UNI card is a new way to get credit on your monthly spending by paying your bills in 3 months in 3 parts. It also gives a 1% cashback if you pay your bills at once.
Now you might be wondering if you should apply for this card or not, but before we decide that let us just dig a little deeper into what the UNI card is?
What is a UNI card?
Nitin Gupta, the founder, and CEO of UNI card has designed of its kind payments cards that lets you pay in 3 parts of all your monthly spending. It is said to be a unique, powerful, and pocket-friendly card.
It is easily applicable with no extra charges, not even a single penny. It is powered by Visa and has RBL and SBM as its banking partners which makes it almost 99.99% accepted in all the merchants anywhere in India.
You may want to check ZestMoney Review: How to buy Things on EMI without any Credit or Debit Card? as well.
How UNI card works?
The bill gets generated after every 30 days and lets you decide if you wish to pay it all at once or divide it into 3 months.
Now to tell you how it works, let us take an example.
Imagine that your monthly bill was around 1500 rupees. So now you will get to decide if you wish to pay it all at once or divide it into 3 parts.
Now, if you decide to pay immediately you get a 1% cashback on your entire bill. However, if you decide on the latter option you get to pay 500 rupees per month.
How to apply for a UNI card?
The procedure of applying for a UNI card is divided into 3 parts after downloading the app which are as follow:
1.Check eligibility criteria of UNI cards – In this first part, your eligibility for this card is checked which gets started with verifying your phone number and email id. Once that is out of the way, you are asked to add your pin code and then your pan card number, name, and date of birth according to the pan card.
After this, you are left with only three things i.e., your gender, marital status, and employment type and with that your eligibility part is complete.
Once you get your eligibility approved, you show your credit score and tell you the limit. Moreover, they also inform you if you are eligible for the 1/3rd UNI card or the 1/2nd UNI card.
2. Complete your KYC – For KYC they ask you to give your Aadhar card number, the phone number that is linked to your account and your father’s name.
After this, they ask you to take a full-faced clear selfie and then show you your Aadhar card, which means your KYC is done.
3. Get the Card – Once you’ve reached this part, all you got to do is add your address and wait for your card to be delivered.
With a UNI card, you get both a digital card and a physical one. Once you complete your steps till the end you will automatically be provided with a digital card that can be used for payments that are both online and offline.
Limited period offer on UNI card
They have a limited period offer where the entirety of the card application and usage is free. This means that there will be no joining or annual chargers however it is a limited period offer only for early customers.
Something UNI card is planning on: Upcoming deals and offers
UNI pay has two big plans that are still in the process of making, and these two things are Scan & Pay and longer EMI plans.
Scan & Pay
Currently, the UNI card does not have the feature that lets you scan and pay through your credit line at your favorite stores and sites.
Split the bill longer
At the moment only a 3-month EMI plan is available, but UNI card is working on making 6, 9, 12, and even 18+ months EMI plans for its customers.
How UNI card makes money?
The primary earnings of UNI is through the revenue it gets from merchant partners and from the interest that is charged to its customers in EMIs.
The secondary earnings are from the failure of EMI payments from the customer.
Why is UNI card loved by many?
UNI card is loved by many and there are a lot of reasons for it. Which are: –
- Transparent: – UNI card is quite transparent with its customers with all the features and conditions that they provide.
- Great user experience: – It is a delightful experience for its customers with over 99% acceptability in all the online and offline merchants and sites that accept a credit or debit card.
- Easy onboarding: – The process of applying and starting your journey with a UNI card is very easy and short.
- Excellent customer services: – Unlike other credit apps or cards such as Dhani, Slice or Lazypay; UNI card’s customer services are top-notch. Moreover, they provide customer service not just on via emails but also via WhatsApp.
- 1/3rd and 1/2nd payment method: – UNI card lets you divide your bills into parts of 3 at no cost at all.
- Great flexibility: – It offers its customers a lot of flexibility which means if you miss a payment, they do not charge you anything apart from a late payment fee.
Things to remember before you apply for a UNI card!
Although the UNI card is loved there are quite a few drawbacks that just can’t be ignored.
These are as follows.
- No foreign Transactions: – UNI card is not like many other cards that give the chance to transfer, especially internationally.
- No withdrawal: – This card does not provide you with withdrawal services which act as a huge drawback for many users.
- No wallets: – UNI does not let your load wallets like Paytm, google pay, etc.
- Low reward rate: – UNI card offers 1% reward cashback which is compared to banks that offer up to 5% on repayments, moreover this reward is only awarded if you pay your bill all at once.
- Hefty late payment fees: – If you forget to pay even a single installment then your late fee is 2.5 times double the amount you might have to pay on other standard credit cards.
- Only 3 months: – UNI only provides 2-3 months of EMI plan and nothing more than that, although the plans to extend the duration are still in process.
- No use accounts: – If you do not use your card for almost 6 months then UNI can automatically block your card which seems like quite a short duration considering that most of the people who apply for a credit card are for emergencies only.
UNI card VS Slice
Both UniCard and Slice have their own merits and demerits. Let us compare the two cards together.
Even though both the UNI card and Slice are free to join with no annual fee, Slice is better than the UNI card in a few aspects.
While the UNI card offers a 1% cashback, Slice offers the double. Moreover, Slice offers additional offers for savings named Slice Spark whereas UNI currently has no additional offers for their customers yet.
Conclusion
So now coming back to the question, should you apply for a UNI card?
It is to be understood that the UNI card is one of its kind, but it is not a fully functional primary card or even a credit card at all.
It can just be considered as a prepaid card that if you wish to can keep as an extra card but would not suggest it if you’re looking for a proper functioning card because this card is still working and could use some workup.
UNI cards are BNPL cards.
If you are a beginner and are looking for an easy to use and apply for card then a UNI card is just for you, however, if you are someone who has experience with how these things work then you might find UNI card somewhat of a low quality than many other cards that offer these facilities.
This is just a personal review on the UNI card and is not to undermine or manipulate anyone into not applying for it. The facts are in front of you, the final decision is going to be yours even if you decide to apply for it or not.