Know why you should make your online payments with a credit card?

In recent years, online shopping has become increasingly popular, and more than half of Finns make online purchases every month*. Paying with a credit card has many benefits which provide security and flexibility for online payments in particular.

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Online shopping has increased considerably – credit cards add to the security of payments

The purchasing behaviour of Finns has changed significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to an e-commerce report published by Posti, 50% of Finns make at least half of their purchases online. In 2020, 60% of Finns made more online purchases than the year before. The majority of them justified this by their aim to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.

A credit card is the best method of paying online purchases, as it provides you with the additional cover brought by the Consumer Protection Act in case of any problems. If a purchase you paid with your credit card is not delivered, you receive a wrong product or the product has broken during shipment and you are not able to sort it out with the seller, you can turn to your bank to get help.

You should pay your airline tickets with your credit card, as this protects your purchase against the airline’s bankruptcy, for example. If you pay flights directly from your bank account, they will not necessarily be compensated.

Card payments in online shops are safe due to strong identification. Nordea customers can use either our code app or our code calculator for strong identification. 

You can easily switch the online payment option for your Nordea Gold card either on or off in Nordea Netbank and Nordea Mobile. Keeping the option off when not making online purchases will bring you additional protection. 

Buy now, pay later – get an interest-free payment period for your purchases

The easiness of e-commerce has made it an attractive alternative to brick-and-mortar stores. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to the increased popularity of online shopping, the majority of those who have increased their online purchases intend to still continue online shopping after the situation has improved.

As an increasing share of their income will be spent online, paying with a credit card should be the first choice while making online purchases. Many of us do not make use of all the credit card benefits in fear of getting into debt. 

When paying with a credit card you get a 30-day payment period for your purchases on average with no interest charged. Interest begins to accrue only after the due date of the credit card invoice if you don’t pay in one go all the purchases made during the invoicing period.

You can also add flexibility to your finances by making use of two interest-free months, which you can use, for example, after Christmas shopping, sales or your summer holidays. Paying with a credit card is usually a more sensible way of managing your finances compared to hire purchase. 

It is also easier, and often cheaper, to pay your purchases with a credit card invoice than with a hire-purchase agreement in which case the final price may be much higher than if you paid them in one go. The product you buy will also become your own, whereas in hire purchase the seller often has the title to the object of sale until all the instalments have been paid off.

Product Safety Insurance provides security against damage even better than home insurance

Product Safety Insurance is automatically included in a Nordea Gold credit card free of charge. If you pay your purchase with the credit facility of your card, you will get Product Safety Insurance for the product for 180 days. The insurance will indemnify sudden breakdown of any goods kept indoors (such as a TV). 

Most home insurance policies come with a deductible, which will be deducted from the amount indemnified in an insurance event. In most home insurance policies, the deductible amounts to around 150 euros.

The low deductible (50 euros) of Product Safety Insurance beats the deductible of most home insurance policies, and in some cases it may be more reasonable to make a claim from Product Safety Insurance (provided that the purchase has been paid with the credit facility of a credit card). When damage occurs, you should check which of your insurance policies has the best terms and conditions for you and then make a claim from this insurance.

Examples of possible claims situations

Jaana

Jaana has ordered a washing machine from an online shop, but it is never delivered. As Jaana paid the washing machine with the credit facility of her Nordea Gold card, she can make a complaint on this to us and claim for a refund.

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Simo

Simo purchases a new TV from a household appliance store. He trips over the toys of his children which lie on the floor and accidentally drops the TV on to the floor. As Simo paid his purchase with his Nordea Gold credit card, the damage will be indemnified from Product Safety Insurance.

Read more about card insurance

5 tips for making use of the features of your Nordea Gold card in online shopping

  1. Pay your online purchases with the credit facility of your card, as it provides you with the additional cover brought by the Consumer Protection Act.
  2. Always buy your airline tickets and accommodation with the credit facility of your card to obtain protection in case of the bankruptcy of the airline, for example.
  3. Avail of the 30-day interest-free payment period of your credit card to get more flexibility for your finances.
  4. Pay your larger acquisitions for your home with the credit facility of your card to get Product Safety Insurance for your acquisitions.
  5. Buy at least 75% of your holiday trips with the credit facility of your card, and you will save money by getting travel insurance included in your card.

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