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There is no new application to utilise Splitit hence, there is no hard credit check and using it will not impact your credit score.

To understand how it works, take it like a regular payment at checkout with the debit passed to your credit card. But the first instalment is only charged and the remaining amount is held.

This held value confuses most users since it seems more like paying the full amount for goods and services bought.

However, note that the held (authorised) amount is not regarded as a payment by your credit card company even though it will not be available to use until released.

Normally, credit card companies charge interest on any unpaid balance if you do not pay off your full statement by the due date. This is where Splitit offers an advantage. 

Take the instance of purchasing a sofa of £2,000: if your total credit limit is £2,500, Splitit will instruct your credit card provider to hold £1,500 with £500 charged as your first instalment. This means that you will have £500 to spend on other goods until your next statement date.

Ideally, an upfront payment would have made you pay £2,000 for the sofa which could make it difficult to pay the full amount at the statement due date, resulting in paying extra in interest.

With Splitit, you only need to pay the ‘instalment amount’ of £500, which is easier than the full cost of the sofa. You can easily avoid paying the extra interest by using it to split the costs of purchases.

As you repay, the held amount is reduced and more credit is available to spend with your card.

While it may reduce the purchasing power of your credit card in the short-term, it may be a good approach to avoid paying interest while enjoying the benefits of your credit card like rewards, cashback and others.