Acima & Affirm
Acima Overview
No Credit Needed
While some lenders look primarily at your credit scores when deciding whether to approve you for financing, Acima considers other factors. Your income history, monthly income, checking account and checking account activity will all be evaluated when you apply.
With this approach, Acima may help you get financing you couldn’t get in the past because of low credit scores.
Who is Acima financing good for?
If you have less-than-perfect credit, need to buy something immediately and only need the loan short-term — strictly less than 90 days — Acima could work for you.
Affirm Overview
Pros Explained
Interest rates as low as 0%. When you shop with Affirm, some retailers offer rates as low as 0% on your purchases. This no-interest financing ensures that you won't pay anything extra beyond the purchase price of your items.
Does not charge late fees.
Affirm does not charge hidden fees of any kind, including late fees. If your payment is late, you will not be charged a fee; however, your ability to shop will be turned off. In some cases, partial and late payments may hurt your credit score and reduce your odds of getting another loan with Affirm. Since Affirm does not charge any fees, it is one of the best options for customers who have trouble making payments on time.
Purchase amounts up to $17,500. Affirm offers financing for larger purchases, up to $17,500, as well. Your ability to make such a large purchase depends on your credit, and a down payment may be required. This is one of the largest purchase amounts that we've been able to confirm from any BNPL app.
Cons Explained
Interest rates as high as 30%. Shoppers who use BNPL services are often trying to avoid high interest rates that are comparable to credit cards. With standard interest rates ranging from 10% to 30%, customers may want to explore other payment options first for retailers that do not offer 0% financing.
May require a credit check. Affirm may do a soft credit inquiry to verify a customer's identity and to prequalify them for their spending limit. While this does not affect their credit score, some competing BNPL lenders do not check credit at all. For customers who have bad credit or limited credit experience, this may affect their ability to get approved for a purchase or the interest rate that they pay.
Prequalification does not guarantee transactions are approved. Prequalification provides an estimate of how much you can spend while shopping with Affirm. However, each potential purchase must be approved before you can complete your transaction. This means that, although you are prequalified, your transaction can be declined.
How To Apply
