Zale now has one more month to come up with an answer to a difficult question: Should it pay $6 million, or lose the provider of its credit cards?

In late January, Zale reported that Citibank would terminate the two parties’ agreement, where Citibank financed Zale’s credit cards, in 180 days unless Zale paid Citbank approximately $6 million by April 1.

That deadline has now been expanded to April 30, it announced.

In its previous filing, Zale said it is "evaluating the available alternatives to determine whether we will make the $6 million payment."

It is also talking to other institutions about replacing the Citibank agreement, which accounts for 40 percent of its purchases in the U.S.

JCK