Debit Card EMI on Flipkart and Amazon: Everything You Need to Know

EMI on Debit Card is a boon for people who don’t have a credit card. Either because they’re not comfortable with the concept of credit cards, are not eligible or the thought of having one simply didn’t occur till they saw something they wanted to buy on EMI.

Here’s everything that you need to know about Debit Card EMI on Flipkart and Amazon using HDFC, SBI, Axis and ICICI debit cards.

How Debit Card EMI works?

Put simply, Debit Card EMI allows you to buy things on monthly instalments at Flipkart and Amazon using debit cards instead of paying the full amount. The EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) is a fixed amount that is deducted automatically from your bank account which includes the original amount and interest.

You neither need to have the total transaction amount in your bank account at the time of purchase nor is any amount blocked.

Interest and charges

There are no processing fees and if the product you’re buying is available on No Cost EMI, you pay no interest either.

Comparison: Debit Card EMI on Amazon

HDFC Bank SBI ICICI Bank Axis Bank
Interest rate 16% 13% 14% 14%
Minimum spend ₹10,000 ₹8,000 ₹8,000 ₹8,000
Loan amount Up to ₹1,00,000
Tenure Up to 1 year

No Cost EMI

amazon-no-cost-emi-mobiles

Look for availability of No Cost EMI on the product page. When buying the item, the interest that would be charged by the bank will be discounted from product price. So even though the bank is charging you interest technically, because you got an upfront discount equivalent to the interest amount, there's no interest you're effectively paying.

Remember though that the discount is only of interest amount and you’ll still be paying taxes (GST) at 18% of the interest amount. This is different from Amazon Pay EMI in which interest is not charged at all and hence there are no taxes on interest either.

How to check Debit Card EMI eligibility?

EMI on Debit Card is not available for all customers. You can check whether it’s available to you by going to payments section in the checkout page.

If you’re unable to see EMI in your payment checkout page, try adding your debit card in Payments to see if you’re eligible. If you still can’t see it, you’re not eligible for Debit Card EMI.

You can even find out if you’re eligible by sending an SMS:

Message To From
HDFC Bank DCEMI<space><last 4 digits of debit card number> 56767 Mobile number registered with the bank
Axis Bank 5676782

How to buy on EMI with Debit Card?

debit-card-emi-options

flipkart-debit-card-emi

hdfc-debit-card-emi

Make sure you’re logged in to the website. On the product detail page of the item you want to buy, look for Payment Options having Debit Card EMI interest rates and tenures.

To make a purchase, add the product to cart and continue to the Payments page. Select EMI and choose your desired scheme. You’ll then be redirected to bank verification page to complete the transaction.

Things to keep in mind

  • If you buy on 20th of the month or before, you 1st EMI will be due in coming month itself. However, if you buy between 21st and the end of the month, the EMI will be due next month. For e.g., if you bought a mobile phone from Flipkart using HDFC Debit Card EMI between 1st April to 20th April, the 1st EMI will be due on 1st May but if you bought it between 21st April and 30th April, the 1st EMI will be due on 1st June
  • Your EMI will be automatically debited from your account on the due date so you need to ensure that you keep enough balance. In case the bank is not able to debit EMI due to insufficient balance, the bank may classify your account as a defaulter and the entire due amount will be payable immediately. Bank may even mark lien or debit due amount from your account to recover money
  • You may be charged pre-closure charges in case you decide to cancel or return the order

Good to know

  • Full amount may be temporarily deducted from your bank account and might even show negative balance but will be reversed within a few hours
  • You need to pay complete order amount using Debit Card EMI, you cannot pay partially using a gift card or bank account balance
  • If you cancel individual items within the whole order, the bank will re-calculate EMI amount after adjusting the refund for the cancelled items
  • The transaction is typically converted into EMI by banks within 7 days

Pros and Cons of Debit Card EMI

Pros

  • Money is not blocked in the account
  • No processing fees
  • Instantly available on your existing debit card: no form filling, no documentation, no waiting
  • Pay nothing upfront: 100% finance, no down payment

Cons

  • If No Cost EMI is not available for the product that you’re buying, you’ll end up paying interest
  • EMI on debit card interest rate is 1-2% higher than credit cards except for SBI which for some reasons charges lower interest on debit card EMI than credit card EMI. Perhaps it’s an introductory marketing push or related to the fact that SBI credit cards are issued by a separate entity and not by SBI itself
  • Everyone is not eligible, the available loan amount varies from person to person

Debit Card EMI makes sense for salaried people who don’t want to wait to make their life easier by buying essentials like home appliances or mobile phones.

Save money

All credit and debit cards have offers that are added and removed every day. But it’s difficult to keep track of all offers and go through lengthy Terms & Conditions.

In case you want to search coupons that work and save money on everything, you can use LittlePixi.

Instantly find all working coupons for food delivery, flights, cabs, etc. or any website

See clear Terms & Conditions

Compare all available offers in one place

Save money at 4000+ website, stores, and & restaurants (in India)

Do yourself a favor and get LittlePixi now so the next time you need a coupon, you're ready to go:

4.8 rating on Play Store
1000+ users saving money & time