As a responsible BNPL provider, we want to make sure we’re helping our customers make the right financial decisions for their circumstances. We work with New Zealand credit bureau Centrix as part of the PayWatch initiative for the Buy Now Pay Later industry.
PayWatch is not a traditional credit check and will not impact your credit score. Paywatch is designed to protect customers from taking on additional Buy Now Pay Later debt when they may be struggling with existing debts.
As part of Paywatch, Afterpay will notify Centrix if you have a payment which is overdue by 7 days or more. Although this will leave a footprint on your credit file, it will not impact your credit score. But it means that another Buy Now Pay Later company can become aware of your overdue payments with us if you are applying for a new account with them. Once you are up-to-date with your payments, your Paywatch status will be updated. Paywatch information is updated daily.
Customers who do not have an overdue payment of 7 days or more are not impacted, and Paywatch information is only checked when a customer is applying for a new Buy Now Pay Later account.
For customers who are applying for an Afterpay account, we will check your Paywatch status with Centrix as part of our decision to onboard you as a new customer.