Apply

Apply refers to the process towards a loan approval.

Statuses

Applications can have a status of:

• Approved: Only Approved means the consumer can proceed to use the newly opened account at checkout.
• Declined
• Pending: The lender has not yet made a decision and additional data is needed from the lender or consumer.

Approval Processes

Note: These may very slightly by lender.

Prequalification: The consumer may be given an initial offer without a hard credit hit or simply an indication of a prequalification amount. The consumer must accept the offer and submit it to the lender to complete the application (which may then entail a hard credit hit). Upon completion, the application will be Approved, Declined or Pending. Approved applications will be given a credit amount which may differ from the initial offer.

Full Application: The lender proceeds in one step to screen the applicant which may include a hard credit hit. Upon completion, the application will be Approved, Declined, or Pending.

Checkout

Checkout refers to the process towards authorization.

The merchant is not expected to have a complete order until ChargeAfter receives an authorization request from the Merchant and sends an authorization request to the lender.

The lender may decline the authorization request (for any reason). Declines must be communicated back to the merchant explicitly.

A positive authorization (of a loan) means a credit hold occurs on the open account and the merchant can settle based on authorization (and any lender-specific rules).
Note: Lease To Own cannot authorize, but blocks the lease until down payment or credit/debit card request.

A credit hold period is up to the lender and may vary by merchant or by category. At the end of the hold period, the hold expires and any settlement attempt against the authorization may fail (lenders can honor at their discretion).

Post-Sale

Post-Sale refers to the process of settlement, voids, and refunds.

Subject to lender availability, merchants may void authorizations (entirely or partially, if the authorization has not expired). This can only be done before funds have been requested for settlement.

The lender cannot close a consumer's account if it has pending authorization on it.

The settlement request is expected to occur upon shipment unless otherwise agreed to between the merchant and lender.

The settlement request is not automatic via ChargeAfter. To utilize an auto-settlement requires three-way agreement between the merchant, ChargeAfter, and the lender.

Funding is expected after the settlement request. Modifying this flow may create issues in reconciliation.

Lenders are expected to initiate consumer collection only upon settlement (except for any upfront charges upon checkout).

Additional Terms

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