Flexshopper vs Perpay

Executive Summary

Flexshopper and Perpay are online marketplaces that allow you to purchases regular branded products from their marketplace. Both partner with other online stores like amazon.com, Best Buy etc to fulfill your purchases.

Flexshopper is a lease to own store and you are given up to 52 weeks to pay your lease. You can keep the product if you decide you want to own it after the 52 weeks or you can also pay it off early at anytime. Flexshopper does not report to the three major credit bureaus.

Perpay is an online marketplace that allows you to shop for products and finance them for up to 6 months. Perpay does not charge any interest for financing (ie APR is 0%) though you have to pay Perpay directly from your payroll direct deposit. This involves splitting your payroll between your bank account and Perpay with your HR department or Perpay can handle that process for you. Paying Perpay this way allows you to avoid late or missed payments. Perpay reports to all three major credit bureaus.

In this comparison, I will compare both Flexshopper and Perpay and reveal why I think Perpay is the better option if credit building is important to you.

What is Flexshopper?

Flexshopper is an online lease to own store where you can lease or buy over 100,000 products from their marketplace. Their products are fulfilled by well known retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond etc.

Flexshopper will give you a credit line of up to $2,500 and pair you with leasors or lenders. You have to pay for your lease every week and the maximum payment period is 52 weeks. Aftr 52 weeks, you can keep the product if you decide you want to own it or return it. If you decide you want to own the product you have leased early, you can pay it off anytime. Flexshopper works with a wide variety of lessors and lenders (should you indicate you want to buy rather than lease a product).

Flexshopper reports to either Factor Trust Inc (owned by TransUnion) and/or Clarity Services Inc (owned by Experian). They are alternative credit bureaus for nonprime consumers.

What is Perpay?

Perpay is an online marketplace where you can also buy branded products. Like Flexshopper, Perpay has partnered with many well known retailers. Perpay will start you off with a $500 to $1,000 credit limit, which can increase over time as you make more purchases with them.

Perpay allows you to choose your payment period and you can take up to 6 months to finish paying your product. They do not charge any interest and so the APR is 0%. Perpay also requires you to split your payroll direct deposit such that your payment to Perpay will come directly from your payroll. You can do so either via your employer or Perpay can also do it for you.

Perpay will report your payment and credit lines to the three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) when you subcribe to Perpay+. Perpay+ is their credit bureau reporting service and has a $3/month fee as long as you are making a payment to Perpay for your product purchase

Approval Requirements

Though both Perpay and Flexshopper are online marketplaces, they have slightly different approval criterias.

Flexshopper Does Hard Inquiry

Flexshopper (like most credit services) does a hard inquiry on your credit report and checks your FICO scores. Though they will approve people with bad credit, you can be declined as well if your FICO scores are really bad. Furthermore, they often require income verification depending on what product you wish to purchase.

Perpay Has No Hard Inquiries

Perpay does not perform any hard inquiries nor rely on FICO scores to approve you. Instead, you need to have 3 months of employment and income, no active bankruptcies and no delinquent accounts.

Similarities

Flexshopper and Perpay are similar in the following ways:

Wide Variety of products

Both Flexshopper and Perpay provide their members with a wide variety of products to shop from

Flexshopper's marketplace has over 100,000 products and they will ship items to you from their partnes like Best Buy, Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond etc.

Perpay's marketplace also allows you to buy almost any product you can think of and like Flexshopper they have a wide variety of partners to fulfill your orders.

Differences

Flexshopper and Perpay are different in the following ways:

Flexshopper is a lease to own store while Perpay is not

The first significant difference between Flexshopper and Perpay is that Flexshopper is a lease to own store. Members have the opportunity to lease the product for up to a year and if they like it, they can keep it after they finish their payment over the same period. Alternatively, they can pay up for the product after 90 days and keep it.

Perpay is not a lease to own store. When you purchase a product, you have to option to pay over a period of your choosing (up to 6 months) at 0% APR. You are actually own the product and are not leasing it.

Perpay reports to all three major credit bureaus while Flexshopper does not

Perpay reports to all three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian). You do have to activate Perpay+, which will cost you $3/month when you have payments to pay to Perpay.

