Afterpay

Key findings

• Clickwrap acceptance, you must click to accept rather than merely browse the site
• The binding arbitration, jury waiver and class action waiver are disclosed in capitals at the very top, before the numbered sections
• Age gate of 18 or the legal age in your state, plus a US residency and non PO Box address requirement
• Scope is defined concretely as the Afterpay Card, website, app and related features
• Afterpay may assign the whole agreement to a third party without notice to you and without your consent
• Accepting the Terms also binds you to the separate US Privacy Policy, which is not reproduced here

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Read the opening arbitration paragraph before you click accept, because your 30 day opt-out window starts running from your order date
• Read the separate Afterpay transaction document and the US Privacy Policy, since this agreement alone does not tell you what you will pay
• Save or print a dated copy of the terms when you sign up, because Afterpay can assign the contract to another company without notifying you

Key findings

• Termination of your privileges is immediate, automatic, without notice and at Afterpay's sole discretion for any breach of any term
• No appeal process, warning stage or cure period is described anywhere in the agreement
• Afterpay can close, suspend or limit your account if it cannot verify your identity information to its own satisfaction
• You can close or deactivate the account yourself at any time in the mobile app, and deactivation keeps your profile and history accessible
• Closing the account permanently removes in app access to your profile and purchase history, though you can still request transaction history by contacting Afterpay
• You cannot close the account while you owe money, and you stay liable for all account obligations after closure

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Export or screenshot your purchase and payment history before you close an account, because closing removes your in app access to it
• Prefer deactivation over closure if you may come back, since deactivation keeps your records visible and can be reversed
• Keep your identity and contact details current, because a verification failure alone lets Afterpay suspend the account
• If your account is cut off, put your complaint in writing to the legal contact address, since no appeal route is promised in the terms

Key findings

• The AI content licence is worldwide, royalty free, transferable, irrevocable, perpetual and sub-licensable, and it extends to affiliates and successors
• The permitted uses are open ended, covering any media for any reason, including promoting Afterpay's AI products
• No attribution, credit or revenue sharing is offered for content Afterpay uses
• The licence has no termination clause, so deleting your outputs or closing your account does not end Afterpay's rights
• Afterpay states it will not claim copyright ownership of your inputs or outputs, and you keep ownership of your AI content
• The only opt-out offered is to not use the AI products at all
• Afterpay has absolute discretion to remove your AI content at any time, for any reason, without notice

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Do not put anything original, commercially valuable or personal into Afterpay's AI tools, because the licence you grant cannot be revoked
• Skip the AI features entirely if you want to keep full control of your content, since that is the only opt-out on offer
• Keep your own copies of anything you generate, because Afterpay can delete AI content at any time without notice

Key findings

• Your consent covers credit report and consumer report pulls for marketing purposes, not only for eligibility decisions
• That credit reporting consent lasts for as long as your account is open, with no separate way to withdraw it described
• You consent to automated SMS at any time of day regardless of do not call registry status, although Afterpay promises service messages only and no marketing SMS
• AI inputs, including any personal data you include, may be transferred to third party providers who may use your data to improve their own services
• Withdrawing consent to electronic communications lets Afterpay restrict, deactivate or close your account
• The agreement states plainly that Afterpay does not sell your data
• Retention and deletion rules are pushed entirely to the separate Privacy Policy, with no commitment in this document

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Read the separate US Privacy Policy before signing up, because this agreement gives almost no detail on what is collected or how long it is kept
• Expect credit report pulls tied to marketing as well as eligibility, and close the account if you do not want that consent running indefinitely
• Reply STOP to unwanted texts, since that is the only SMS opt-out the document names
• Never enter personal, health or identity data into Afterpay's AI tools, as the terms themselves warn and as it may be shared with third parties

Key findings

• No fee schedule, late fee, interest, refund or chargeback terms appear anywhere in this document
• All transaction disputes are deferred to a separate Afterpay transaction document, which controls over these terms in a conflict
• The installment product is described only in a single sentence as the Extended Repayment Feature
• You cannot close or deactivate your account while any amount is owed to Afterpay
• You remain liable for all account obligations after the account is closed or deactivated
• Afterpay disclaims responsibility for the goods or services you actually buy, which are the seller's responsibility

