Vodafone: Smartphone in installments

Vodafone is separating the financing of a smartphone from the term of the mobile phone contract taken out at the same time. This means that customers who also want to purchase a cell phone with their new contract and pay for it in installments can now choose between 12, 24 or 36 monthly installments. Previously, the installment payment was linked to the two-year term of the contract.

Cooperation with Zinia

For financing, Vodafone is working with the Zinia payment platform from Santander Bank, which Apple also uses for installment payments in Europe.

The financing offer is integrated into Vodafone's online store, but is provided by Zinia. “We are further expanding Zinia, our digital finance platform for consumers, through strategic partnerships with well-known companies such as Vodafone,” says Zinia CEO Ramón Billordo.

Anyone who decides on a smartphone and pays it off receives a discount on the basic fee of their mobile phone contract for the duration of the installment payment. The amount of the discount depends on the chosen smartphone and tariff.

“Our customers now benefit twice: they are free to decide when and how they pay for their desired smartphone – and they save on their cell phone tariff at the same time,” says Matthias Lorenz, Managing Director Private Customers at Vodafone.

Payment in installments is now common

When buying a cell phone together with a mobile phone contract, it has long been common practice in Germany for network operators to subsidize the cost of the device and include it in the tariff. Nowadays, devices can also be purchased and financed separately, but many providers still tie the installment payments to the contract term.

O2 (Telefónica Deutschland) has been offering financing that is independent of the mobile phone tariff since 2009, and now also offers flexible terms. The Telekom subsidiary Congstar also offers a comparable financing model for hardware.

(vbr)