By Craig Zammit

SYDNEY: Financial Resources Limited (FRL) has announced its 75 per cent owned subsidiary, Quikrent, has signed a formal agreement with Police & Nurses Credit Society for the provision of a consumer credit product to be known as Quikcard.

Quikcard will be a branded VISA card, combining credit card features with personal loan capabilities.

“This card brings in-store financing to a new level in Australia, providing customers with instant purchasing capabilities at an interest rate that is on par with, or lower than, other credit and store cards in Australia,” said FRL managing director, Barry Samuels.

“With Quikcard the customer can obtain money to fund the purchase of any item or service instantly, as long as the cost of the item falls within the customer’s approval amount.

“FRL and Quikrent are privileged to have established a relationship with such a reputable and dynamic financier as Police & Nurses Credit Society and we are committed to delivering the expected high results.”

Quikcard will compete with other such services as AGC and GE as well as Mastercard’s GO card.

Several large national retail groups have been in negotiation with Quikrent over the past nine months, with companies such as Harvey Norman, Retravision, Bing Lee and other major consumer electronic retailers who already facilitate such consumer credit programs, the suspected targets.

“Initial interest from retailers has been extremely strong, particularly given the instant approval process and ability for the retailer to be paid within 24 hours,” said Samuels.

“The company anticipates that it will be providing over 12,000 cards per month to customers by March 2007 and will have over 100,000 cards within the market place by June 2007.

“What we are seeing is a real cultural shift in the Australian retail finance market, with demand for more flexibility in regards to customer’s finance options and control. Retailers are no longer restricted to offering finance for equipment of the types traditionally acceptable to financiers, such as electrical equipment, whitegoods and holidays,” he said.

With one application process, approved customers will receive instant finance for their goods, with the cards VISA faculties allowing consumers to make ‘add-on’ purchases without the need for further approval.

Consumers will own any goods purchased with the Quikcard and will pay back the cost of the goods at an interest rate of 19.5 per cent, with a $160 one off application fee.

Negotiations with the larger retail groups will look to be finalised in the coming weeks, with the company expecting the first major retailer agreements to be signed within the next two weeks. The Quikcard product will then be offered to customers immediately thereafter.