How Does Afterpay Affect Your Credit Score?

The number of Afterpay transactions increased by 19% during Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year. In terms of long-term growth, the volume of Afterpay transactions has increased by 196% since 2020.

With all of these BNPL payments being made through Afterpay, it begs the question, ‘How does Afterpay affect your credit score?’

Can I Build Credit with Afterpay?

Yes, it’s possible to build credit with your Afterpay purchases but only with the use of third-party apps like Cushion. But without the help of Cushion, your installment payments with Afterpay will go unreported.

On February 28, 2022, the credit bureaus enabled BNPL providers to report their pay-in-4 loans. While some BNPL providers like Sezzle have started reporting to the credit bureaus, at the time of writing, Afterpay has not followed suit.

Does Afterpay Perform Credit Checks

Yes, but Afterpay only conducts soft credit checks which shouldn’t affect your credit score. These soft credit checks may be done when you first sign up and when you check out using the Pay Monthly Option.

Recommended article: How Does Klarna Affect Your Credit Score?

Will Late Afterpay Payments Affect My Credit Score

Afterpay typically does not report late payments to the credit bureaus. So late Afterpay payments shouldn’t affect your credit score.

However, Afterpay will charge late fees (maximum of $8.00) for payments made 10 days after the due date. In addition, late payments may affect your maximum spending limit.

Can You Change the Due Date of Pay-in-4 Orders?

Yes, you can change the due date of the second and third installments of Afterpay Pay-in-4 orders. You can delay the due date by up to 7 days and you can do so using the Afterpay app or website.

To change the due date using the Afterpay App, you’ll need to do the following steps:

1. Log into the Afterpay App
2. Select “My Afterpay”
3. Select “Orders”
4. Select a Payment to Change
5. Select “More”
6. Select “Change next payment date”
7. Select your preferred date

To change the due date using the Afterpay Website, you’ll need to do the following steps:

1. Log into your Account
2. Click “Upcoming Payments”
3. Select a Payment to Change
4. Click “Change Next Payment Date”
5. Select your preferred date

Payments that are already overdue or about to be due in 24 hours cannot be moved. New users (less than 42 days since your first purchase) and those under a hardship repayment arrangement can’t use this feature.

What is Afterpay’s Financial Hardship Policy?

Afterpay’s Hardship Policy provides various options to users experiencing financial hardship due to events that include, but are not limited to:

• COVID-19
• Natural disaster
• Being out of work
• Family violence
• Injury or illness
• Loss of a loved one
• Relationship breakdown

This financial hardship policy is available to every Afterpay community member and can be accessed by filling out the form on Afterpay’s Requests Page.

Summary

At the time of writing, building credit with Afterpay can only be done through the help of apps like Cushion. While late Afterpay payments typically don’t affect your credit, the late fees and spending limit reduction can be avoided through Afterpay’s Hardship Policy or by changing the due dates of your payments.