FAQs
About Affirm
There are two ways to sign up for Affirm:
- Create an Affirm account at www.affirm.com/account in just a few easy steps; or
- Select Affirm as your payment method while checking out with any Affirm online merchant partner.
To sign up for Affirm, you must:
- Be 18 years or older (19 years or older in Alabama or if you’re a ward of the state in Nebraska).
- Provide a valid U.S. or APO/FPO/DPO home address. Buy with Affirm is not currently available to Iowa or West Virginia residents.
- Provide a valid U.S. mobile or VoIP number and agree to receive SMS texts.
- Provide your full name, email address, date of birth, and the last 4 digits of your social security number to help us verify your identity.
Your rate will be 0% APR or 10-36% APR based on credit, and is subject to an eligibility check. Payment options through Affirm are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. Options depend on your purchase amount, and a down payment may be required.
When you make a purchase of $100 or more with Affirm, you can pay over 3, 6, or 12 months. For purchases between $50.00–$99.99, you can pay over 3 or 6 months. Select merchants may offer different terms, including a 30-day payment option for purchases under $50. See our cost calculator to learn more.
Unlike a credit card, Affirm is not a revolving line of credit. While customers can take out multiple Affirm loans at once, each Affirm loan application is evaluated separately as a closed-end transaction. An application from a returning customer may be denied, however, if that customer has failed to repay other Affirm loans on time or if the customer shows excessive borrowing behavior.
Yes, when you first create an Affirm account, we perform a ‘soft’ credit check to help verify your identity and determine your eligibility for financing. This ‘soft’ credit check will not affect your credit score.
If you apply for more loans with Affirm, we may perform additional ‘soft’ credit checks to ensure that we offer you the best financing options possible.
Yes. Our goal is to give you the opportunity to build your credit history as you repay your Affirm loans. That’s why, for loans requested on or after August 3, 2016, Affirm reports information about your loan and payment activity to Experian (and plans to report to other credit bureaus in the future).
Because FICO and credit bureaus calculate your credit scores in ways that are not publicly known, we can’t predict exactly how your credit score will be affected. There are many factors that could impact your credit, such as your payment history, the amount of available credit that you have used, the length of your credit history, and the number of accounts you have recently opened.
Yes, protecting your personal information is very important to us. We encrypt sensitive data including Social Security numbers. We also maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your information. We do not sell or rent your information to anyone. You can read more about our Privacy Policy here.
Buy with Affirm
Affirm offers clear, simple financing for your online purchases in just a few clicks:
- Fill your cart and select the Affirm payment option on the merchant's checkout page.
- Enter a few basic pieces of information to identify yourself. We'll let you know if you are approved for a loan in real time.
- Review your payment plan details and click confirm to finalize the loan. Once you’re done, your purchase will be on its way. That's it! Just remember to pay your bills on or before their due dates or sign up for autopayment at www.affirm.com/pay.
We aren't always able to approve financing for the full amount of a purchase. When this happens, you will have the option of using a debit card to pay for the rest of your purchase. Regrettably, the down payment amount can’t be changed.
Linking your checking account DOES NOT authorize Affirm to debit your account.
While we strive to offer all creditworthy applicants financing with Affirm, we simply aren’t able to approve every loan application. If we aren’t able to approve your application, we will immediately notify you of our decision and denial reason via a secured message.
Once you have completed your checkout and confirm the purchase with Affirm, your purchase is sent to the merchant for processing. Please contact the merchant for any updates on the status of your purchase.
Your loan will be in a “Merchant Processing Order” state while the merchant finalizes your purchase. Some merchants won’t finalize your purchase until they are ready to ship your item(s). We’ll let you know when your purchase has been finalized and your first bill is due. To view the status of your Affirm loan(s) , please visit your Affirm account at www.affirm.com/account.
Cancellations are subject to the merchant’s order cancellation policy. Please contact the merchant if you would like to cancel a transaction before receiving the item(s). If your loan is still in a “processing” state when the merchant agrees to cancel your order, the loan will automatically be removed from your Affirm account. If the merchant agrees to cancel your order after your loan has been processed, your loan will reflect a refund in the amount of your purchase as soon as the merchant processes the cancellation.
If you would like a refund on your purchase, please contact the merchant directly. Returns are always subject to the merchant’s policy. After the merchant completes processing a refund, Affirm will credit your loan balance for the amount of the refund. You’ll still be responsible for paying any remaining balance on your loan after the refund, including if the merchant subtracts shipping or restocking charges from your refund or issues the refund through store credit or cash.
If the merchant completes processing a full refund before you’ve made any loan payments, you will no longer need to repay your Affirm loan. Any payments already made will be refunded to your original form of payment, less any accrued interest, within 3–10 business days.
