Accepting Affirm as a merchant

Affirm reaches a European merchant through a PSP or through a contract with Affirm itself. Adyen offers Affirm to merchants established in Europe and prices it per shopper country. For British shoppers Adyen's price list names a direct contract with Affirm beside its own processing fee, so the Affirm fee on that route is agreed with Affirm, not with Adyen.

Stripe offers Affirm to businesses located in the United States and Canada, with the United Kingdom in private preview, and only for sales to shoppers in the same country as the business. For a European entity that sells into those markets, Stripe is a route only through a local entity with its own Stripe account.

Adyen documents cart sizes from 35 to 30,000 US dollars in the United States and from 50 to 30,000 Canadian dollars in Canada. Stripe's documentation shows the plans by country: in the United States a single payment after 30 days, four interest-free payments and monthly terms of 3 to 36 months; in Canada four payments and monthly terms; in the United Kingdom three interest-free payments and monthly terms. Affirm publishes APRs of 0 to 36% in the United States and 0 to 31.99% in Canada.

Stripe shows Affirm only to shoppers whose shipping address, or failing that IP address, is in a supported country, and its documentation excludes business to business sales and pre-orders. A European merchant that sells pre-orders or ships to business buyers needs to check eligibility before it plans volume on this method.

Stripe's documentation states that Affirm only supports domestic transactions, so a business can sell only to customers in its own country. It also requires the website to display prices in the shopper's local currency. A Dutch or German entity on Stripe cannot offer Affirm to an American shopper, however the checkout is set up.

That turns the method into a question per shopper country. American and Canadian shoppers can be reached from a European entity through Adyen, or from a local entity through Stripe. British shoppers reach Affirm through Adyen with a direct contract with Affirm, while Stripe's British route is in private preview. Before Affirm goes into a plan for North America, settle which entity sells, in which currency it settles and which contract carries the Affirm fee, because each answer changes the PSP and the price.

Stripe states that an Affirm refund is never processed as a reversal. Affirm cancels the remaining scheduled payments and returns what the shopper has already paid, minus any interest paid. A shopper on an interest-bearing plan who returns the goods after a few months therefore does not get every dollar back, and that conversation lands with your customer service, not with Affirm's.

Refunds can be submitted up to 120 days after the payment, take up to two days and cannot be cancelled. If a refund fails, Stripe returns the amount to your balance and you must refund the shopper another way. A merchant with a holiday return policy longer than 120 days needs a second refund route for the late returns, and the policy text should say so.

What you pay for Affirm is set in your agreement with your PSP or with Affirm, not by a scheme. Start by establishing whether you are overpaying your PSP, and if Affirm carries a material share of your North American volume, set the programme and the rate against the plans your shoppers actually choose before you renew.

Relevant markets: United States, Canada, United Kingdom