Contents
Requirements
Affirm works with thousands of businesses of all sizes and across a wide range of industries. We don't require our partners to meet a minimum volume for online sales. To explore a partnership, your business should:
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Sell directly to U.S. / Canada consumers
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Operate in accordance with our prohibited business policy (shown below)
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Have a U.S. or CA bank account
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Have a website in English
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Have prices in USD / CAD
If you checked everything off this list, we’d love to explore a partnership! You can get started by creating a merchant account.
Affirm earns a commission from businesses, and shoppers pay interest on some items.
Unlike credit card companies though, we don't depend on shoppers paying late or staying in debt. Instead, we try to give them a great experience so they come back and use Affirm again.
Prohibited business policy
The following categories of businesses and business practices are prohibited from using the Affirm Service (“Prohibited businesses”). Prohibited business categories may be imposed through network rules or the requirements of our financial services providers. The types of businesses listed are representative, but not exhaustive.
If you are uncertain as to whether your business is a prohibited business, or have questions about how these requirements apply to you, please contact us at sales@affirm.com.
Key definitions and prohibited business (Products and services)
Illegal or High-risk items, activities, or transactions
| Counterfeit or unauthorized goods | Unauthorized sale or resale of brand name or designer products or unauthorized goods services; Sale of goods or services that are illegally imported or exported due to trade controls |
| Stolen goods | Sale or resale of products which have been obtained through theft or fraud |
| Gambling | Lotteries, fantasy sports leagues, internet gaming, contests, sweepstakes, games of chance |
| Pseudo medical products | Products or devices which make medical or health-related claims that have not been approved by the applicable regulatory body |
| Firearms, knives, and weapons | Ammunition, firearms, certain firearm parts of accessories, and certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law |
| Explosives and incendiaries | Fireworks and related goods; toxic, flammable, and radioactive materials |
| High risk services businesses | Forwarding brokers; credit card and identity theft protection; consulting fees; securities brokerage; timeshares; any businesses that we believe poses elevated financial risk, legal liability, or violates card network or bank policies |
| Explicit or sexually oriented products | Any explicit, pornographic, erotic, or certain otherwise sexually oriented products or marketing of products |
| Crude or violent products or marketing of products | Any vulgar or crude products or marketing of products; products that promote violence, hate speech or acts, or racial intolerance |
Narcotics, steroids, controlled/regulated substances, and drug paraphernalia
| Regulated products and services | Sale of tobacco, e-cigarettes, and e-liquid; vaporizers; products and services with varying legal status on a state-by-state (province-by-province, or territory-by -territory) basis |
| Drug paraphernalia | Any equipment designed for making or using drugs, such as bongs, vaporizers, and hookahs |
| Pseudo pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals and other products that make health claims that have not been approved by an applicable regulatory body |
Financial services, currency, and money transmission
| Money and legal services |
Money transmitters, wire transfers, money orders; currency exchange; bail bonds; legal fees or legal services
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| Virtual currency or stored value | Virtual currency that can be monetized, resold, or converted to physical or digital products and services or otherwise exit the virtual world (e.g., bitcoin) |
| Fund Aggregation | Engaging in any form of licensed or unlicensed aggregation of funds owed to third parties, factoring, or other activities intended to obfuscate the origin of funds |
| Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, or E-Coupons | (1) Sale or resale of any form of open-loop gift cards or stored value currency that may be used outside of the merchant's principal business, (2) any closed-loop gift cards that exceed $2,000 in total value, or (3) where the total of gift card sales comprise 25% or greater of the merchant's total annual revenue. |
| Precious Metals / Commodities / Speculation | Use of Affirm as a financing option for purchase of goods whose prices are linked directly to spot markets (gold bars, bullion, other precious metals) |
IP infringement
| Intellectual property or proprietary rights infringement | Any product or service that directly infringes or facilitates infringement upon the trademark, patent, copyright, trade secrets, or proprietary or privacy rights of any third party; use of Affirm intellectual property without express consent from Affirm; use of the Affirm name or logo including use of Affirm trade or service marks inconsistent with the Affirm Merchant Agreement or in a manner that otherwise harms Affirm or the Affirm brand; any action that implies an untrue endorsement by or affiliation with Affirm |
Abuse of Affirm service and other unfair, predatory, or deceptive business practices
| Speculative fulfillment | Orders for which fulfillment is speculative (e.g., crowdfunding). |
| Private Education Loans | Post-Secondary educational expenses |
| Titled Goods / Auto Loans | Any electric or gas combustible vehicle that requires state or federal registration, or are accompanied by a title / pink slip |
| Multi-level marketing | Pyramid schemes, network marketing, and referral marketing programs |
| Use of Affirm in a manner inconsistent with its intended use or as expressly prohibited in the Terms of Service | Use of Affirm where there is no bona fide good or service sold; evasion of card network chargeback monitoring programs; sharing Affirm user data with another merchant for cross-selling product or service |
You can view the full document here as well.
Example business partners
If you are curious to see which businesses already partner with Affirm, you can check out our website at www.affirm.com. You can click around the different business categories that we support to see some example businesses within each.
Examples of automotive business partners:
Examples of travel business partners:
Examples of fashion, beauty, and jewelry business partners:
Examples of fitness and sporting goods business partners:
Examples of home and lifestyle business partners:
With approximately 4,000 business partners and rapidly growing, we're eager to work with your business. You can view one of our many merchant testimonials here.