FREE SHIPPING ON LOANS? Two weeks ago it was coffee and baby food. Today Amazon announced it’s getting into the student loan business. In a partnership with Wells Fargo, the e-commerce giant is offering cheaper interest rates to Amazon Prime Student members. Wells Fargo charges between 3.39 percent and 9.03 percent for a variable-rate student loan, and from 5.94 percent to 10.93 percent for a fixed-rate loan. The bank will now shave half a percentage point off of interest rates for Prime Members.
Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex.com, a college and scholarship search site, speculates why Amazon and Wells Fargo would enter the unusual partnership. “Amazon is probably hoping that students will continue with Amazon Prime after they graduate, and Wells Fargo is probably hoping this will increase their loan volume,” he tells the Washington Post.
