Retailer Guide to Afterpay

You might have seen Afterpay spring into every retailer out there seemingly overnight. If you’re trying to decide if it will be right for your business, this guide will take you through what you need to know.

How does Afterpay work for retailers?

As a retailer, the Afterpay signup process is quick and relatively simple. When you fill out the enquiry form, a customer service representative will contact you in order to discuss your needs with Afterpay. Afterpay works both online and in-store, so you can choose how it suits you best.

If a customer buys something online using Afterpay, they simply select Afterpay at the checkout, and once the customer has received their item, Afterpay will settle with you and assume any credit or fraud risk. The instalments that the customer pays go to Afterpay instead of you since Afterpay will pay the debt that is owed to you initially.

How does Afterpay integrate with my point of sale?

Afterpay integrates with a variety of point-of-sale platforms as well as ecommerce platforms that you might have used to integrate online sales into your website. Some platforms that Afterpay instantly integrates with include:

• Commerce Vision
• Futura4Retail
• Infinity
• Island Pacific
• Neto
• Shopify
• Magento

Afterpay may also be able to assist you outside these platforms. Afterpay offers comprehensive technical support for the initial integrations and ongoing maintenance if something should go wrong.

What benefits does Afterpay offer my business?

Some of the features that can benefit your business with a merchant agreement with Afterpay include:

• Set installments for customers. Afterpay informs you about purchase installment amounts and frequency to make it easier for potential customers to decide whether or not they want an item.
• New customers. Afterpay gives you the opportunity to benefit from more sales and the possibility of an increased customer base.
• Rise in repeat purchases. The likelihood of repeat customers to purchase from your business increases, plus they will be more inclined to spend more per transaction.
• Payment upfront. As soon as the customer receives their item, Afterpay settles with their merchants quickly and automatically. There are no complicated processes or lengthy wait times associated with payment.
• Name recognition. As Afterpay is currently used by over 1,400 retailers across the country, it’s clear to see that customers from all industries are a fan of it. You are able to benefit from this recognition if you incorporate Afterpay into your business.
• Zero fraud or credit risk. This is really important. Although it might seem like Afterpay could be high-risk, Afterpay assumes all end-customer non-payment risk for every transaction. This takes you and your business off the hook and you no longer have to chase up defaulting customers.

How much will Afterpay cost my business?

The fees that you can be charged depend on your business's agreement with Afterpay. However, the fees below are a general guide as to what businesses can expect with an Afterpay agreement.

• A $0.30 fee per transaction.
• A commission rate fee that is applied per transaction. This can range from 4-6% based on your agreement.

Although $0.30 per transaction doesn’t seem like a lot when you’re selling your products for much more than that, it’s important to factor in the commission rate fee as well.

What interest-free plans does Afterpay offer shoppers?

Now that you’re convinced about Afterpay, you might have a few questions as to how it works for your customers. Afterpay is a credit line for customers, where they use it to buy items from your store (online or in a physical shop) and pay the money back later.

Customers make four payments made over an eight-week period, with the first payment taken at the initial purchase of the item. If they do not adhere to the payment schedule, they are charged late fees until they have paid off their instalment.

The eight weeks are interest-free, so the customer owes the instalments that are reflected on the website.

How do I start offering Afterpay at my store?

In order to start offering Afterpay at your store, you just need to fill out the online enquiry form that is available on their website. Some of the details that you need include:

• Your ABN
• Your Point of Sales (POS) provider
• Your average order value
• The total for your annual sales
• The payment platform you use
• Personal details, such as your name and address
• Your industry
• The type of business you have
• What sales channels you use and whether they’re online, in-store or both

Once you provide all of this information and more, a representative will get back to you within the next 24-48 hours.

FAQs about Afterpay

• Can I use Afterpay across any industry?

  Yes, you can! As long as your industry is in the enquiry form or can be put under “other”, you are able to put your industry in there and benefit from Afterpay.

• How long will it take me to get my money from Afterpay?

  It will take you 48 hours once the Afterpay vendors have settled with you as the merchant.

• Can customers only pay fortnightly with Afterpay?

  Yes, that is the only option that is available. The payment terms for this service is every two weeks (fortnightly) over an eight-week period.

Alex Jeffs

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Alex Jeffs is the publisher for personal, car and business finance at Finder. He has been building websites since he was 14 years old and has tested cars everywhere from race tracks to Oodnadatta.