Consumer Financing – Why Now, And Why Field Service?

By Michael Israel, Head of Field Service Evangelism, Zuper

Picture this: You’re at the car dealership finally buying that 2022 Lamborghini Huracan EVO convertible you’ve been dreaming of. However, unless you can drop $200K in cash, you’ll need to do what most people must when buying a car–head in back to see the finance manager. For major purchases like cars, homes, or college tuition, taking out a closed-end loan is the only way the average person can afford it.

For purchases like groceries and gas, credit cards are common. Recently, a new breed of consumer credit emerged as a challenger to traditional credit card companies. The buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) trend has produced a handful of successful fintech companies that enable consumers to grab that pair of designer jeans online and pay in 4 easy installments.

With high inflation, consumers are taking a hard look at personal spending, but also how they finance things. Credit card companies charge interest and those rates increase during times of inflation. So, what does this mean for the service industry for big landscaping jobs, or the installation of solar panels, or fixing a central air conditioning unit or broken swimming pool pump?