Home Credit sees strong demand for e-bike, air conditioner loans

CONSUMER finance provider Home Credit Philippines said it is experiencing strong loan application volumes for customers seeking to purchase electric bikes (e-bikes) and air conditioners on credit.

In a briefing, Sheila A. Paul, chief marketing officer of Home Credit, said that customers use the e-bikes for their businesses, while new air conditioners are being bought for sustainability reasons.

“Our up-and-coming product, actually, ever since the pandemic, was laptops. And this year, our up-and-coming products are e-bikes and air conditioners,” Ms. Paul said on Friday.

However, she said that this does not include motorcycles, which are still not eligible for Home Credit loans.

“But if ever we go into it, it would be (one of our) highest-value items. Because if you compare, some iPhones cost as much,” she said.

The top product in terms of financing applications remains mobile phones, followed by televisions. In 2023, the company acquired 1.1 million new customers, which brought its total customer base to 10.4 million, with more than half of them women.

Ms. Paul said that according to a study conducted by the company, wives and mothers are the main purchasing decision-makers in families.

“We found out that in the segment we’re targeting, the decision-makers are really women. So it’s either the wives or the mothers who are consulted on these kinds of purchases,” she added.

She said the average amount borrowed from Home Credit ranges from P15,000 to P20,000.

“And then we actually ask for a 20-30% down payment, so you can imagine the prices of the products they are purchasing through us,” she added.

Asked about the company’s outlook this year, she said that: “Actually, for us, 2023 was a good year. But we want to be conservative for 2024. Because there’s still so much happening globally.”