Buying the gehaz on instalments and comparing the offers
There are many instalment companies, and their offers look alike. How to compare them on the figures that matter, and what the law says the seller must put in writing before you sign.
Instalments have become one of the most common ways couples furnish their home. In the first half of the 2025-2026 financial year, consumer finance companies lent about EGP 57.9 billion, and electronics and electrical appliances were the biggest category (Masrawy, April 2026, from Financial Regulatory Authority data).
There are plenty of offers, and they all look comfortable. The differences show once you put the figures side by side.
What should you compare?
Ask each offer for these figures in writing, for the same appliance over the same period:
- The cash price.
- The total price on instalments, which is what you will actually pay in the end.
- The down payment, if there is one.
- The number of instalments and the amount of each.
- The annual rate, and the total interest over the whole period.
- Any admin or service fees, and the late-payment charges.
The gap between the instalment total and the cash price is the real cost of paying in instalments. A small instalment over a long period can cost more than a larger one over a shorter period.
What the law requires of the seller
Egypt's Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018 (Article 30) requires anyone selling on instalments to give you an invoice or document that states:
- The total price and the cash price.
- The annual rate, and the total interest due over the instalment period.
- The down payment, if any.
- The instalment period, the number of instalments and the amount of each.
- Each side's rights and obligations if either breaks the agreement.
You also have the right to pay off all the instalments early. The seller must then deduct the interest for the remaining period, unless your agreement says otherwise.
What some companies say about themselves
| Company | Period | From its own page |
|---|---|---|
| valU | Up to 60 months | More than 7,500 points of sale and more than 1,500 websites and apps |
| halan | 6 to 36 months; 12 to 60 for furnishing and finishing | No down payment and no admin fees, only your national ID needed, credit limits up to EGP 500,000 |
| Sympl | 3, 4 or 5 months | No interest, a one-time service fee, and an optional down payment |
| Contact | Not stated on its home page | Financing for cars, education, travel and home finishing; instalments paid online or at branches |
This is what the companies' own pages said on 23 October 2026. It is not a recommendation of one company over another. Terms change, and what counts is what your contract says.
Before you sign
- Check the licence: the company must be licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority. Since May 2026, the Authority has published a public blacklist of operators working without a licence.
- Add up all your instalments: each one looks small on its own, and the trouble starts when several pile up. Add up your monthly instalments before you take on a new one.
- Fit the instalment to your steady income, not to the limit the company offers you.
- Read the late-payment terms before you sign, not after the first instalment.
Instalments on Zaghrouta
In the gehaz, each appliance has links to stores and to the licensed finance companies' own websites; the terms and fees are theirs. On vendor pages in the services, the «قسّطوها» (pay in instalments) section shows which companies the vendor works with, and the down payment is the deposit, paid straight to the vendor. Zaghrouta never holds money and doesn't decide on any financing.
Before you start, put the whole list together with the room-by-room gehaz guide.