At the start of December the Estonian-owned Holm Bank launched its new hire-purchase service Liisi Plus, which enables clients to make purchases even from stores where hire-purchase isn’t offered – whether in Estonia, other countries or online global retailers. Applying for hire-purchase is done via the bank’s website by adding an image of the product and its price to the application form.
“We were inspired to launch our new service by clients who wanted to purchase items from sellers who were not offering hire-purchase,” explained Holm’s CEO Kaspar Kalvet. “So, we developed Liisi Plus, which quite literally knows no bounds – it works across national borders, and both in person and online, meaning you can even pay for things you buy on Amazon or eBay. All our hire-purchase offers are personalised and take into account our clients’ ability to make their repayments.”
With Liisi Plus, the amount of the purchase – which will later be broken up into instalments for repayment – is transferred directly to the buyer’s account so that they can pay for the item(s) in question. By entering into a hire-purchase agreement with Holm, the client themselves decides their period of repayment. The maximum period is 10 years.
Liisi hire-purchase is the oldest and best-known service of its kind in Estonia: the Liisi trademark celebrated its 28th anniversary in November. “Holm is a flexible and rapidly developing bank that recognises its clients’ needs and promptly responds to them,” Kalvet explained. “We wanted the user experience with Liisi Plus to be as convenient for and familiar to our clients as possible. Taking a photo of an item and its price with your phone and adding it to your application on our self-service site is as quick and easy as snapping the meal you’re about to tuck into at a restaurant and sharing it on your socials. And if your application is approved, you’ll find the amount you need in your bank account in a matter of minutes.”