Customer Financing (Buy Now Pay Later)
Offer your customers the ability to pay invoices over time with Afterpay, Klarna, or Affirm through Stripe.
Service Invoice Pro supports Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financing through Stripe’s integrations with Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm. When enabled, these options appear automatically on your Stripe Checkout page alongside credit card and bank transfer. Your customers can choose to pay over time, and you receive the full invoice amount immediately. You are never responsible for collecting installment payments from the customer. The financing provider handles all repayment directly with your customer.
Domestic transactions only: All three providers require the merchant and the customer to be in the same country. US-based Stripe accounts can only offer BNPL to customers also located in the US. Afterpay and Klarna support additional countries (Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand for Afterpay; 20+ countries for Klarna), but Affirm is limited to the US and Canada only.
Which Invoices Support Financing?
Financing is available on any invoice where your customer clicks Pay Now through Stripe Checkout. This includes:
- Standard invoices
- Service agreement invoices
- Deposit invoices
Financing does not apply to auto-charged invoices, such as recurring invoices or service agreement evergreen billing where Stripe charges a saved card automatically in the background. These flows have no Checkout page, so financing options are not relevant.
What Does Each Provider Offer?
| Provider | US Transaction Limits | Payment Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afterpay (Cash App Afterpay in US) | $1 – $4,000 | Pay in 4 interest-free bi-weekly payments. Orders $400–$4,000 may also offer 6 or 12 month interest-bearing installments. | Available for trade service businesses |
| Klarna | Varies by payment type — see breakdown below | Multiple options depending on order amount and customer eligibility | Available for trade service businesses |
| Affirm | $50 – $30,000 | Pay in 4, monthly installments up to 36 months (interest-bearing for platform users) | ⚠️ Not available for most trade service businesses |
Klarna payment options in the US:
- Pay in 4 — 4 interest-free bi-weekly payments. Orders $1–$2,000.
- Pay Later — Pay in full in 30 days, interest-free. Orders $5–$1,000.
- Financing — Monthly installments up to 36 months, may include interest. Orders $45–$10,000.
Klarna determines which options to show each customer based on order amount, customer credit history, and other factors. Not all options appear for every transaction.
In the United States, Afterpay is branded as Cash App Afterpay. Your customers will see the Cash App Afterpay name and logo at checkout.
Stripe automatically shows only the providers appropriate for each invoice amount and your account’s eligibility. You do not need to configure anything for this. Stripe handles it automatically.
⚠️ Affirm is not available for most trade and home service businesses.
Affirm’s terms explicitly prohibit home improvement services, contractors, and special trade contractors — which includes HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, pest control, and similar trades. If your business falls into one of these categories, Affirm will not appear at your customers’ checkout regardless of your Stripe account status. This is an Affirm policy enforced by Stripe, not a limitation of Service Invoice Pro.
Klarna and Afterpay do not have this restriction and are fully available to trade and home service businesses. We recommend enabling Klarna and Afterpay for your customers and leaving Affirm disabled unless you are certain your business category qualifies.
Which Businesses Can Use Each Provider?
Stripe and each BNPL provider use your Merchant Category Code (MCC) to determine eligibility. Here is how common service business types map to each provider:
| Business Type | Afterpay | Klarna | Affirm |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
| Plumbing | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
| Electrical | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
| Landscaping | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
| Pest Control | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
| Cleaning Services | âś… Eligible | âś… Eligible | âś… Likely eligible |
| General Contracting | ✅ Eligible | ✅ Eligible | ❌ Prohibited |
If a provider is not available for your business type, it simply will not appear at your customers’ checkout. No error is shown to your customer — Stripe silently omits ineligible options. You can check your specific eligibility at any time in your Stripe Dashboard under Payment Methods.
Affirm Platform Limitations
Note: Businesses using Affirm through a platform like Service Invoice Pro do not qualify for Affirm’s 0% APR promotional options or the “Pay in 30” interest-free plan. Customers will only see interest-bearing monthly installment options. Rates vary from 10%–36% APR depending on the customer’s creditworthiness. See Affirm’s lending terms for details.
Refund Windows
If you need to issue a refund on a BNPL transaction, each provider has a maximum window after the original payment:
- Afterpay: Refunds supported up to 120 days after the original payment
- Affirm: Refunds supported up to 120 days after the original payment
- Klarna: Refunds supported up to 180 days after the payment completes
After these windows close, you will need to issue a refund outside of Stripe directly with your customer.
