Zero per cent EMI scheme launched by Nokia across eight cities in India

Partners with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank to offer the scheme.
With an aim to boost flagging sales and falling market share, Nokia has launched an EMI scheme in eight cities. Nokia and other established brands are facing competition from new low cost local brands such as Micromax, Lemon and Karbonn.
Nokia announced the launch of its Easy EMI scheme that will allow customers to buy Nokia handsets and accessories and pay for them in three equal monthly installments (EMI) at zero per cent interest. Customers can purchase Nokia handsets and accessories that cost between Rs 7,000 and Rs 35,000 under this offer.
The scheme will be available in over 176 Nokia Priority Partners (NPPs) across eight cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmadabad and Chandigarh.
Nokia has tied up with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank for the Easy EMI scheme and the offer will be available to consumers with credit cards (only) from any of these four banks.
Shankar Subramanian, head of retail, Nokia India, says, “Mobile customers today are far more evolved in their aspiration, expectation and usage of a mobile handset. This trend is visible across segments from entry to the high end. Our insight shows that many customers don’t end up buying their preferred handset model as it tends to be marginally above their pre decided budget, making upfront payment difficult. Our easy EMI scheme at 0 per cent interest addresses that challenge and will allow customers to actually buy the handset they desire.”
Nokia still has a good brand value in the market, but low cost handsets have started eating into the market shares of established brands. Nokia hopes to lure these buyers in by making it more convenient for them to buy costlier handsets than they would have otherwise bought.
Service charges for the Easy EMI scheme will be borne by Nokia and the customer, and the NPPs will not bear the cost of the EMI transaction. All NPPs across the eight cities will have point of sale terminals representing the four partner banks, allowing customers the choice of making the transaction with a credit card belonging to either of these four.