Buy Now, Pay Later has taken America by storm. And, rightly so. I mean, why wait a couple of weeks or months to buy something when you can have it NOW?
But what about the biggest e-commerce retailer in the world, Amazon? Are they on board with this trend, and can you Buy Now, Pay Later on Amazon?
You can easily Buy Now, Pay Later on Amazon using any of the major BNPL services as well as Amazon’s own Monthly Payments service. There’s also the Amazon Visa Rewards Card that lets you buy in 6, 12, or 18 months.
Here are the best Buy Now, Pay Later ways to use with Amazon.
1. Amazon Monthly Payments
Amazon has its own Buy Now, Pay Later service called Monthly Payments. It offers an installment plan that applies only to qualifying products.
You will see that eligible products are labeled with a “Monthly Payments” option on the product detail page or during checkout.
It’s important to know that this offer may or may not be available to every customer. It’s highly personalized that even if you qualify, not every qualifying product will be available to you via Monthly Payments.
So, how does Amazon decide who is eligible for its BNPL?
It all depends on your purchase history with Amazon, what the price of the product is, and even what device you’re using to access Amazon. What the company won’t do is, it won’t use a credit report to find out whether you’re a good match.
As far as payments go, it’s pretty straightforward. You pay the initial downpayment on the day of shipping. After that, you pay an installment every 30 days. That means you’re making five payments over 120 days, or four months.
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2. Affirm
Affirm is one of the top Buy Now, Pay Later services and is only available in the US. The company was founded in 2012 and has more than 200,000 active merchants due to collaboration with Shopify.
Apart from Amazon’s own Monthly Payments scheme, Affirm is the only BNPL service directly integrated into Amazon. Simply choose Affirm as your payment method at checkout.
You’ll need to give some basic information in order to get a real-time decision. After that, you choose a payment plan that ranges from 3 to 48 months.
Three and six-month plans have a minimum of $100 purchase order, 12 months are minimum of $100, 18 months $250, 24 months $500, 36 months $1000, and 48 months $1,500.
You can make payments at Affirm.com or in the Affirm app with no penalties for repaying early.
Purchases that aren’t eligible with Affirm on Amazon are:
- Amazon Fresh
- Whole Foods Market
- Digital purchases
- Gift cards
- Carts under $50
Outside of Amazon, the loan amount is up to $17,500 and depends on your history with the platform. The loan term is similar to others, namely 6 weeks, 6 months, or a year with interest rates from 0% to 30%, depending on the plan.
To apply for Affirm, all you need is an SSN and a US phone number. You also have to be older than 18 and a US resident.
3. Amazon Rewards Visa Card
The third option for buying now, and paying later is getting Amazon’s Reward Visa Card. It’s a Chase credit card that has zero interest during the promo period.
When you place your order, the total amount is charged to your card. The amount to pay each month will be on your statement. You can choose from three payment plans at checkout:
- Six equal monthly payments (Orders of $50+)
- 12 equal monthly payments (Orders of $250+)
- 18 equal monthly payments (Orders of $500+)
If you buy something with installments, you don’t earn rewards. You can make payments online at Chase.com or by mail when you pay your statement.
To avoid paying interest, pay the Interest Saving Balance found on your statement.
4. Klarna
Klarna is the most popular Buy Now, Pay Later platform in the world. It handled a whopping $80 billion in online sales in 2021 alone.
This Swedish company lets you split your purchases into 4 installments without any interest by using its app or a browser extension.
The browser extension is especially good as it lets you shop as usual but also finds the best coupons, gives you cash back, and, of course, lets you split payments at checkout.
Naturally, Klarna also works with Amazon along with 250,000 other stores. If you’re using the Klarna app, simply search for Amazon on the app’s home screen and add what you want to buy into the shopping cart.
Once you’re ready to checkout, tap the “Pay with K” button and split your purchase into 4 payments that you have to pay every 2 weeks.
READ NEXT: 5 Ways How Buy Now, Pay Later Platforms Make Money
5. Afterpay
Afterpay is one of several BNPL services coming out of Australia. It’s available in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand, and Australia.
To pay in 4 interest-free installments, simply download the app and search for Amazon. Once you add everything to your cart, checkout by making the first payment up front and the rest over six weeks.
It’s good to know that you can only have one active purchase with Afterpay until you build up your Afterpay history. It also lets you pay in-store by using the platform’s virtual card.
