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>One lender, Quadpay, posted a TikTok encouraging people to take out installment loans to pay for groceries, framing the advice as “the world’s biggest secret.”

by 41209 5y ago

>One lender, Quadpay, posted a TikTok encouraging people to take out installment loans to pay for groceries, framing the advice as “the world’s biggest secret.” This made me mildly sick. At the same time, so many people are struggling it's no wonder a low interest loan to buy a sandwich is a popular business model. In a perfect world this type of thing would just be banned, but then arguably some people wouldn't eat

gruez 5y ago
>>framing the advice as “the world’s biggest secret.” >This made me mildly sick. It made me mildly sick too, so much so that I decided to check out the video. After watching it I can't say that their claim that it was being framed as "the world’s biggest secret" is accurate. The video just shows someone shopping, and pointing out you can use quadpay like a credit card.
- DeltaCoast 5y ago
  I think OP is referring to the beginning of the video where the person shopping says "I'm going to let you in on the world's biggest secret". The audio unmutes weirdly so you may not have heard it. The video for reference - https://www.tiktok.com/@zip_usa/video/6943316833743211782 https://www.tiktok.com/@zip_usa/video/6943316833743211782
  - gruez 5y ago
    >The audio unmutes weirdly so you may not have heard it. Yeah that was it. Thanks for the correction.
gowld 5y ago
It's better to skip a meal now than take out a loan that makes you skip two meals later. If you can't afford to buy a sandwich, just buy the peanut butter for less and have plenty to eat. Also, survival food is cheap as dirt. No one starves due to food prices.
- gruez 5y ago
  Not sure why this is getting downvoted. I suspect it's due to the last sentence, but getting 2000 calories of food for less than $2 is very doable: https://www.upstart.com/blog/lowest-cost-per-calorie-foods https://www.upstart.com/blog/lowest-cost-per-calorie-foods 2. White rice – $0.41 per 2,000 calories 7. Peanut butter – $1.25 per 2,000 calories 8. Whole milk – $1.37 per 2,000 calories 9. Pinto beans – $1.39 per 2,000 calories 13. Eggs – $1.61 per 2,000 calories Add in a few extra dollars for fruits/vegetables and you got a balanced meal for less than 1 hour of the federal minimum wage.
  - eurasiantiger 5y ago
    This doesn’t help those dependent on illicit substances, which tend to become a necessary coping mechanism once financial disenfranchisement becomes constant survival stress and days sort of start blurring together because of the PTSD symptoms. Have you ever HAD to survive on that kind of diet?
    - imtringued 5y ago
      You know eating until you are obese is a much cheaper coping mechanism than street drugs.
      - netizen-936824 5y ago
        I would argue being obese is far worse for your health than most, if not all, "street drugs"
    - gruez 5y ago
      Sounds like the problem is "illicit substances" and/or "PTSD symptoms", not high food prices.
      - mulmen 5y ago
        Are you sure the problem isn’t the financial disenfranchisement?
BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
You're misrepresenting the offer. Quadpay is not "low-interest". It's ZERO interest. There's a huge difference between a loan with interest and a loan without interest. Zero interest loans are good for everyone unless they spend more than they can pay back within the timeframe. It's exactly the same as using a credit card and paying the balance on time.
- mike00632 5y ago
  Where is the business model if not to charge users a late fee or high interest when they can't pay it back? Yes, it seems like a credit card in that it's predatory and should be illegal. We're literally discussing taking out personal loans for food.
  - BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
    > Yes, it seems like a credit card in that it's predatory and should be illegal. Saying that credit cards should be illegal is laughable. Whether they're predatory could be debated, but there is zero downside to using credit cards if you pay off the monthly balance. > Where is the business model if not to charge users Well, the article says "the companies more often make their money from retailer commissions, not missed payments", so let's say that the business model is there.
  - nemothekid 5y ago
    >Where is the business model if not to charge users a late fee or high interest when they can't pay it back? Interchange fees. Most high limit card holders don't hold a balance (ex. the Amex Platinum/Gold/Green cards are charge cards that don't carry a balance). They make money by charging the retailing the .30c+2.9% fee on every transaction. This is why it's also makes sense to always use a credit card provided you pay it off - retails mark up everything to give credit card processors their "fee", but credit card companies give you kickbacks in the form of points. If you pay cash, you are subsidizing everyone else's credit card points.
    - ZeroGravitas 5y ago

by 41209 5y ago

gruez 5y ago

>>framing the advice as “the world’s biggest secret.” >This made me mildly sick. It made me mildly sick too, so much so that I decided to check out the video. After watching it I can't say that their claim that it was being framed as "the world’s biggest secret" is accurate. The video just shows someone shopping, and pointing out you can use quadpay like a credit card.

