What is Afterpay for business? Should you use it?

Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service. It lets customers make online purchases with interest-free payment solutions.

In-store and eCommerce businesses can also partner with Afterpay to offer these flexible plans.

Afterpay aims to create a win-win scenario for both customers and merchants. Merchants can incentivize purchases that are easier to pay off in installments. Customers can pay for products with the method they prefer.

Receive Afterpay payments with Wise

What is Afterpay for business?

While it may seem that Afterpay focuses on shoppers, businesses can also gain a lot from the service. Afterpay lets stores expand their payment options, which can bring in more customers.

Businesses can also improve the shopping experience by offering a variety of payment plans.

Afterpay is available both online and in store.

For businesses with an online presence, Afterpay has integrations with major eCommerce platforms. These include Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce. Brick-and-mortar businesses can also offer Afterpay for their customers.

How does Afterpay work on the business side?

Afterpay pays merchants upfront. Businesses receive the money from each product sold at the moment of sale.

There are merchant fees to take into account, though, which detract from this sum. This is how Afterpay makes money from the service.

Afterpay’s merchant fees are a percentage of the order value or sale price. In most cases, Afterpay charges a fixed fee per transaction too.¹

Afterpay also makes money through late fees charged to customers who miss payments.²

How much does it cost a company to use Afterpay?

For merchants partnered with Afterpay, there are several fees to consider. The Afterpay for businesses cost breaks down as a fixed fee per transaction and a percentage of the order value or sale price.

Merchants will pay a flat fee of $0.30 to Afterpay and a variable commission rate of 4-6% for every transaction.²

These fees can be a deciding factor when choosing to use Afterpay for small businesses. You will need to determine whether the increased sales will outweigh the cost of using the service.

How do I set up an Afterpay store?

To partner with Afterpay and add its payment plans to your checkout, you’ll need to apply for a merchant account. Most businesses that sell goods are eligible. You can't sell electronics, dangerous goods, medicines, or goods intended for 18+ audiences.

Businesses that sell services aren’t eligible for Afterpay merchant accounts.

Here’s how to offer Afterpay for your business:

Once your application for an Afterpay merchant account is approved, you can integrate Afterpay into your website. Next, you'll need to set up Afterpay for your business.

If you already use one of the major eCommerce store providers such as Wix or Stripe, Afterpay integration is easy. Log into your account and add Afterpay as a payment method.

Otherwise, you’ll need to know how to use development tools such as JavaScript to set up Afterpay’s API.

Is it hard to get Afterpay for your business?

If you’re interested in applying for an Afterpay merchant account, there are several factors you’ll need to consider.

Afterpay reviews these factors to approve your application:

• The type of goods you sell
• Your inventory, and whether you have goods ready to send out
• Your backlog of pre-order items
• Your customer trading experience and track record

How do merchants get paid with Afterpay?

Afterpay pays merchants in full once it processes the order. Payments enter the merchant’s account (via ACH or US bank account) according to the agreed-upon payment schedule.

Merchant fees get deducted from each transaction before payout. The sum the merchant receives will factor in these fees.

Reasons to use Afterpay for your business

Afterpay is one of many BNPL services that offers payment plans to shoppers. What makes it different from other options and what can it offer for your business?

According to Afterpay:

• Shoppers tend to pay 40% more on average with Afterpay
• Shoppers tend to shop on average 50% more with Afterpay
• There are more than 19 million global Afterpay customers
• You can go global and sell to shoppers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom³

So, is Afterpay good for business?

Afterpay’s buy-now-pay-later solutions can be a good solution for businesses that need checkout payment plans. For example, businesses selling high-value goods. These goods may be difficult to pay for outright, such as furniture.

Offering flexible payment solutions can also help to broaden your customer base.

It’s worth considering the fees, and whether it makes sense for your business to offer payment plans.

Connect Afterpay with Wise to take your business to the next level

Do you plan to expand your business and sell overseas? Then the last thing you want is to get hit with fees for receiving money in other currencies.

Even worse, having to spend hours at your local bank setting up an account that lets you receive such payments.

Wise Business is an alternative to traditional business bank accounts. You can set up completely online and receive international payments with ease.

Register with Wise Business for free 🚀

Once you have your Wise account, you can connect to Afterpay and other apps you love via the app marketplace.

Your customer simply selects Afterpay, and the payment arrives to your Wise Business account. You can then convert payments as needed at the real mid-market rate. Easy!

All sources checked May 10, 2022.