The BNPL service is free as long as you pay on time. But if you mess up and can’t pay in time, the late fees can be up to 25% of the value of your purchase. Yikes!
Apart from 6-week installment plans, the company offers the more standard 6 and 12 months interest-based payment plans. You’ll have to qualify for them, and they are only suitable for purchases over $400.
The BNPL app was relatively recently been bought by Cash App, so some exciting times are coming for users of both apps.
6. Zip
Zip, or Quadpay, as it was called until recently, is another popular Buy Now, Pay Later service that lets you shop with Amazon.
More than 12 million people are using Zip worldwide, as the approval process is very quick and has no impact on credit scores.
It, too, gives you 4 installments in 6 weeks, with a 25% downpayment. The process is familiar by now – download the app, find Amazon, add products to the cart, and checkout.
Just how much you’ll be able to spend using Zip depends on several factors, such as how long you’ve been their user and your repayment history. Each transaction is viewed and reviewed separately.
Loan amounts range from $35 to $1,500 and have no interest fees. There is a $1 convenience fee per installment and up to $10 late fees. This sets it apart from most other BNPLs that have no such convenience fee.
Every time you make a purchase request, a new virtual card number is generated. After you use it, you should not use it again but request a new one. There’s also no way of turning off automatic payments, but you can reschedule a payment at least 24 hours in advance.
RELATED: Can You Use QuadPay (Zip) On Cash App? (Guide)
Should You Use Buy Now, Pay Later Services?
There have been many alarms raised recently about BNPL services as they have exploded in popularity, and tens of millions of shoppers are using them to defer their purchases.
As most BNPLs offer interest-free six-week installment plans, it’s easy to see why people are using their services. But just because you are eligible for a BNPL doesn’t mean you should use it.
One of the biggest downsides to these services is the lack of protection compared to credit cards, for instance. The returns could be much more complicated, customer service agents might be unresponsive, and the dispute protections could be disappointing, to say it lightly.
And while it’s true that there are no interest rates for 6-week plans, there could be late fees, nevertheless. With Afterpay, for example, they are up to 25% of the initial order amount!
Some services also automatically send your case to debt collectors after a certain amount of time has passed.
So, should you use Buy Now, Pay Later? I think you’re the only one that can answer that question.
I’d say it’s safe to use it every once in a while. But if you catch yourself using it back to back, it means that something is off. This is especially true if your purchases satisfy your wants and not your needs.
Most people use Buy Now, Pay Later services to buy electronics and clothing or fashion items, as well as furniture and appliances. It’s much better to save up money for unnecessary purchases and pay for them upfront in cash rather than incurring (unnecessary) debt.
Why Amazon’s Pay Later Isn’t Available For Me?
Both Amazon’s Buy Now, Pay Later services (Amazon Monthly Payments and Affirm) are available only to select customers.
Availability depends on a number of factors, but it could also simply mean that you want to buy things for under $50, digital Amazon Fresh, or Whole Foods products, or gift cards.
How Do I Find My Payment Plan On Amazon?
To see all your recurring payments and subscriptions on Amazon, simply sign in to Amazon Pay and check your orders. From there, find the merchant agreement settings with all the details.
If you were using Affirm, go to their website or log into the app to find all the info.
Can I Use Sezzle With Amazon?
Sezzle is a BNPL app whose premium members that are approved for a Sezzle Virtual Card can use the app for shopping on Amazon. However, you have to start your Amazon shopping journey on the Sezzle app first.
Does Using Buy Now, Pay Later Help Build Credit?
Some Buy Now, Pay Later services can help with your credit-building efforts. They report your successful repayments to the main credit bureaus.
On the flip side, they can also hurt your credit score if you’re not paying on time and missing installments. Furthermore, even applying for some BNPLs may impact your credit score.
The BNPL services that report your success to credit bureaus are Sezzle, Affirm, Klarna, and Splitit, among some others perhaps. Afterpay and Zip do not report your successful repayments to credit bureaus.
Conclusion
There are many ways to Buy Now, Pay Later on Amazon. Most, if not all, popular BNPL platforms allow you to buy on Amazon through their app or via a browser extension.
However, only Affirm is directly integrated into Amazon as one of the default payment methods. Luckily, Affirm is also one of the best ones.