Flexshopper does not report to the three major credit bureaus. Although their terms and conditions say they do report to "credit bureaus", they may report to Factor Trust Inc and/or Clarity Services Inc. Hence, Flexshopper will not help you build or rebuild your credit with the three major credit bureaus.

Different Credit Limits

Flexshopper may start you off with a higher credit limit of up to $2,500. Perpay will start you off with a credit limit ranging from $500 to $1,000 and this will increase over time if you make more purchase and pay on time.

0% APR with Perpay

Perpay charges 0% APR with their purchases. Flexshopper will pair you with different lenders depending on your credit profile and your interest rate will vary depending on your FICO score and also the product that you intend to buy.

Different Payment Period

Flexshopper will provide you to lease of up to 52 weeks. Your payments are on a weekly schedule and done on autopay. If you decide you want to own the product, you can pay early anytime.

Perpay allows you to choose a payment period up to maximum of 6 months. The number of payment matches your payroll cycle. If you are paid twice monthly, then payments to Perpay will be set at that schedule as payment is taken directly from your payroll.

Payments for Perpay are taken directly from your payroll

As mentioned earlier, Perpay is unique in that you have to split your payroll direct deposit such that a portion of your payroll goes directly into paying your Perpay payments for the goods you have bought. You can split your payroll direct deposit if your employer allows this or Perpay can set it up for you.

With Flexshopper, payments on your lease is made through autopay from your checking account.

Ways which Perpay is better

Perpay is better than Flexshopper in the following ways:

Perpay reports to the three major credit bureaus

Perpay reports to all three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian). You do however have to enroll in Perpay+ and there will be a $3/month charge for this credit reporting service. When you have finished making your payments to Perpay or are not making any payments to Perpay, the $3/month fee will be waived.

In contrast, Flexshopper does not report to any of the three major credit bureaus. Instead, they may report to either Factor Trust Inc and/or Clarity Services Inc. Factor Trust is a service that collects loan performance information on nonprime consumers. It is owned by TransUnion. Clarity Services collects and provides information on payday loans, installment loans for lower-income and subprime consumers. Clarity Services is owned by Experian.

Perpay charges 0% interest and does not require weekly payments

Perpay does not charge any interest rate on your purchases. Unlike Flexshopper where you have to make weekly payments, your payments to Perpay match your payroll cycle.

Perpay payments are automatically deducted from your payroll

Though it might be a slight hassle to set up, having your payments to Perpay taken directly from your payroll direct deposit assures that you will never have a late payment.

Perpay does not rely on FICO scores

Perpay does not rely on FICO scores for approving you but instead requires 3 months of employment and income, no active bankruptcies and no delinquent accounts.

Though Flexshopper will approve people with bad credit, they do perform hard inquiries on your credit report and may decline your application. Furthermore, they would very often need income verification as well.

Ways which Flexshopper is better

Some consumers may prefer Flexshopper over Perpay for the following reasons:

It is a lease to own store

There are some of you only want to lease a product or at least, lease it before deciding to own one. If that describes you, then Flexshopper would be the better choice.

Longer payment period

Some of you may prefer Flexshopping because you have 52 weeks to pay off the product if you decide to own it rather than just lease it even if you have to make weekly payments.

Uncomfortable with the idea of split payroll direct deposit

Flexshopper works like any other lease to own or online store goes. You are extended credit and you set up autopay and pay your payment. Perpay, on the other hand, requires you to split your payroll direct deposit so that Perpay is paid directly from your payroll. While many find this convenient and like the fact that they will never miss a payment or be late, some of you may be uncomfortable with this set up and that is understandable.

Which is better? Perpay by a long mile

While some may want to lease a product before owning it, I would choose Perpay over Flexshopper because it is better in a few significant ways. They do not rely of FICO scores to approve you (which Flexshopper does), they reports to the three major credit bureaus (which Flexshopper does not) and charges 0% APR (which Flexshopper also does not). The fact that your payment to Perpay will be taken directly from your payroll prevents any late payment or missed payment is a big plus in my opinion because so many people overstretch themselves when they take on too many Buy Now Pay Later or Lease to Own and miss on payments and even default. It is for these reasons that I would choose Perpay over Flexshopper and why I think those looking for a Buy Now Pay Later solution will find Perpay more attractive than Flexshopper.