Vendor financing appears to be a lucrative niche, with the effective interest rate charged by FlexiGroup rising when rates are otherwise on the wane.A pre-sale report by Fitch Ratings for a planned sale of A$210 million in asset-backed securities shows the implied interest rate for the pool of loans involved to be18.3 per cent.Two years ago, the effective interest rate was 17.3 per cent on loans marketed by Flexi to consumers as "interest-free".The interest rate arises from the discount at which the merchant sells the receivable to the financier. The average receivable is around $7400 in the loan pool and is provided to finance "business-critical equipment, including telephone systems, printers, copiers, scanners, fitness equipment, and computers."Had Flexi's customers funded their purchases with a bank overdraft, the typical interest rate would be 9.85 per cent, or half the rate for the convenience of using point-of-sale finance.