Afterpay

Afterpay is a digital service that makes it possible to buy something now and pay it off in fortnightly instalments. Unlike layby, you'll get the product right away, whether you're shopping online or in-store. And in the best of scenarios you'll pay nothing more.

How does Afterpay work?

At Afterpay the world’s leading brands, retailers and service providers pay us to help you plan, buy and pay for your products and services online and in-store.

When you sign up with Afterpay, you book, buy or collect the item or service you want today and then pay for it in four equal instalments due every two weeks. This way, you get what you want without ever losing control of your money or providing personal bank details to anyone else.

In return for this service, retailers and service providers pay Afterpay so we can keep helping you plan, buy, and pay.

This means Afterpay makes its money from retailers and service providers – not from customers like you. That’s why we charge absolutely no interest, ever.

If you miss a payment you won’t be able to buy or book anything else with Afterpay until you settle your account. And we charge you a capped late fee that starts at $10 but never goes higher than 25% of the purchase price or $68 (whichever is less), to help you stick to your plan.

Before each transaction, Afterpay assesses your ability to make repayments in your short instalment plan. The longer you have been a responsible shopper with Afterpay, the more likely we will be to approve your purchase. This helps us grow a community of responsible spenders that work with us every day to plan, buy and pay.

Before making a purchase with Afterpay, it’s important that you think about the following:

Are there sufficient funds in your account? Generally we want to see at least 25% of the purchase price.
How long have you been using Afterpay? We are more likely to limit you to small purchases in your first 6 weeks.
How much do you have to repay on this purchase and do you have any previous outstanding purchases? The smaller the amount to repay, the more likely your purchase will be approved.

We are committed to ensuring our community supports responsible spending. To help we have developed special proprietary technology to assess individual purchase applications. So while you may not know exactly how much you can spend with Afterpay at any one time, this system is vital to help you stay in control of your money and avoid missed payments wherever possible.

Who can use Afterpay?

At Afterpay we are very particular about who we let into our community – because we want to make sure you spend responsibly and can stick to your short instalment plan.

This means we use our own specially developed technology to assess your ability to pay for the items you want. And we also have some hard rules around who is eligible to join.

These include:

You must live in Australia
You must be at least 18 years old
You must have a valid and verifiable email address and mobile phone number
You must use a valid Australia bank payment card to make a purchase
You must be capable of entering into a legally binding contract

Afterpay uses a mandatory ID verification process to ensure your eligibility. Please note that passing this verification test alone does not guarantee that your purchase with Afterpay will be approved.

Where can I use Afterpay?

Want to browse some of the thousands of retailers and service providers around the world that have signed up with Afterpay?

Take a second. Get ready to get excited. And then go here!

Don’t see your favourite retailer or items available?

Send them an email to let them know how much you love Afterpay, and how easily they can sign up by going here.

How much does Afterpay cost to use?

Afterpay is free! For you, that is.

Retailers and service providers pay us to help you plan, buy and pay for items you can take home today, without ever losing control of your money. That’s why we don’t charge any interest, ever. And that’s why we do everything we can for you to avoid late fees – because chasing them costs as much as we get back, and if you miss a payment, you can’t buy anything else with us until your account is settled.

At Afterpay we are building a community of responsible spenders who work with us to plan, buy and pay – without losing control of their money.

That’s why Afterpay is the right way to plan, buy and pay.

Is Afterpay safe and secure?

At Afterpay our number one priority is the protection of your data.

We are an Australian company that was founded here. We are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and we are subject to Australian laws and regulations.

Within this framework we have achieved the highest level of payment data security in the world, set by the PCI Global Security Standards Council. This is known in the industry as Data Security Standard Level 1 and applies to all the major payment companies around the world. Achieving this standard includes accreditation to the highest level of:

Secure Networks and Systems
Data Protection
Strong Access Control
Regular Monitoring and Testing

Our entire business depends on our community trusting us to help them plan, buy and pay – including managing and protecting their data.

This is why at Afterpay, protecting your data is our number one priority.

Does Afterpay make all of its money from late fees?

We make more money from people making payments on time than we do from missed payments or late fees.

Late payments are bad for our business because chasing them costs as much as we get back, and if you miss a payment, you can’t buy anything else with us until your account is settled. That is why we do everything possible to make sure you only buy what you can afford and avoid missing any payments including:

Our late fees are low and capped so they can’t ever go higher
We stop you purchasing once you’ve missed a payment so you can’t go deeper into debt
And we use proprietary technology to stop people purchasing too much – including half of all first-time purchasers and 30 per cent of all purchase attempts

Can you imagine a credit company stopping you from going further into debt or buying more because you missed a payment?

We know our approach works because 78% of our community have never incurred a late fee and 93% of purchases are paid for exactly on time.

That’s why Afterpay is the right way to plan, book, buy and pay.

Isn’t Afterpay just another form of debt?

At Afterpay, we don’t make our money from you. Our money comes from retailers and service providers who pay us to help you buy now, and plan your repayments.

That’s why we don’t charge interest. Ever. And late payments are bad for our business because chasing them costs as much as we get back. Meanwhile if you miss a payment, you can’t buy anything else with us until your account is settled.

Could you imagine a credit company stopping you from buying more, and going further into debt, because you missed a payment?

We cap late fees at 25 per cent of your purchase price or $68 (whichever is less) – they never go higher than this. The real penalty for missing a payment is that you can’t use Afterpay until you make your outstanding payment.

Financial penalties are there, but only to stop Afterpay being deliberately taken advantage of – and as an incentive for everyone else to stick to their payment plan.

I want to shop - how do I sign up?

The good news is – you don’t need to register before your first Afterpay purchase!

When you make a purchase with any one of our partner retailers and service providers, simply choose Afterpay as your chosen payment method at the checkout. If you’re a first-time user then provide your payment details as usual to complete your purchase. Once this first order is approved, your Afterpay account is created. Yay!

All you need to do now is visit www.afterpay.com and set up your password. The next time you purchase with Afterpay, just log in securely when you checkout.

Or you can download the Afterpay App to make the whole process even easier!

Please remember that to sign up with Afterpay you need to:

Be living in Australia
Be at least 18 years old
Have a valid and verifiable email address and phone number
Use an Australian bank payment card
Be capable of entering into a legally binding contract
Have a verifiable and valid ID

When will my first payment be taken?

If you’re a responsible spender that’s been with us for a while now, and you’re buying online, your first payment will generally be 2 weeks from the day you bought your item.

To ensure responsible spending across our community, Afterpay may require your first 25% instalment at the time of purchase. We will make this decision case by case, based on your individual repayment history. We will immediately let you know if we require this first instalment, before you make your Afterpay purchase.

And, in some cases, we always require the first 25% instalment at the time of purchase, including:

The first time you use Afterpay
For all orders placed in the first 6 weeks after signing up with Afterpay
For purchases with a value of more than $500
When shopping in-store
For all Jetstar bookings

If you have any questions please contact us here.

Sometimes we run a pre-authorisation check where we take a small amount from your account – up to the value of your first instalment (plus 1 cent) for online purchases and up to 25% of the value of your in-store barcode (plus 1 cent)– to make sure your nominated card is working right.

Once this check is approved, we will instruct the bank to void the transaction. Sometimes it might appear on your account as a second payment.

Don’t worry - it is not a second payment and it will be resolved on your account shortly. If you have any questions, please contact us here.