Smartphone credit
The question to ask yourself before borrowing
A high-end smartphone now costs between 800 € and 1.500 €. That is a real amount, and the request for financing is legitimate — a broken phone means being cut off from work, from official procedures and from those close to you. But, as lender and broker, we start with the obvious: borrowing over several years for an item that loses half its value in eighteen months is rarely the right calculation.
A common-sense example, at our fixed annual rate of 3.90%: on a device costing €1,000, a credit over 36 months ends up costing tens of euros in interest, while you will still be repaying your phone once it has become slow, out of warranty and ready for replacement. The right question is not « what monthly payment? » but « how much will this device have cost by the time I replace it? ».
Three alternatives deserve to be examined before any credit: payment in 3 or 4 instalments, often free of charge at the retailer, a guaranteed refurbished handset, which frequently halves the price for identical use, and rental with a purchase option, clear to read but whose cumulative cost sometimes exceeds an outright purchase. If none of these fits, then a small-amount credit is worth discussing — and we will review it.
- Amount: from €500 to €25,000, at a fixed annual rate of 3.90%
- Payment in 3 or 4 instalments is often the least expensive solution
- Purpose-linked credit possible at the retailer: cancelled if the device is not delivered
- Below €500, we do not process an application: instalment payment is better suited
Key features
Instalment payment
Spread over 3 or 4 instalments and often free of charge, it escapes the consumer credit regime below 90 days. It is almost always cheaper than a credit over 24 months. Just check the arrangement fees quoted.
Refurbished handsets
A model from the previous year, refurbished with a commercial warranty, frequently costs 40 to 50 % less for almost identical use. It is the most effective lever: it removes the need to borrow.
Rental with a purchase option
A monthly rental, with the device returned or bought at the end of the contract. Clear to read, but add up all the rentals plus the buy-out option: the total often exceeds the outright purchase price.
Purpose-linked credit at the retailer
If it is tied to the sale of the device, it benefits from article L.312-48: if the phone is never delivered, the credit is cancelled as of right. That is more protective than a non-linked credit.
How it works
Check whether credit is necessary
First compare instalment payment, refurbished handsets and prices outside the launch period. A model released twelve months earlier often solves the problem without any financing at all.
Cost the total, not the monthly payment
In the simulator, look at the « total cost » line. That is the only figure that can be compared between a credit, a rental and payment in four instalments.
Group your needs if necessary
If the phone comes on top of other spending, a single, better negotiated personal loan is preferable to three financings stacked up with three different retailers.
Ask for a free review
If a credit remains justified, we finance it directly or put several lenders into competition on total cost, at a fixed annual rate of 3.90%.
What we will tell you, even if it costs us the business
- That on small amounts, payment in 3 or 4 instalments almost always beats a credit
- That a guaranteed refurbished handset often removes the need for financing altogether
- That stacking up small credits with several retailers damages your credit profile
- That if a credit is unavoidable after all, our review remains free and with no obligation
Frequently asked questions
Our applications are reviewed from €500 to €25,000. Below that threshold, the processing costs of the file are not recovered: payment in 3 or 4 instalments offered in store is then better suited.
If it is repaid in under 90 days and free of charge or with negligible charges, it largely escapes the consumer credit regime. Be careful: it therefore does not open up the same protections, in particular the 14-day withdrawal period.
The two-year statutory guarantee of conformity applies against the seller, whether the device is financed or not. You nevertheless continue repaying the credit while the dispute is dealt with, unless the sale is cancelled on a purpose-linked credit.
An isolated credit, properly repaid: no. Several small-amount financings open at the same time: yes — they increase your debt ratio and may cause a larger project to be refused a few months later.
No. It is an ordinary consumer credit, purpose-linked if taken out at the retailer, non-linked if it goes through a personal loan. No derogatory regime exists for this type of item.
Adding another line is rarely the right answer. A debt consolidation can ease your monthly payments overall, but it lengthens the term and increases the total cost: we cost both before you decide.
Unsure which option is best?
Take stock with us free of charge. If credit is not the right answer for a phone, we will tell you plainly.
Credit is a commitment and must be repaid. Check that you can afford the repayments before you commit.
