Afterpay Buy Now, Pay Later: 2024 Review

Afterpay provides “buy now, pay later” payment plans for online and in-store purchases.

Afterpay Pay in 4 comes with no interest and no fees if you pay on time, though it charges a late fee for missed payments. It also offers monthly repayment terms that may help you finance a larger purchase.

» COMPARE: The best buy now, pay later apps

Afterpay at a glance

How does Afterpay work?

Afterpay works by dividing the total cost of your purchase into smaller installments when you check out with Afterpay online, in stores or in the Afterpay mobile app. There may be multiple payment plans to choose from, including Afterpay Pay in 4 and Afterpay monthly payments.

Afterpay charges no fees if you pay on time.

Afterpay Pay in 4

Afterpay Pay in 4 divides your purchase into four equal installments, due every two weeks, with the first payment due at checkout.

For example, if your purchase costs $200, you'd pay $50 at checkout. The three remaining $50 payments would be due every two weeks until you’ve paid off the full $200.

Payments are automatically billed to the debit or credit card you used to make the purchase. You can also add your bank account as a payment method. If you’re making an especially large purchase, it’s possible your first payment could be higher than the others, though Afterpay will show the plan’s full breakdown before you pay.

Afterpay Pay in 4 doesn’t charge interest, but if you miss a payment, you may incur a late fee.

Afterpay monthly payments

Afterpay also offers monthly financing with a six- or 12-month repayment option. These loans charge interest, ranging from 6.99% to 35.99% annual percentage rate (APR) and are not available in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico or West Virginia. Afterpay’s monthly financing can be used only at select online retailers for purchases of $400 or more.

You can make payments with a debit card. Afterpay doesn’t charge late fees for monthly payments.

How to get approved for Afterpay

To be eligible for Afterpay, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, be a U.S. resident and have a valid email address, mobile phone number, delivery address and payment method. To use Afterpay’s monthly plan, you may need to verify your identity (likely by providing a government-issued ID).

Approval decisions are instantaneous and will depend on several factors, including whether there are sufficient funds available through your debit or credit card, how long you’ve been using Afterpay, the purchase price and whether you have other outstanding orders with Afterpay.

Does Afterpay check credit?

Afterpay checks your credit with a soft credit pull, which doesn’t hurt your credit score. Though there’s no minimum credit score requirement, Afterpay considers your score as part of your application.

How to use Afterpay

Download the Afterpay app

You can get started with Afterpay by downloading its mobile app, creating an account and shopping at Afterpay’s partner stores.

Shop with Afterpay online and in stores

Some retailers have Afterpay integrated into their online checkout. That means when you’re ready to pay, you can apply and opt in to Afterpay on the retailer’s website, even if you’ve never used the service before.

If you want to shop in person with Afterpay, you’ll need Afterpay’s virtual card, which you can download from the app after creating an account. Save this card to your mobile wallet and use it to check out at the register.

Is Afterpay safe?

Afterpay is a safe and reputable provider of BNPL loans. Weigh the pros and cons below to decide whether Afterpay is the right fit for you.

Where Afterpay stands out

Zero-interest loans: Since Afterpay Pay in 4 divides the total cost of your purchase into smaller installments, it may help you pay for something you couldn’t afford upfront. This type of no-interest financing is hard to find among other credit products.

Monthly financing available: Afterpay’s monthly terms can help you break up the cost of a larger online purchase, making it easier to fit into your budget over time. But since these plans charge interest, they may not be the right fit for everyone. It’s usually best to save up for a purchase and pay with cash whenever possible.

Free payment rescheduling: Afterpay lets you reschedule one payment per order for no additional fee. Not all BNPL providers allow this type of flexibility, and it can help you avoid a late fee by pushing the payment date further out until you have the funds.

Pauses account after missed payment: If you miss a payment, Afterpay will automatically pause your account, so you can’t make additional purchases with Afterpay until you catch up. This consumer safety feature can help prevent you from overextending your budget.

Where Afterpay falls short

Charges late fee: Following a 10-day grace period, Afterpay will charge a late fee up to $8 for missed payments, which not all BNPL providers do. Although Afterpay charges only one late fee per installment, and late fees are usually capped at 25% of the order value, this can majorly increase the cost of your purchase.

Payments aren’t reported to the credit bureaus: Though BNPL providers don’t typically report on-time payments to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), some have opt-in credit reporting or will report for certain loans. With Afterpay, payment history isn’t reported, so you can’t build credit. Building credit is important because the better your credit score, the more likely you can qualify for other financing products like credit cards or loans.

Limited customer service options: Customers that want to get in touch with Afterpay will likely need to fill out an online form. Other BNPL providers list a phone number or provide a live chat option, so you can quickly get in touch with a customer service representative to resolve your issue. Afterpay says it will call you if the company needs to reach you by phone.

Afterpay reviews

At the time of writing this review, Afterpay holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with more than 1,300 complaints closed in the last year. Complaints against Afterpay mostly revolve around product and billing issues; specifically, a lack of timely refunds after an order has been canceled, returned or reported missing.

On Trustpilot, Afterpay is rated 4.8 out of five stars. Users praise being able to break up payments for zero interest, the option to delay a payment and convenient payment reminders that help users avoid missing a payment.

Afterpay’s mobile app pages are another good resource for reading Afterpay reviews. In the Apple app store, Afterpay is rated 4.9 out of five stars, with over 700,000 ratings. In the Google Play app store, Afterpay is rated 4.7 out of five stars, with over 140,000 reviews.

Frequently asked questions about Afterpay

• How trustworthy is Afterpay?

  Afterpay is a trustworthy provider of buy now, pay later loans and can be used to shop thousands of brands in Afterpay’s mobile app.

• What is the downside of Afterpay?

  The downside of Afterpay is you may be tempted to overspend, since you don’t have to pay for your purchase all at once. If you fall behind on payments, you’ll also be charged a late fee.

• Is Afterpay good or bad for credit?

  Afterpay doesn’t affect your credit since it doesn’t conduct hard credit pulls or report your payment history to the credit bureaus.

• Is Afterpay really interest free?

  Afterpay is really interest free if you sign up for its pay-in-four plan. If you choose Afterpay monthly payments, you’ll be charged interest.

• Does Afterpay take your money?

  When your payment is due, Afterpay will automatically charge your debit card, credit card or bank account. You can turn autopay off if you prefer, but be sure to still make your upcoming payments on time to avoid fees.

Compare Afterpay with other BNPL lenders

Afterpay is similar to pay-in-four plans offered by Klarna and Sezzle, which also charge zero interest and no fees if you pay on time. Klarna and Sezzle offer monthly payment plans but with longer terms compared with Afterpay.

Alternatives to Afterpay

If you have good or excellent credit (690 credit score or higher), you may consider a 0% APR credit card. These cards offer introductory periods of up to 21 months and charge no interest during that period. You may also receive a sign-up bonus or access to a rewards program.

If you’re looking to fund a large, essential purchase, you could apply for a personal loan. Personal loans have fixed interest rates and longer repayment terms, and there are options for borrowers with fair or bad credit (689 credit score or lower).