Atome’s new late payment charge is unclear

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 ― Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform Atome has recently notified all users about their updated Terms of Service. According to the email, there are some slight changes to Late Payment Charge and the term used for “service fee”. Upon closer look, the late payment charge seems vague, unlike its current terms of service.

Atome new Terms of Service from May 9, 2024

According to Atome, in the event of late payments, a late payment charge of RM23 will be applied. However, in certain cases, there will be an additional penalty of RM7. This new update will apply to orders created on and after 9th May 2024.

Under the current terms, it seems that the late payment charge is only imposed if your account is suspended. If that happens, you’ll have to pay the late payment fee and the full outstanding amounts due.

However, with the updated terms of service which will take effect in May 2024, the penalty is chargeable in the event of a non-payment. If your account gets suspended, then you will be required to pay all outstanding amounts due including the Late Payment Charge.

Another change is the way it describes the service fee which is essentially an interest charge if you make a longer installment durations of 6 or 12 months. The service fee will be renamed to instalment rate starting next month, and the current rate is 1.5 per cent per month. Atome still offers interest-free instalments if you choose to Pay in 3.

So what is the actual imposed late payment fee for Atome?

Under the current terms, Atome has made clear that the Late Payment charge is RM23 for selected merchants, while all other merchants will be imposed a fee of RM30. Some of the selected merchants include Machines, Switch, Urban Republic, Nike, Samsung, Xiaomi, Mydin, Isetan, ITWorld, All IT Hypermarket, Courts, TBM and more. That’s pretty clear cut but the same can’t be said for the new updated terms of service.

Atome didn’t explain what type of transactions will incur RM23 or RM30 penalty for late payment. Is it dependent on how soon the customer settles the late payment or is it tied to a particular merchant? As a BNPL platform, it has to make its terms clear with no ambiguity.

Of course, the best way to avoid any extra charge is to pay on time. According to Atome, they will send in-app reminders 2 to 3 days before the due date. If the auto-deduction to your saved payment card fails on the due date, your account will be temporarily frozen the next day. Once your outstanding payments are settled, your account will be reinstated and you can continue to use Atome again. ― SoyaCincau