PayPal Credit, formerly named Bill Me Later, is a proprietary payment method offered on the websites of many well-known merchants, including those of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, USPS, B&H Photo Video, Best Buy, Overstock.com, JetBlue Airways, Liquidation Channel, Jewelry Television and Hotels.com. The site, which offers consumers a line of revolving credit through Comenity Capital Bank, allows purchases to be made online without using a credit card. The company was one of the first recipients of the Red Herring Global 100 Award by the publication Red Herring.
On November 7, 2008, PayPal completed its acquisition of Bill Me Later. It was formerly owned by I4 Commerce.
How it works
After customers open their accounts (including credit check), Bill Me Later asks customers at every purchase to fill out the last 4 digits of their SSN and their date of birth. The approved customer can then pay the bill by mail (check), phone or online (via bank account) at www.billmelater.com. Bill Me Later accounts can be linked with PayPal accounts by visiting https://billmelater.com/linkpaypal. Once the Bill Me Later account is linked to PayPal, it becomes a funding option within the PayPal account and gives the option to pay off the Bill Me Later balance. Customers also get an email whenever they are declined. In cases when they are declined and they don't receive declined email/letter, they can contact Bill Me Later Customer Service to check if it was not a system issue. Bill Me Later isn't a credit card but a revolving line of credit offered by Comenity Capital Bank. Much like a traditional credit card, the company will charge late payments if necessary.
Terms
For purchases of $99 and over that are made through PayPal wallet, customers have 6 months to pay their bill in full. If they don't, then they are charged interest at a 19.99% APR starting from the original purchase date. Purchases not made through the PayPal wallet will only receive promotional financing if the merchant is offering it.
Developers/new merchant integration
Unlike its parent company PayPal which is available to most e-commerce entities, Bill Me Later isn't available to most businesses. New merchants can request integration through a website operated by the company.
Other products
Besides its flagship consumer service, Bill Me Later also offers Bill Me Later Business (As of May 13, 2012 Bill Me Later Business has been discontinued) (seen at USPS) and Preferred Account (seen at Newegg). In Bill Me Later Business, the users are business owners who want to use the equivalent of a corporate card for buying products and services over the web. The business owner would apply for Bill Me Later Business - using data like EIN etc. The Preferred Account is similar to the concept of a charge card - that can be used at a particular merchant only.
Bill Me Later in PayPal wallet
After the PayPal acquisition of Bill Me Later, Bill Me Later is offered as a payment method through PayPal at sites that both accept PayPal and Bill Me Later. PayPal balances are accepted as payment on Bill Me Later statements.
Lawsuits
On May 19, 2015 CFPB filed a complaint and proposed consent order in federal court against PayPal, Inc. for illegally signing up consumers for its online credit product, however, a judge has to approve if there was any law infringement before moving the case to court.
External links
- billmelater.com homepage
References
- http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/bill_me_later.html?page=2
