The Black Friday 2026, which will be held next November 27, comes with discounts on technology, household appliances, clothing and other products, but also with promotions that allow you to postpone purchases for several months without paying interest. The claim of “0% TIN” has become a common formula to facilitate consumption, although it does not always mean that financing a product is completely free. The reason is that some transactions include opening fees, management expenses, or other charges that raise the final amount the buyer will have to pay.
The Bank of Spain has been reminding for years that there is a fundamental difference between contracting financing without interest and doing it with no cost at all. The nominal interest rate (TIN) can be 0% and, even so, the transaction may end up costing more than paying in cash. To know its real cost, the supervisory body recommends looking at the equivalent annual rate (TAE), an indicator that includes the interest and expenses associated with the financing that must legally be taken into account.
This guidance does not respond to a new alert issued for this year’s Black Friday. The Bank of Spain had already addressed this issue in its recommendations from 2020, 2022 and 2024, in which it insisted on the importance of reviewing the terms of consumer credit and preventing the appeal of a discount from leading people to take on economic commitments that are difficult to handle.
The warning takes on special relevance in light of the growth of the systems of “buy now and pay later”, which allow the amount of certain products to be divided into several monthly installments. Although these options can make it easier to plan expenses, they can also cause consumers to accumulate different payment obligations without calculating how much money they will have tied up during the following months.
Why financing with 0% TIN can end up costing more
The difference between TIN and TAE is essential to understand commercial offers. The TIN represents the interest rate that is applied to the borrowed money, while the TAE expresses the equivalent annual cost of the transaction, incorporating both the interest and the fees and other mandatory expenses that correspond.
For example, a store may advertise the possibility of financing a television over twelve months at a 0% APR. This means that it will not charge interest on the borrowed capital, but it does not prevent the financial entity from applying a fee for formalizing the transaction or certain administrative expenses.
In that case, the APR will be higher than 0% even though the advertising highlights that the financing has no interest. If, on the contrary, the loan does not include interest, fees, or mandatory expenses, both indicators may be set at 0% and the transaction will truly be free, provided that the agreed conditions are met.
The Bank of Spain uses an especially illustrative example: financing the purchase of 250 euros for five months, with no interest, but with five euros of initial expenses, involves an APR higher than 8%. Although the additional outlay may seem small, its financial weight is significant due to the low amount of the loan and the short repayment period.
For this reason, the consumer must check both the APR percentage and the total figure they will ultimately end up paying, especially when comparing offers from different establishments.
The example of a purchase of 480 euros that ends up costing 510
To understand how a promotion can lose part of its appeal when financing it, it is enough to consider a hypothetical example of a purchase during Black Friday.
A store advertises an appliance whose usual price is 600 euros, reduced to 480 euros. The discount is 20% and the store offers the possibility to pay it in twelve monthly installments with a nominal interest rate of 0%. However, the contract establishes a opening fee of 30 euros, which the buyer must pay when formalizing the financing.
If the consumer pays in cash, they will disburse 480 euros. Instead, if they choose to finance it, they will pay twelve installments of 40 euros, which add up to the same 480 euros for the product, in addition to the 30 euros fee. Therefore, the total amount paid will be 510 euros, despite the fact that no interest has been applied.
The difference may seem small, but it changes the comparison with other offers. If another establishment sells exactly the same appliance for 499 euros in cash, financing the first promotion would no longer be the most economical option: the consumer would end up paying eleven euros more than in the second store, even though the initially advertised price was lower.
The example shows that a Black Friday reduction can still be real, but lose its advantage over other alternatives due to financing costs. It also highlights why it is not enough to compare only the monthly installments or the announced discount percentage, without reviewing the total amount that will have to be repaid.
What you should check before paying in installments during Black Friday
The Ley 16/2011, de contratos de crédito al consumo establishes information obligations for the transactions included in its scope of application. Lenders must provide the consumer, before contracting, with the data necessary to compare different offers and understand their economic conditions.
Among the elements worth checking are the APR, the total amount owed, the possible fees, the number of installments and the duration of the financing. It is also important to check whether the transaction requires taking out a credit card, opening an account, or subscribing to any additional service, especially when these products may generate costs.
The regulations provide that the costs of certain ancillary services, such as insurance, be included in the total cost of the credit when contracting them is mandatory in order to obtain the financing on the conditions announced. Therefore, an offer that apparently has no interest can become more expensive if it requires contracting other paid products.
Another relevant aspect is knowing the consequences of falling behind on an installment. Initially free financing can generate late interest or costs for non-payment, in the cases legally applicable and in accordance with the terms of the contract. These amounts should not be confused with the ordinary costs of the transaction and do not necessarily form part of the advertised APR.
In addition, the Bank of Spain recommends paying particular attention to cards with the revolving payment modality, in which the consumer repays the money through periodic installments and the debt can be prolonged considerably if payments are reduced in relation to interest and new withdrawals.
Black Friday 2026 and the risk of accumulating deferred purchases
The European Consumer Centre in Spain has published on 11 November new recommendations for responsible purchasing on the occasion of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which will be held on 27 and 30 November, respectively. The body reminds that promotions begin increasingly in advance and that not all advertised discounts necessarily represent a real saving.
This context makes it necessary to differentiate two decisions that are often made simultaneously: whether it is worth buying a product and whether it is advisable to finance its purchase. An offer may have a competitive price, but the terms of deferred payment may make it less attractive than another alternative.
It should also be borne in mind that financing makes it possible to spread the expense, but does not eliminate it. A consumer who contracts several purchases of small amounts may find themselves with a significant sum of monthly bills during the following months, even when each individual transaction seems manageable.
The Bank of Spain advises setting a budget in advance, comparing the prices of the products, and checking that future payment obligations do not compromise the household’s economic balance. To facilitate this comparison, the body has a simulator of the financial cost of installment purchases, which allows you to enter the installments and the associated expenses.
The key lies in not confusing a reduced monthly payment with a reduced price. Before confirming a purchase financed during Black Friday, the determining factor will be how much is finally paid for the product, including all fees and mandatory expenses. Financing at 0% nominal interest rate (TIN) can be free, but only if the contract’s financial conditions are also such.