Depending on the amount of the partial refund and how many payments are left in your payment schedule, you may have a lower final payment, fewer payments overall, or both. Affirm will not, however, adjust every monthly payment based on the new loan balance after a partial refund is made. You can review the details of your refund by signing in to your Affirm account at www.affirm.com/account
Paying your bills
You can pay your Affirm bills online, by debit card or ACH transfer, and sign up for autopayment at www.affirm.com/pay. Please allow 3 to 5 business days for ACH transfers to be reflected on your Affirm account.
To pay by check, please write on each check (1) the mobile phone number you used to create your Affirm account, and (2) the loan ID (which you can find by signing in at www.affirm.com/pay and clicking on the applicable loan). Make the check payable to “Affirm, Inc.” and mail it to:
Affirm, Inc.
P.O. Box 720
San Francisco, CA 94104
You must submit a separate check for each loan you have with Affirm. If you have more than one loan with Affirm and do not write the loan ID on your check, we will apply your payment to the oldest loan first. Please allow 10 business days for your check to be processed from the date of receipt.
Affirm will send you email and SMS text messages to remind you of upcoming payments.
Your first monthly payment will be due one calendar month from the date your loan is processed. We will send you an email and SMS text message to confirm all of your billing due dates.
Each monthly payment will be due on the same day of the month throughout the loan period. For example, if you obtain a loan with three monthly payments on January 1st, your first, second, and third payments will be due February 1st, March 1st, and April 1st respectively.
For loans requested on or after August 3, 2016, Affirm reports information about your loan and payment activity to Experian. We encourage you to make your loan payments on time because late or missed payments could hurt your credit and affect your ability to get Affirm loans in the future. While we hope we never have to do so, we also reserve the right to refer delinquent accounts to collection agencies. For any questions about this, or if you are unable to pay your balance, please contact us. You may review our Terms of Service here.
If you aren’t able to make a payment on time, please make that payment as soon as possible. You won’t incur any late fees, but late payments may make it harder for you to qualify for credit from Affirm in the future. Late payments may also negatively affect your credit history. For loans requested on or after August 3, 2016, Affirm reports information about your loan and payment activity to Experian.
Please review the details of your bill at www.affirm.com/account. If you still have an issue with your bill, please contact us.
No, there are no prepayment penalties or fees for paying off your loan early. Also, if you pay off your entire loan before the final due date, you will pay interest only for the period that you borrowed the money. Affirm rebates any unearned portion of the finance charge for the remaining loan period. To see the total pay-off amount, go to your Affirm account and click on ‘Make Payment’.
Your account
You can review current and past loans, make payments, and enable automatic payments at www.affirm.com/account.
We're sorry to see you go and hope you'll reconsider! If you wish to close your Affirm account, please contact us. Your account cannot be closed until you’ve paid off any outstanding balance(s) on your Affirm loan(s) in full. Also, if you don’t sign into your account for two years, we may close your account. But don't worry - we'll try to reach you beforehand.
You can read about our Privacy Policy here.
You can find our Terms of Service here.
The Affirm mobile app
The Affirm app lets you manage your account and payments on the go. The app also lets you buy now and pay over time for new purchases—almost anywhere online and in select stores. Just request an Affirm virtual card and use it to make your purchase.
Choose a store where you want to use Affirm, and enter the amount of your purchase. Round up to the nearest dollar, including taxes and shipping, and get a real-time credit decision. Choose your monthly payment plan and we’ll instantly put the funds for your purchase on a one-time-use virtual card you can use at the store of your choice. Then, make simple monthly payments to Affirm.
Affirm one-time-use virtual cards can be used almost anywhere online and in select stores. Just enter the card number at checkout, along with your own name and billing address.
When you use a virtual card in stores, just show the card to the salesperson, tell them that you’re paying with MasterCard, and ask them to key in the number just like a credit card.
The virtual card will expire 24 hours after issue. If the card expires before you use it, your Affirm loan will be canceled and you won’t owe anything. You can always come back and request a new virtual card.
We will issue you a refund for any unused amount on the virtual card 21 to 90 days after completing your purchase. We typically wait 21 days because it may take some merchants several weeks to process all the items in your order. In some cases, delayed merchant processing or incomplete order cancellations may require us to wait 90 days to refund. If you receive a refund, your monthly payment amounts will remain the same and the refund will be applied to your final monthly payment(s). For assistance with a pending refund, you can contact us at help@affirm.com.
Affirm's Lending Partner Disclosure: Your rate will be 0% APR or 10-36% APR based on credit, and is subject to an eligibility check. Payment options through Affirm are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. Options depend on your purchase amount, and a down payment may be required.