RELATED: Old Navy Just Got Rid of This Permanently. Over the years, Walmart has come to the aide of holiday shoppers by offering a layaway program from August to December that allowed customers to put items on hold with a small deposit until they could pay it off completely by making regular payments over time. But as some shoppers may have already realized, the retailer’s normal layaway option is not available this year. A customer service representative for Walmart confirmed to NBC-affiliate WRAL that no stores in the U.S. will be offering the service this year. The retailer’s layaway section of its website no longer advertises the normal layaway either.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Best Life reached out to Walmart to confirm that its original layaway program is not being offered this year, but has not yet heard back. Customers are not going without any options. Walmart is advertising an “alternative to layaway” called Affirm, which is a financing company that offers a “buy now, pay later” service to customers. You will pay over time in a paced amount of your choosing. According to Walmart, your cart total will determine what your payment options are. For carts totaling between $144 to $799.99, you may be able to finance the purchase over three, six, or 12 months, while carts between $800 to $2,000 are available for financing over 12, 18, or 24 months. RELATED: For more retail news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. With Affirm, you might receive your purchase immediately but it is still a financing service, unlike Walmart’s normal layaway program. That means there is a finance charge with Affirm, which may be an annual percentage rate (APR) of anywhere between 10 to 30 percent, based on credit. According to Walmart, this means you could pay $13.92 every month for 12 months for a $150 purchase, which is a 20 percent APR that makes your actual total around $167. “If you decide to buy with Affirm, this may affect your credit score,” Walmart adds. In order to qualify for Affirm, your purchase must total between $144 to $2,000, including tax. And only some product categories are eligible for financing. This includes certain products in electronics, home, auto, sports, toys, baby, apparel, and jewelry sections. On the other hands, pharmacy, groceries, alcohol, tobacco, baby consumables, pet supplies, wireless services plans, gasoline, and weapons are “ineligible for financing,” according to Walmart. “These Walmart.com categories are non-comprehensive and subject to change without notice. To purchase any finance-ineligible items, you’ll need to provide an alternative form of payment,” the retailer notes. RELATED: Never Buy This One Food at Walmart, Customers Say in New Survey.