Do I Need to Sign Up With These Providers?
No. The integration is handled entirely through your Stripe account, which is already connected to Service Invoice Pro. You do not create separate accounts with any of these providers.
Does My Customer Need an Existing Account?
No. First-time users go through a short application (typically 2-3 minutes) directly within the Stripe Checkout page. They never leave the checkout flow. For Affirm, this involves a soft credit check that does not affect the customer’s credit score. Returning users who already have an account with a provider complete the process in under 60 seconds.
When Do I Get Paid?
You receive the full invoice amount in your Stripe account immediately after the customer completes financing, on your normal Stripe payout schedule (typically 2 business days). The financing provider collects repayments from your customer directly. You have no involvement in that process.
What Are the Fees?
Financing transactions carry slightly higher processing fees than standard card payments, typically 2-6% depending on the provider, compared to the standard ~3% for cards. These fees are deducted by the financing provider before your payout, the same way standard Stripe fees work today. See Payment Fees for more on standard processing fees.
How Do I Enable or Disable Financing?
- Go to Settings in Service Invoice Pro.
- Click Billing (or navigate to Settings > Payments).
- Scroll to the Customer Financing section.
- Toggle Enable customer financing on or off.
Financing is enabled by default for all eligible accounts. You can disable it at any time if you prefer not to offer it.
Why Isn’t Financing Appearing at Checkout?
Financing availability is determined entirely by Stripe, not by Service Invoice Pro. Service Invoice Pro sends the instruction to offer financing options, but Stripe independently decides whether your specific Stripe account is eligible to offer each provider. Service Invoice Pro has no ability to view, override, or influence Stripe’s eligibility decisions for your account.
The most common reasons financing may not appear:
Your Stripe Account Is Not Fully Verified
Stripe requires your account to be fully verified before enabling BNPL payment methods. Outstanding identity verification, business verification, or missing banking details will prevent BNPL from being offered.
What to do: Log into your Stripe Dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com and look for any alerts, banners, or required actions. Complete any outstanding steps.
Your Business Category Is Not Supported
Stripe assigns a Merchant Category Code (MCC) to your account based on your business type. Affirm explicitly prohibits home improvement services, contractors, and most trade service businesses — including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, and similar trades. If you are a trade service business, Affirm will not appear at checkout. This is expected behavior and is not a bug or configuration error.
Klarna and Afterpay do not have this restriction for trade service businesses and should be available to most SIP merchants.
If Klarna or Afterpay are also not appearing and you believe your business category should be supported, check your MCC in your Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Business Details. If the category appears incorrect, contact Stripe Support to request a correction. SIP cannot change your MCC — this is managed between you and Stripe.
The Invoice Amount Is Outside the Provider’s Range
Afterpay supports transactions up to $4,000. Klarna supports up to $10,000 depending on the payment type. Affirm supports up to $30,000. Invoices above these amounts will not show those providers.
What to do: Nothing. This is expected behavior. For large invoices, only providers that support the amount will appear.
Your Stripe Account Is New or Has Low Transaction Volume
Stripe may restrict BNPL payment methods for newly created accounts or accounts with limited transaction history. This is part of Stripe’s internal risk assessment and happens silently — there is no alert, banner, or notification. Your account can appear fully verified and active, but Stripe may still withhold BNPL eligibility until the account has processed enough payments to meet their risk thresholds.
What to do: Continue processing payments normally. Stripe will enable BNPL methods automatically once your account meets their requirements. There is no way to expedite this process. If your account has been active for several months with consistent transaction volume and financing still is not appearing, contact Stripe Support.
Your Stripe Account Country or Currency Is Not Supported
All three providers currently support US-based accounts transacting in USD. Accounts outside the US may have limited or no availability.
The Financing Toggle Is Turned Off
What to do: Go to Settings > Billing in Service Invoice Pro and confirm the Customer Financing toggle is enabled.
Who Do I Contact If Financing Still Isn’t Appearing?
If you have confirmed your toggle is on, your Stripe account is fully verified, and you believe your business category is supported, contact Stripe Support directly at support.stripe.com. Service Invoice Pro does not have visibility into your individual Stripe account’s eligibility status and cannot resolve eligibility issues on your behalf. Stripe Support can confirm exactly why a specific payment method is or is not available for your account.
Related
- Stripe Connect Setup — connect your Stripe account
- Accepting Online Payments — how online payments work
- Payment Fees — standard processing fee details