Think Finance, a company that helps serve the banking needs of the “unbanked”, is unveiling Presta, a new consumer electronics retail site that gives customers the option to lease-purchase electronics.
Think Finance caters to the 60 million “unbanked,” individuals in the U.S., which designate consumers who don’t have traditional bank accounts or cannot qualify for credit cards. The company says that 25% of Americans have FICO scores less than 600 and are facing dramatically reduced access to credit and banking services. Think Finance provides this population with pre-paid debit cards, online installment loans, financial literacy tools, and more. The company has served more than 1 million customers through its existing products.
Presta offers laptops, tablet computers, game consoles and more with a lease-purchase option, allowing customers to make fixed payments with a debit or credit card. Buyers can own products outright after making fixed payments for a year, or return them any time after three months with no penalty. Customers can even return products to upgrade to a newer model or pay off the lease-purchase agreement early at a discount.
In order to determine whether someone is qualified for a lease, Think Finance will take into account bank account history, how long a buyer has had an email account, income, and previous payment history. The site is debuting today in three states but will expand to 47 states in the U.S. in the first quarter