There is a new way to buy online for Aussies and it’s a service called AfterPay. It’s motto is Shop Now. Enjoy Now. Pay Later. In Four Simple Installments. But is it really that simple?

What is AfterPay?

Have you ever experienced buying an item online only to find that it’s the wrong color, size, or brand? We all know how tedious it is to return incorrect or defective items. Although there are now door to door pick up options, if you happen to buy from a merchant with an outdated returns process, there is a change that you’re headed for an unpleasant shopping experience.

The unique advantage of using AfterPay is you can buy and item now and pay it off after 14 days in fortnightly installments. That means, if you bought and received a wrong product, you have two weeks to arrange for a return without having charged by the merchant yet.

You can use AfterPay for post-payment without the need for online bank cards, e.dentifiers, pass readers, tan codes or credit cards. But the best thing about the service is you won’t be charged an interest.

Currently, there are more than 3,000 retailers in Australia that uses AfterPay.

Is AfterPay for you?

You might be thinking, what’s the catch?

AfterPay makes money by charging retailers a fee for using the platform and charges customers late fees if they miss payment deadlines every two weeks.

As of August 2016, there are 140,000 customers in Australia. 65% of which are repeat buyers and according to AfterPay, only 0.9 fails to complete their payment schedule.

We all love to live in the moment, and worry about the consequences later. Before using AfterPay, our recommendation is to carefully analyze your spending habits first. Are you disciplined enough to stick to fortnightly installments? Do you have a history for late payments?

AfterPay will be useful for urgent purchases and it allows you pay in installments without the exorbitant interest rates that many credit cards charge.

Have you used AfterPay before? Tell us about your experience.