Buy now, pay later for business: what the merchant gets and gives up

Checked against Stripe's documentation and pricing for each method, Afterpay's retailer page and the CFPB on 22 October 2026. Providers change their limits and categories, so check the current page before you rely on one.

How does buy now, pay later work for a business?

The customer picks a buy now, pay later option at checkout, signs in or creates an account with the provider, accepts its repayment terms and returns to your site. You're "paid immediately and in full", in Stripe's words, and the customer repays the provider. (Stripe: buy now, pay later)

Largest purchase, against a $14,800 saleAfterpay$4,000Klarna$10,000Sunbit$19,999.99Affirm$30,000US limits through Stripe · $14,800 fits only the last two · category rules apply

The provider is the lender. For Affirm, Stripe makes the full amount, minus fees, available to you up front and "Affirm collects the purchase amount from your customer, who repays Affirm directly." (Stripe: Affirm) Afterpay tells retailers they get their money in 1 to 2 business days. (Afterpay for retailers)

That makes it different from a payment plan you run yourself, where the customer pays you on a schedule. How to offer financing to customers compares the two with a lender program.

What does buy now, pay later cost a business?

A fee on each sale, taken before you're paid. Stripe's standard US prices:

Sources: Stripe local payment methods pricing, Stripe pricing. Stripe also notes that some businesses get a temporary 2.9% + 30¢ rate on Klarna and Affirm for at least a month, then standard pricing applies unless they turn the methods off.

Across the market, the CFPB's study of five large providers found merchant fees averaged 2.49% of the volume they financed in 2021, down from 2.91% in 2020. (CFPB report, September 2022) That's an average across contracts, not a price you'll be quoted.

What are the order limits and terms?

Each provider sets its own, and the provider, not you, decides what each customer is offered. Through Stripe, for US customers:

Sources: Stripe: buy now, pay later, Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, Sunbit. Affirm's interest-bearing plans run from 10% to 36% APR, and Klarna's financing approval "is subject to creditworthiness". Some customers will be declined. The CFPB found 73% of applicants were approved in 2021. (CFPB)

Who carries the risk?

The provider carries the repayment, but not everything.

• Non-payment. Stripe's Klarna page says "If the customer can't repay Klarna, Klarna takes loss liability." Afterpay "covers losses incurred from customer fraud or the inability to repay installments." Stripe's Affirm and Sunbit pages say each covers losses from customer fraud.
• Disputes. When a customer disputes a purchase, Stripe holds the disputed amount from your balance while the provider decides. You get 15 days to send evidence for Affirm, 14 for Afterpay and 12 for Sunbit. If the provider rules for the customer, you lose the amount.
• Refunds. Affirm and Afterpay take refunds for up to 120 days after the payment, Klarna and Sunbit up to 180. The provider then cancels the remaining payments and returns what the customer has paid. If a refund fails, you have to refund the customer some other way.

Sources: the Stripe pages for Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm and Sunbit.

Which businesses can't use it?

More than you might expect. Through Stripe:

• Consumer sales only, for the big names. Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna don't support business-to-business payments. Sunbit does.
• Service categories. Affirm lists home improvement services, including contractors, and professional services as prohibited or subject to extra requirements. It restricts vocational and trade schools, educational services, counseling and legal services, and prohibits colleges.
• Schools on Sunbit. Sunbit prohibits vocational and trade schools, educational services, colleges and child care.
• Other limits. Afterpay prohibits donations and pre-orders. Klarna prohibits charities.

Sources: Stripe: Affirm, Sunbit, Afterpay, Klarna rules. "Restricted" means you may qualify after giving Stripe more information. "Prohibited" means you can't.

Is there buy now, pay later for business buyers?

Yes, mainly in Europe. Stripe's list includes Billie, Kriya and Mondu. Billie, for example, gives business customers in Europe and the UK 30 days to pay, and you're paid in full straight away. (Stripe: Billie) In the US, Sunbit accepts business-to-business sales through Stripe.

What rules come with it?

This is general information, not legal advice.

• No surcharge. Through Stripe, you can't charge a fee or a higher price for paying with Klarna, and Sunbit doesn't allow surcharging either. (Stripe: Klarna rules, Stripe: Sunbit)
• The provider is the payee. Any payment instructions or documents you give a Klarna customer must name Klarna as the payee, not your bank account.
• Marketing rules. Affirm and Klarna each require you to follow their marketing compliance guides when you advertise them.
• No sales to yourself. Klarna can't be used for purchases by your owners, directors or employees.

Where does buy now, pay later fit, and where doesn't it?

It fits an online checkout selling to consumers: a one-off purchase inside the provider's limits, in a category it accepts, where getting paid now is worth the fee.

Try it on a larger sale. A $14,800 program or service with a $1,500 deposit and the rest over a year:

• Size. Afterpay's $4,000 and Klarna's $10,000 can't take it. Sunbit and Affirm can, by size.
• Category. If you're a trade school, Sunbit is out and Affirm is restricted. If you're a contractor, Affirm may be out too.
• Cost. At Affirm's standard 6% + 30¢, you'd give up $888.30 of the $14,800.
• Refunds. If the customer withdraws in month seven and is owed money back, that's past Affirm's 120-day refund window. You'd refund them yourself. When a student withdraws mid-program covers that case for schools.
• Recurring. Affirm, Afterpay and Sunbit don't support recurring payments, so a monthly fee or membership isn't a fit there.

It also fits poorly when you want to set the terms yourself, keep the customer talking to you, or recover the card fee.

What's the alternative to buy now, pay later?

A plan you run yourself. The customer pays you a deposit, then each payment on a schedule you set, charged to a card or bank account they saved. There's no provider in the middle, so there's no credit check unless you choose one, no lender's fee taken off the sale, only what your processor charges, and no purchase cap. On Stripe's standard pricing, the twelve payments after the deposit cost 2.9% + 30¢ each by card, or 0.8% capped at $5 by bank.

The trade-off is the opposite of buy now, pay later. You're paid as each payment lands, not up front, and a payment that doesn't arrive is yours to chase. A plan of more than four payments can also bring Truth in Lending rules into play, so check that first. How to offer payment plans to your customers and in-house financing cover both.

What should you check before you turn it on?

1. Your business category on each provider's list.
2. Your typical sale against each provider's limits.
3. The fee on your average sale, at standard pricing, not the introductory rate.
4. Your refund policy against the refund windows.
5. Whether you surcharge cards today, since some providers don't allow it.

Changelog

• 22 October 2026: first published.