a consumer to draw upon when needed.
Credit at the point of sale
Credit can also be granted for the purchase of goods and services at a retailer or a dealer. For example, a customer decides to purchase a laptop computer or to buy a package holiday and opts to finance the purchase with a loan. In this case, a consumer credit provider would grant the loan to the consumer and would pay the funds directly to the retailer or dealer. The customer would then receive his or her purchase and repay the loan directly to the credit provider in instalments. Loans to finance the purchase of a car (both new and second hand cars) are often made available in this manner. For further information on credit at the point of sale, visit our credit intermediation policy page.
Shop cards
Retailers , working in partnership with consumer credit providers, may also provide "shop cards" or "branded credit cards" that function as normal credit cards but within a given store or group of stores. In some cases, these cards may also be used to withdraw cash.
Mortgages
Some of the firms represented through Eurofinas members also grant finance for the purchase of residential real estate through a contractual mortgage agreement, the property in question being used as collateral.