Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / HubSpot Affirm and Klarna: installments at checkout, at a price | Shipped Jun 2026
Transcript
- Dana (AI host): If you're in the US or Canada, Affirm and Klarna may already be on your checkout. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's help page says they're on by default. Rob (AI host): On by default? At almost six percent a sale? Dana (AI host): That's the fee. Let's do the math, and then the eligibility mess. Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies. Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI. Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you. Dana (AI host): Standard disclosure: Rob and I are AI hosts, and neither of us has ever sent an invoice. Rob (AI host): I'm Rob. Rob (AI host): Today I'm playing the owner of a small consultancy that sells six thousand dollar project packages through payment links. Dana (AI host): So, the basics. Affirm and Klarna are buy now, pay later options at checkout. Dana (AI host): Your buyer pays in installments. You get the full amount upfront, less fees. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's September product updates post says eligible US and Canadian merchants can offer them on payment links, invoices, and quotes, with HubSpot payments or Stripe. Rob (AI host): And the help page? Dana (AI host): HubSpot's payments FAQ, updated September 22, says US or Canada based, at checkout for contracts, invoices, payment links, and quotes. Dana (AI host): And by default, Affirm and Klarna are enabled as default payment methods for all four. Dana (AI host): To remove them, you unselect them. Rob (AI host): So an eligible business could be offering this right now without knowing it. Dana (AI host): If you're eligible, possibly. That's worth a look today. Rob (AI host): What does it cost me? Dana (AI host): The FAQ's fee table lists Affirm and Klarna at 5.99 percent, plus a platform fee. Dana (AI host): The platform fee is 0.75 percent on Stripe. Dana (AI host): On HubSpot payments it's 0.5 percent, and a promotion for eligible customers makes it zero for the first year. Rob (AI host): So on a six thousand dollar package, that's about three hundred sixty dollars in processing, and up to about four hundred with the platform fee. Dana (AI host): Right. And a refund doesn't give that back. Dana (AI host): The FAQ says you won't receive a refund of the fee from the original transaction. Dana (AI host): For scale, the same fee table lists US card transactions at 2.9 percent. Dana (AI host): Our June write-up says model the fee per product before you turn it on broadly. Rob (AI host): Where do I check all this? Dana (AI host): The checkout help page, updated September 25, says Settings, then Revenue, then Payments. Dana (AI host): Under Manage payment methods, the Default on checkboxes set what buyers see. Dana (AI host): And the FAQ says methods set on a single invoice, link, or quote override those defaults. Dana (AI host): The FAQ also notes buy now, pay later options may show up when a buyer pays with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Dana (AI host): Those come from Apple and Google. Rob (AI host): What about subscriptions? Half of this consultancy's work is on retainers. Dana (AI host): One-time payments only, not recurring. The FAQ says so, and all three of our write-ups agree. Rob (AI host): Can I pass the fee to the buyer? Dana (AI host): The checkout help page lets you add a fee at checkout, and an All purchases fee includes buy now, pay later purchases. Dana (AI host): It also says to consult your legal and tax advisors first. Rob (AI host): And when a buyer has a question about their payment plan? Dana (AI host): The FAQ splits it. HubSpot support for app issues. Dana (AI host): The provider for application decisions, financing terms, payment schedules, and repayment. Rob (AI host): How do I see which buyers used it? Dana (AI host): The FAQ says the payments index page shows the method for each transaction. Dana (AI host): Payouts arrive the same way as other HubSpot payments, and disputes are managed through HubSpot. Dana (AI host): Our September write-up adds a reporting warning. Dana (AI host): A deal paid with Klarna looks like any other closed deal in the CRM, but your net revenue is lower after the fee. Rob (AI host): So any forecast has to subtract the fee. Dana (AI host): One more. Dana (AI host): An Affirm refund can take up to two days, and you can't cancel it after you submit it. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): A six percent fee is a math question. So is the rest of your HubSpot investment. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Our free HubSpot ROI calculator asks a few questions and estimates your time savings, cost savings, and payback timeline. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): No guesswork, just math. Try it under tools at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Rob (AI host): Okay, my doubts. Who actually qualifies? Dana (AI host): This is where our sources conflict, and the story changed over the summer. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's June post said all hubs and tiers with Commerce Hub payments enabled, with the 5.99 percent fee. Dana (AI host): Our August write-up called it a private beta for US merchants, on payment links only. Dana (AI host): Then our September write-up, and HubSpot's September post, said US and Canada, on payment links, invoices, and quotes. Rob (AI host): And tiers? Dana (AI host): Our September write-up says links and invoices are open regardless of tier, but quotes need Revenue Hub Professional or Enterprise. Dana (AI host): The FAQ says quotes need a Revenue Hub subscription and seat. Dana (AI host): HubSpot payments itself needs a paid HubSpot plan and a US, UK, or Canadian business. Dana (AI host): And Affirm and Klarna aren't available in the UK. Rob (AI host): So check your own settings, not a blog post. Ours included. Dana (AI host): Agreed. Our June write-up's menu path, through Commerce, is also out of date. Dana (AI host): The help page says Revenue. Rob (AI host): Can I offer it to some clients and not others? Dana (AI host): Our September write-up says no. Dana (AI host): It describes a fair access rule: offer it consistently, turn it off globally or per document, but don't exclude specific contacts. Dana (AI host): We didn't find that rule on HubSpot's help pages, so treat it as unconfirmed. Dana (AI host): Still, don't build a workflow that hides it from some segments. Rob (AI host): Can a buyer save it for next time? Dana (AI host): Our write-ups say no. These aren't saved payment methods, so each purchase is a fresh approval. Rob (AI host): Fine. So here's my plan, as the consultancy owner. Rob (AI host): Today, check Revenue, then Payments, and see whether Affirm and Klarna are already on. Rob (AI host): Then price one big package at the full fee, and decide where it's worth it. Rob (AI host): And keep retainers on their own payment flow. Dana (AI host): Affirm and Klarna, then. Dana (AI host): On by default where eligible, about six percent a sale, one-time payments only, and eligibility that kept shifting. Rob (AI host): The show notes carry every link, and the full write-ups live at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): Thanks for listening. Rob (AI host): Check your payment settings before a buyer does. Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music. Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.