DeltaCoast 5y ago
I think OP is referring to the beginning of the video where the person shopping says "I'm going to let you in on the world's biggest secret". The audio unmutes weirdly so you may not have heard it. The video for reference - https://www.tiktok.com/@zip_usa/video/6943316833743211782 https://www.tiktok.com/@zip_usa/video/6943316833743211782
- gruez 5y ago
  >The audio unmutes weirdly so you may not have heard it. Yeah that was it. Thanks for the correction.

gowld 5y ago

It's better to skip a meal now than take out a loan that makes you skip two meals later. If you can't afford to buy a sandwich, just buy the peanut butter for less and have plenty to eat. Also, survival food is cheap as dirt. No one starves due to food prices.

gruez 5y ago
Not sure why this is getting downvoted. I suspect it's due to the last sentence, but getting 2000 calories of food for less than $2 is very doable: https://www.upstart.com/blog/lowest-cost-per-calorie-foods https://www.upstart.com/blog/lowest-cost-per-calorie-foods 2. White rice – $0.41 per 2,000 calories 7. Peanut butter – $1.25 per 2,000 calories 8. Whole milk – $1.37 per 2,000 calories 9. Pinto beans – $1.39 per 2,000 calories 13. Eggs – $1.61 per 2,000 calories Add in a few extra dollars for fruits/vegetables and you got a balanced meal for less than 1 hour of the federal minimum wage.
- eurasiantiger 5y ago
  This doesn’t help those dependent on illicit substances, which tend to become a necessary coping mechanism once financial disenfranchisement becomes constant survival stress and days sort of start blurring together because of the PTSD symptoms. Have you ever HAD to survive on that kind of diet?
  - imtringued 5y ago
    You know eating until you are obese is a much cheaper coping mechanism than street drugs.
    - netizen-936824 5y ago
      I would argue being obese is far worse for your health than most, if not all, "street drugs"
  - gruez 5y ago
    Sounds like the problem is "illicit substances" and/or "PTSD symptoms", not high food prices.
    - mulmen 5y ago
      Are you sure the problem isn’t the financial disenfranchisement?

BugsJustFindMe 5y ago

You're misrepresenting the offer. Quadpay is not "low-interest". It's ZERO interest. There's a huge difference between a loan with interest and a loan without interest. Zero interest loans are good for everyone unless they spend more than they can pay back within the timeframe. It's exactly the same as using a credit card and paying the balance on time.

mike00632 5y ago
Where is the business model if not to charge users a late fee or high interest when they can't pay it back? Yes, it seems like a credit card in that it's predatory and should be illegal. We're literally discussing taking out personal loans for food.
- BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
  > Yes, it seems like a credit card in that it's predatory and should be illegal. Saying that credit cards should be illegal is laughable. Whether they're predatory could be debated, but there is zero downside to using credit cards if you pay off the monthly balance. > Where is the business model if not to charge users Well, the article says "the companies more often make their money from retailer commissions, not missed payments", so let's say that the business model is there.
- nemothekid 5y ago
  >Where is the business model if not to charge users a late fee or high interest when they can't pay it back? Interchange fees. Most high limit card holders don't hold a balance (ex. the Amex Platinum/Gold/Green cards are charge cards that don't carry a balance). They make money by charging the retailing the .30c+2.9% fee on every transaction. This is why it's also makes sense to always use a credit card provided you pay it off - retails mark up everything to give credit card processors their "fee", but credit card companies give you kickbacks in the form of points. If you pay cash, you are subsidizing everyone else's credit card points.
  - ZeroGravitas 5y ago