Amazon Pay adds Buy Now, Pay Later to Affirm: What you need to know

Affirm’s buy-now, pay-later technology is now available through Amazon Pay in the US, the online retail giant announced on Wednesday. Merchants can add the Affirm option to their Amazon Pay button so that customers can choose BNPL, short for buy now, pay later.

Affirm, whose app CNET recommends as BNPL’s best app for most buyers, says 16 million people actively use its service. The offer gives you bi-weekly and monthly payment options starting at 0% APR, or APR, and will be available through Amazon Pay for purchases over $50.

The addition of Affirm comes ahead of Amazon’s expected annual Prime Day in July.

How to use Affirm BNPL through Amazon Pay

If you want to use Affirm when you buy something through Amazon Pay, you’ll have to go through a quick approval process the first time, which ensures that Affirm can give you a loan. Affirm says the verification and approval process is free, real-time and has no impact on your credit score.

Amazon Pay is available to Amazon customers. If you visit a website with an Amazon Pay button, you’ll be able to click on it and use whatever address, email, and payment methods you already have stored in your Amazon account.

Should you use BNPL options?

In addition to Affirm, Apple recently began offering a BNPL service called Apple Pay Later, available within Wallet, the iPhone’s digital wallet app. Other popular BNPL services include Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal Pay in 4.

As credit card debt grows and interest rates remain high, the average credit card APR is currently 20.23%. BNPL can be a good way to avoid going into debt while slowly paying off larger purchases at a lower interest rate (and in some cases interest free).

However, using “Buy Now, Pay Later” plans can put you at risk of getting too involved and overspending. Unlike credit cards, they also may not improve your credit score if you pay on time, but they can lower your score if you pay late. Their late fees can also sometimes be higher than credit cards. Make sure you consider whether you will be able to meet your scheduled payments on an item and read the terms and conditions for late fees and interest rates before agreeing to use their service.

If you can’t afford an outright purchase, consider budgeting for it by transferring money into a high-yield savings account each payday and earning interest as you save toward your goal.

Here’s more on what you need to know about how BNPL plans work.

Read more: Buy Now Pay Later Credit Cards: Which Is Right For You?