Affirm splits a retail purchase into a fixed payment plan at checkout, instead of adding it to a revolving card balance. Each plan is a separate loan. The payment count, APR, and total interest are shown before the buyer confirms.
Affirm is not a bank. It services the plan, and lending partners originate the credit. It earns merchant fees, and shoppers pay interest on some plans.
How is Affirm structured as a lending platform?
Affirm is a technology platform, not a chartered bank, and it does not hold customer deposits. Its help center names Cross River Bank, Celtic Bank, and Lead Bank as lending partners. All three are Member FDIC.
Cross River Bank also holds the Affirm Money Account. FDIC insurance on that account covers a Cross River Bank failure up to $250,000, together with other deposits that person holds at the bank.
In California, Affirm Loan Services, LLC makes or arranges loans under California Financing Law license 60DBO-111681. Affirm, Inc. is NMLS 1883087. Affirm Loan Services, LLC is NMLS 1479506.
After capture, Affirm pays the merchant the order amount less fees and refunds, on a 24-hour rolling basis. The buyer repays Affirm on the schedule they accepted. Affirm takes the repayment risk on that plan.
Each purchase is closed-end installment credit, not an open revolving line. The installment and the disclosed interest stay fixed for that plan when payments arrive as agreed. A credit card pools later purchases into one balance. An Affirm plan does not.
A one-time virtual card covers some stores that do not offer Affirm at checkout. Cross River Bank, Sutton Bank, or Celtic Bank issues that card under a Visa license.
The Affirm Card is a separate Visa debit card issued by Evolve Bank & Trust or Stride Bank, N.A. Receiving that card does not approve pay-over-time credit. Each purchase still needs its own check, and pay-in-full charges debit the Affirm Money Account or a linked bank within 1 to 3 days.
How do Affirm installment loans function at checkout?
A buyer chooses Affirm in a participating checkout, submits an application, and selects a disclosed plan before the order is final. Affirm’s merchant FAQ treats account creation and a purchasing-power check as a soft inquiry. That inquiry can be reported to a bureau, and it does not change the credit score.
The decision is per purchase. Store rules on amount, item, and term can decline a plan that another store would open.
The screen shows the payment, the APR, and the total interest before confirmation. Affirm’s consumer disclosures illustrate a $400 purchase as $80 down, then 12 monthly payments of $28.88 at 15% APR. The same example also shows four interest-free payments of $100 every two weeks.
A down payment is not required on every plan. When one is required, it is due at checkout.
On a monthly plan, the first payment is usually due one month after confirmation, then on that calendar day each month. On a biweekly plan, the first payment is often due at checkout, and the rest follow every two weeks. Affirm may also offer two payments, with the first due 15 days later, or one payment due 30 days after confirmation.
The account can offer a debit card, ACH from a bank account, the Affirm Money Account, Apple Pay, or a physical check. Credit cards work only on eligible plans, and not on interest-bearing plans. Capital One, Chase, Discover, and Citi do not allow their credit cards to repay Affirm.
What fees and interest rates does Affirm charge?
U.S. plans run from 0% to 36% APR, based on credit and an eligibility check, as of October 2026. Pay in 4 is 0% APR. The APR on a confirmed plan stays at the rate disclosed that day.
Affirm uses simple interest on unpaid principal, not compound interest on interest already charged. Its merchant FAQ says the buyer will not owe more interest than the amount shown on day one.
Affirm states that it charges no late fees, prepayment fees, annual fees, or fees to open or close an account. A missed payment does not raise the agreed APR. Paying more than the amount due applies the extra to the plan balance and reduces interest that has not accrued.
There is no prepayment penalty. A partial payment still leaves the remainder due on the original date.
Canada is a separate program. Affirm Canada Holdings Ltd. publishes rates from 0% to 31.99% APR, subject to provincial limits.
Who is eligible for Affirm and what are the borrowing limits?
U.S. eligibility requires residence in the United States or a U.S. territory, and age 18 or older. The applicant also needs a Social Security number and an SMS phone number registered in the United States or a U.S. territory. The age floor is 19 for a ward of the state in Nebraska or Alabama, and 21 for a ward of the state in Puerto Rico.
The store sets the APR, the term, and the minimum and maximum for that checkout. Those rules can change.
Affirm’s help center says shoppers often see terms of 3, 6, or 12 months. Larger purchases can show a plan up to 48 months. Biweekly options on that page run up to 8 weeks.
Affirm’s developer documentation describes installment plans from 3 to 60 months on orders up to $25,000. That documentation limits Pay in 4 to orders from $50 to $249.99, in four interest-free payments every two weeks. Some checkout flows place those four payments beside monthly plans of up to 36 months.
Purchasing power in the app is an estimate, and it can include a down payment. It is not always the amount available to borrow, and it changes with the credit file and the store. A prequalification creates no debt until a purchase is confirmed.
The Affirm Card is not offered to residents of U.S. territories.
What risks and financial tradeoffs does Affirm introduce?
A plan with an APR above 0% costs more than the cash price, because the disclosed payments include interest. In the $400 disclosure example at 15% APR, the schedule is $80 down plus 12 payments of $28.88. A longer term can lower the installment while interest on the unpaid principal runs for more months.
Each plan keeps its own due date. Affirm does not merge due dates across plans.
Affirm does not add a late fee when a payment is missed. Its help center says a payment is reported past due if the full amount is still unpaid 30 days after the due date. A late mark can stay on a credit report for up to 7 years.
Loans opened on or after April 1, 2025 are reported to Experian. Loans opened on or after May 1, 2025 are also reported to TransUnion. Affirm states that this newer reporting does not change traditional credit scores for now, and that it may in the future.
Loans opened before April 1, 2025 may still affect a score. Creating an account, checking purchasing power, and Pay Now transactions do not affect the score under that policy.
A return starts at the store. Affirm does not void the plan until the store confirms the refund. Payments that fall due during that wait are still due.
The store can take 21 days or longer. After Affirm receives the funds, the account can take about 3 more business days to update. Paid interest is typically not refunded.
If the store issues store credit instead of a refund to Affirm, the original schedule stays in place.
Common questions
Does Affirm perform a hard credit pull?
Creating an Affirm account or checking purchasing power is a soft inquiry, and that check does not change a credit score. Affirm’s published U.S. credit policy does not describe a hard inquiry when a plan is opened. Loan reporting to a bureau is a later step, separate from that eligibility check.
Can I pay off my Affirm loan early?
Affirm does not charge a prepayment fee, and an early payoff reduces interest that has not accrued yet. Extra amounts apply to the plan balance and can shorten the remaining payments or shrink the last one. The due date does not move, so anything still unpaid after a partial payment remains due on the original date.
What happens if I return a purchase made with Affirm?
The shopper contacts the store, and Affirm does not cancel the plan until that store confirms the return. Scheduled payments stay due during the wait, which can take 21 days or longer. Once the refund arrives, Affirm applies it to the remaining balance, and paid interest is typically not returned.