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Do not treat this document as the payment agreement, ask for and read the specific transaction document before your first purchase
• Get the late fee and missed payment consequences in writing from that transaction document, since they are absent here
• Remember that a dispute about the goods themselves is with the seller, not Afterpay, because Afterpay disclaims responsibility for what you buy

Key findings

• Liability for personal injury is listed among the excluded damages, with only a narrow carve back where applicable law requires it
• All indirect, incidental, consequential, special and exemplary damages are excluded
• Total aggregate liability is capped at the greater of your affected order or 500 dollars
• The limitations are stated to apply even if the remedy fails of its essential purpose
• No carve-out for Afterpay's gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct
• Full as is disclaimer, with implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose and non-infringement expressly disclaimed
• No warranty that the service is accurate, available, uninterrupted, error free or secure

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Do not rely on Afterpay's terms for recourse if a payment error damages your credit file, since your recovery is capped at 500 dollars
• Check your state's consumer protection law, because several states do not permit exclusions of personal injury liability regardless of what the contract says
• Complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or your state attorney general if you suffer real financial harm, since regulators are not bound by this cap
• Keep your own records of payments and communications, as the service carries no accuracy or availability warranty

Key findings

• Trigger includes your mere access to, use of, or inability to use the service, so no fault by you is required
• Indemnified parties extend well past Afterpay itself to affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents
• No monetary cap on your exposure and no carve-out for Afterpay's own negligence or misconduct
• Afterpay can assume exclusive defence and control of the matter, and you may not settle without its written consent
• Legal and accounting fees are limited to reasonable amounts, and Afterpay bears its own expense when it takes over the defence, which are the only two mitigations
• You also release Afterpay, on top of indemnifying it
• The obligation expressly survives termination of your use of the service

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Understand that this uncapped promise outlives your account, so closing it does not release you
• Keep your account information accurate and current, since inaccurate information is itself an indemnity trigger
• Notify Afterpay in writing the moment any third party claim touches your account, because you cannot settle it yourself
• Consider whether your personal liability insurance would respond, since your exposure here has no ceiling

Key findings

• Advance notice of material changes is promised by email to account holders, which is an active channel
• Afterpay alone decides what is material, using the phrase changes that we deem to be material
• No minimum notice period is specified, only the words in advance
• The only stated remedy if you disagree is to stop using the service, with no opt-out or refund right
• Non account holders must check the website themselves for changes
• A last update date of February 2026 is present, but no version archive or changelog is offered
• Separately, Afterpay may assign the agreement to a third party without notice, which can change who you are contracting with

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Keep the email address on your account current, because it is the only channel through which changes are promised
• Read change notices as soon as they arrive, since you have no right to reject a change other than leaving
• Save a dated copy of the terms you agreed to, as Afterpay publishes no version history
• Note that the arbitration opt-out runs from your last order date, so a change notice may arrive after your window has closed

Key findings

• Binding arbitration may be elected by either party, and one party's election binds the other
• Class action, representative action and jury trial waivers all apply
• A genuine 30 day opt-out exists, exercised by written notice, but it runs from the date you last placed an order rather than from signup
• Small claims court is preserved and can be brought in any US county where you live or work, which is consumer friendly
• You must attempt informal negotiation for at least 30 days before filing arbitration or a court claim
• Arbitration takes place in San Francisco County, California, and non arbitrated cases go exclusively to San Francisco County courts
• Delaware law governs with no savings clause preserving mandatory local consumer protections
• Afterpay covers all arbitration fees only if the arbitrator determines the costs are excessive, rather than as a standing commitment

Evidence from the document

Recommendations

• Send the arbitration opt-out notice in writing within 30 days of your order if you want to keep the right to sue or join a class action
• Use small claims court for smaller amounts, since the terms let you file in the county where you live or work
• Start the 30 day informal negotiation notice early, because you cannot file anything until it has run
• Ask the arbitrator to shift fees to Afterpay if your share is significant, since the terms allow it where costs are excessive