Yes, Affirm does check your credit, but the initial check is a soft inquiry that does not affect your credit score. When you prequalify at checkout, Affirm looks at your credit file without leaving a mark that other lenders can see, so browsing payment options costs you nothing. The credit impact starts later: once you accept a loan, Affirm reports the account and your payment activity to Experian and TransUnion, meaning on-time payments can help your score and missed payments can hurt it.
The Soft Check at Prequalification
Affirm uses a soft credit inquiry to estimate how much you can borrow and at what interest rate.1Affirm. How to Use Affirm for Flexible Buy Now Pay Later Payment Plans Soft inquiries are not visible to other lenders and do not lower your score, so you can prequalify at several retailers without any credit consequences.
That is the key difference from a traditional credit card, auto loan, or mortgage application, which typically triggers a hard inquiry. A hard pull stays on your credit report for two years and can trim your score by a few points, with the effect compounding when several hard inquiries land close together. Affirm avoids that step at prequalification.
What Affirm Asks You For
To run the soft check and verify your identity, Affirm collects a few standard details during checkout:
- Your full legal name, as it appears on government-issued ID.
- A mobile phone number for verification codes. Landlines and internet-based numbers generally are not accepted.
- An email address for loan disclosures and payment reminders.
- The last four digits of your Social Security number, used to locate your credit file.
- A home address that matches your current bank or ID records.
The system matches this information against credit files and public records in real time, so typos can cause delays or an automatic denial.
How Affirm Decides Whether to Approve You
Affirm’s automated system evaluates your application in seconds. There is no published minimum credit score. Affirm weighs your score alongside your payment history on any previous Affirm loans, how long you’ve had an Affirm account, your credit utilization, income, existing debt, and any recent bankruptcies. Because these factors are considered together, some applicants with lower scores are approved while others with higher scores are declined for a particular purchase.
If approved, you’ll see several payment plans on screen showing the number of installments, the interest rate, the monthly payment, and the total cost. You choose one, the retailer is paid immediately, and repayment begins on the schedule you selected.
Does Affirm Report to the Credit Bureaus?
Yes, and the scope of that reporting recently widened. Starting April 1, 2025, Affirm expanded its Experian reporting to cover all pay-over-time products, including the short-term Pay in 4 plans that had been excluded.2Affirm Holdings. Affirm Expands Credit Reporting with Experian to Include All Pay-Over-Time Products Starting May 1, 2025, Affirm began reporting all pay-over-time loans to TransUnion as well, covering both Pay in 4 and longer-term monthly installment plans.3TransUnion. Affirm Expands Credit Reporting with TransUnion to All Pay-Over-Time Products
Affirm has not confirmed reporting to Equifax. Your Affirm activity may appear on your Experian and TransUnion files but not necessarily on your Equifax file, so check those two reports if you want to see how a loan is being reported.
How Affirm Payments Affect Your Score
Because Affirm now reports all loan types, each on-time payment contributes to your payment history on Experian and TransUnion. Payment history is the largest factor in most credit scoring models, so consistent repayment across several Affirm purchases can gradually strengthen your score.
Late payments cut the other way. Once a payment is at least 30 days overdue, Affirm may report it to the credit bureaus. Even a single reported late payment can cause a noticeable drop, and payments that reach 60, 90, or 120 days late carry progressively heavier penalties.4Experian. Can One 30-Day Late Payment Hurt Your Credit
A closed Affirm account in good standing can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, continuing to help your score during that time. A closed account with negative history, such as reported late payments, stays for seven years from the date of the first missed payment.5TransUnion. How Long Do Collections Stay on Your Credit Report
What Happens if You Stop Paying
Affirm doesn’t charge late fees, but missing payments still carries real consequences. Affirm tracks delinquency at 30, 60, and 90 days past due and reports each stage to the credit bureaus. If a payment remains unpaid for 120 days, Affirm charges off the loan, writing it off as a loss.6Affirm Help Center. Collections and Charged-Off Payment Plans
A charge-off appears on your credit report and significantly damages your score. After the charge-off, Affirm may send the account to a third-party collection agency, and at that point you can no longer pay Affirm directly; you have to work with the collection agency to settle the balance. Even after full payment, the charge-off history stays on your credit report. Affirm sends notices at each stage of delinquency, so acting on those warnings quickly can help you avoid the worst outcomes.
Disputing an Affirm Entry on Your Credit Report
Under federal law, companies that furnish information to credit bureaus are prohibited from reporting data they know or have reason to believe is inaccurate.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681s-2 – Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies If you spot an Affirm-related error, such as a payment marked late that you made on time or a balance that doesn’t match your records, you have the right to dispute it.
You can file the dispute directly with the credit bureau (Experian or TransUnion) showing the error. The bureau generally has 30 days to investigate, extendable to 45 days if you provide additional information during the investigation or filed after requesting your free annual report.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does It Take to Repair an Error on a Credit Report After the investigation, the bureau must notify you of the results within five business days and provide an updated copy of your credit report if changes were made.
You can also send a written dispute to Affirm at Affirm — Credit Reporting Disputes, 650 California St, Floor 12, San Francisco, CA 94108. Include your name and loan number as they appear on the credit report, a description of the specific information you believe is wrong, why it is wrong, and any supporting documents. If identity theft is involved, include an identity theft affidavit.9Affirm Help Center. Credit Reporting Disputes