How great would it be to buy something expensive online without having to pay the full purchase price upfront?
With Sezzle, you can complete your purchase, but commit only a fraction of the price at checkout. The rest of the outstanding balance is then paid over the next few weeks via installment payments.
Sizzle’s buy-now-pay-later service makes larger purchases more accessible, and there’s no interest to pay, either.
Let’s take a closer look at Sezzle to help you decide if it’s a service you could benefit from.
What Is Sezzle?
Sezzle is a fintech firm that serves consumers in both Canada and the US. The company offers a buy-now-pay-later payment solution that allows consumers to pay for purchases through installment payments rather than in one lump sum payment upfront.
Unlike traditional installment loans, Sezzle’s buy-now-pay-later solution is an interest-free plan, and an increasing number of merchants are partnering with Sezzle to make larger purchases more accessible to consumers.
How Does Sezzle Work?
When shopping online with participating merchants, you’ll have the option to pay with Sezzle at checkout. Sezzle will show up as a payment option similar to PayPal or a credit card.
If this is your first purchase through this platform, you’ll be prompted to create an account, after which Sezzle will conduct a soft credit check and provide you with a near-instant approval decision.
If approved, you’ll make the first installment payment at checkout, which is also considered the down payment. Sezzle splits up payments into 4 installments, so you’ll need to make the following 3 payments on specific dates over a 6-week time frame.
As mentioned, there’s no interest charged, nor any fees associated with the payment plan, as long as you make your payments on time.
Do My Payments Go To Sezzle Or The Merchant?
Sezzle will pay the merchant in full on your behalf so the order can be processed on the spot and fulfilled without delay. Then, you’ll pay Sezzle back through installment payments.
Can I Change My Sezzle Payment Plan?
If you need to reschedule a payment, you can do so at no extra charge. However, more than one rescheduled payment will be charged a fee. Further, if a payment doesn’t go through, you’ll be charged an additional fee for the failed payment. Though that fee will be waived if you make up for the missed payment within 48 hours.
What Happens If You Want To Return Something You Purchased?
You’re free to return your item and get a full refund, even if you’ve financed a purchase with Sezzle. To get a refund, you’ll have to initiate the process with the merchant, who will then send the refund to Sezzle. You’ll be notified once Sezzle receives the refund, and your payment plan will automatically be updated.
You’ll still be required to keep up with your payments as per your agreement until the merchant processes your refund to Sezzle. Whatever is refunded to you will cancel your outstanding payments. Anything left over will be sent to the payment method you chose when you initially placed your order.
If you receive store credit from your merchant, no changes will be made to your order. In this case, you’ll still be obligated to make your installment payments.
Other Buy-Now-Pay-Later Services In Canada
| Affirm | Learn More |
| Pay Bright | Learn More |
| After Pay | Learn More |
Will Sezzle Affect Your Credit?
Your credit will not be affected when you create an account with Sezzle and use their payment service. As part of your account setup, Sezzle performs a soft credit check just to verify your identity, this has no impact on your credit.
Moreover, Sezzle does not report payments to the credit bureaus, so your payments will not help build your payment history.
Sezzle does have a feature called Sezzle Up, which allows you to have your payment history reported to the credit bureaus. However, this option is only available in the US.
What Happens If You Miss A Payment?
If you miss a payment Sezzle will charge you a $10 fee which can be waived if you make your payment within 48 hours.
Benefits Of Using Sezzle
There are several reasons why you might want to opt for Sizzle’s buy-now-pay-later option when shopping online:
- Spread Out The Money Owed. Rather than dumping a large sum of money in one payment upfront, you can keep much of those funds in your pocket and slowly pay the full price over a few weeks.
- Interest-Free. You can spread out your purchase over 6 weeks without paying any interest on the loan.
- Reschedule Payments. If you can’t come up with the money to make a payment by its scheduled due date, you can reschedule the payment for free. You can also do this twice more, though you’ll pay a fee per reschedule.
- No Effect On Credit Score. Sezzle will only conduct a “soft check” on your credit, which means your credit scores should not be affected.
- Secure. You won’t have to enter your credit card information at checkout, making the checkout process secure.
- No Early Repayment Penalties. If you come across some extra cash and want to pay off your loan early, Sezzle won’t charge any early repayment penalty fees.
- 2-Day Grace Period. If you miss a payment, you have 48 hours to pay it and avoid a $10 charge.
- Payment Reminders. You’ll be notified just before a payment is withdrawn from your account so you’re always up-to-date.
Drawback Of Using Sezzle
While there are plenty of incentives to using Sezzle, there are a few drawbacks that you may want to consider as well.
- Down Payment Required. You’ll need to put at least 25% down toward the purchase price (which is the first payment of your 4 installment payments) in order to use Sezzle at checkout.
- Doesn’t Help Build Credit. Canadians can’t upgrade their account to Sezzle Up to have their payment history reported to the credit bureaus. While late payments won’t affect your credit, on-time payments also won’t help your credit scores.
Where Is Sezzle Accepted In Canada?
You’ll have the option to pay using Sezzle at the following merchants in Canada:
| Retail Clothing | Kids | Shoes | Beauty | Accessories | Other |
| – Tobi – Jack Archer – Canada Weather Gear – Cake Worthy – Acta Wear – Crunchy Roll – Nana Macs Boutique – Fros and Bros – Sweet Southern Soul Boutique – Ballislife LLC – In Fine Feather | – Yellowhouse Kids Boutique – Proozy | -Keen -Inkkas | – Sigma Beauty – Bellami Hair – MakeUp Eraser – Perfectly Posh – Zala Hair Extensions | – Legacy Box – Monos – Tres Colori | – The Stainless Depot – Sportsman’s Guide – Lazarus Naturals – Legacy Box – Wine Chateau – EarlyBird Bedding – K9 Ballistics – Sezzle Travel – Black Wolf – Supplies Outlet – Zolt |
Sezzle Fees
There are no interest fees to pay on your loan, but there may be other fees charged in certain circumstances:
Rescheduled Payment Fee
You can reschedule a payment for free, as mentioned, but the second and third rescheduled payments come with a fee. This fee will be added to your next payment, and you’ll be notified before it’s added.
Failed Payment Fee
If a payment doesn’t go through — whether it’s because there weren’t enough funds in your bank account or your card expired — a fee will be added to that missed payment. If you can make that payment within 48 hours, the fee will be waived.
Are There Any Financing Charges?
As noted earlier, Sezzle does not charge any interest on purchases made with its buy-now-pay-later service.
Who Can Use Sezzle?
Qualifying for Sizzle’s services is easy. To use it, you only need the following:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have an active phone number and email address
How To Sign Up For Sezzle
To sign up for Sezzle you can either navigate directly to their website and create an account or you can choose Sezzle as your payment method on the check-out page of any online retailer that has partnered with Sezzle.
Sezzle Canada FAQs
Is Sezzle available in Canada?
Can I close my Sezzle account?
Is Sezzle safe?
Can you pay off Sezzle earlier without penalty?
Can I increase my Sezzle credit limit?
Bottom Line
Sezzle can be a great tool to use if you’re looking for a way to avoid paying in full for an online purchase, but without the hassle that may come with credit cards or getting your credit checked for a loan. If you’re looking for an interest-free way to finance an online purchase, consider opening up a Sezzle account at your next online checkout.
