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Signing up for a loan - Apple Computer and MBNA bank join forces for instant loans - Company Business and Marketing

Instant loans make a big difference -- but will they come to Canada?

Of all the Mac-related news of late, the item that probably means the most to Canadian resellers must be the new Instant loan program.

Apple has joined forces with MBNA to provide on-the-spot approval for loans ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. Not only is this program available at authorized resellers, but also on the online Apple Store.

It's a pretty good deal. There's no down payment, you can choose a 24-, 36-, 48- or 60-month term; the loan is open-ended, so that you can upgrade on the credit you've already received or even get cash from your Apple account and there's no penalty for early repayment. Right now, the rate is 14.99 percent. Prime is about 9.25 in the U.S. right now, but the Apple/MBNA loan is still lower than most credit cards.

There are a couple of provisos, though. Most importantly, the deal is only open to U.S. permanent residents. As yet, there are no official plans to bring it to Canada, despite the presence of lots of hungry PC consumers who could easily be swayed by making their purchase just a tad easier. A G4 Cube -- if you can get your hands on one -- retails in Canada for $2,699. Wouldn't you rather tell your customers that all they need is a signature and $75.10 a month (over four years)?

Sure it's possible for you to make your own deal with a bank or financing agency, but wouldn't it be better to have Apple take care of that for you? Imagine instant approval. Mmmmm, quick money.

As it stands now, if the customer doesn't have enough room on his or her credit card or a big bag full of loonies, they have to go to a third party and then come back to you. And let's face it, that description applies to pretty well everybody. Let's say I'm a graphic artist who wants a computer I can work on at home and my kids can play games on. Let's also say I selected a 500 MHz G4 Cube with 256 megs, a 15-inch flat panel, and an Epson Stylus 900 for printing proofs. A nice computer, yes, but certainly nothing fancy. Still, that's $6,170 before the luxurious application of sales tax (bringing the total to $7,096 in my former home of Ontario). Unless I just won a lottery, I probably need a loan.

So why can't Apple Canada pull off a deal?

All the pieces are there. Delaware-based MBNA has a presence in Canada, although a very small one. So what? It's not like the big banks are exactly being parsimonious with loans these days. I'm sure they'd be competing with each other for a deal like this.

Personally -- and the reason I'm here is to give my opinion about such things -- I think that it's just inertia and lethargy on the part of the boys and girls in Markham. That's a shame. Not only would instant credit bring more customers into your shop, but it would also persuade more of them to buy more now; instead of waiting while they save up or clear off some room on the Visa.

Jerry Langton, an expatriate Canadian and a veteran Mac user, lives In New York City. We welcome your feedback. Please send your comments to cdnedit@plesman.com or e-mail the author directly at langton@tfn.com.