I don’t recommend borrowing money if you can help it. If you are budgeting effectively hopefully you can avoid borrowing money. However, un-expected expenses do come up. It’s a very bad idea to have to pay interest on your credit card usually around 21%. One good solution I’ve found is Scotia Select Pay.

What Is Scotia SelectPay?

If you have a Scotia VISA, Scotia SelectPay is a way to buy things using your credit card but not pay excessively high interest rates. It converts your purchases into fixed monthly installment payments (a payment plan).

Positives:

Any single purchase over $100 can be converted into installments.
Low pay back fees.
Cancel plans at no penalty or extra cost.
Flexible payment options of 3,6 or 12 plans.
If your SelectPay fee is 2% and your Visa cash back rate is 2% your fee will cancel.

Negatives:

Have payment plans seems to lower your credit score by a small amount.
You are limited to how many purchases you can convert to a payment plan.
- After your payments are done it takes awhile to close the transaction to convert new purchases to payment plans.

Requirements:

Have one of the following Visa cards:
- Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite
- Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
- SCENE Visa
- Scotia Momentum Visa
- Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa
- ScotiaGold Passport Visa
- Scotiabank Value Visa
You are the primary cardholder.
Your account is in good standing.
You have a Scotia OnLine or mobile banking account.
You are a resident of Canada in any province or territory besides Quebec.

How it works:

Example if you buy a furnace for $1000 you can choose 3 different length installment plans:

3 months @ 1% = $1010 total or $336.67/month

$10 total fees

6 months @ 2% = $1020 total or $170/month

$20 total fees

12 months @ 4% = $1040 total or $86.67/month

$40 total fees

Note: These are not necessary the correct fees for everyone’s situation.

Downsides:

Using Scotia SelectPay still counts as using your credit card and could negatively impact your credit score if you’re not careful.
If you cannot make the full installment payment each month, the purchase will be converted back to normal credit card usage and you could be charged interest.
High required monthly payments.

Final thoughts

Scotia SelectPay is an excellent way to buy things now and pay later with very low fees. The fees are much lower than a line of credit or standard credit card interest. However, it should be used sparingly to avoid over spending and getting into debt. It is usually better to pay off your credit card in full every month if have the money to do so.

The Scotia VISA’s Exciting New Feature