BNPL does carry a slightly higher processing fee than a standard card transaction, because the BNPL provider is taking on the credit risk of the installment plan. The important thing for salon owners to understand is that you receive the full service amount upfront: the BNPL provider pays you immediately, then handles collecting installments from the client directly. Goldie includes BNPL in its Pro and Pro Plus plans with a competitive per-transaction rate and no separate monthly fee to activate the feature.

Salon owners get paid in full as soon as the BNPL transaction is approved. You don't wait for the client to complete their installment payments. The BNPL provider fronts the full amount and takes on the responsibility of collecting each installment from the client over time. This means you have none of the credit risk: if the client misses a payment later, that's between them and Klarna or Afterpay, not you.

Because the BNPL provider pays you the full service amount upfront at the time of approval, missed installments are entirely the provider's problem to resolve. The BNPL company bears all the repayment risk. You don't need to follow up with clients or issue chargebacks. This is the fundamental difference between BNPL and a payment plan you manage yourself.

Yes, consistently. Salons that add BNPL see roughly a 20% increase in total revenue, largely because clients feel more comfortable booking higher-ticket services, like balayage, extensions, and multi-hour appointments, when they can spread the cost over several weeks. Goldie users report clients spending around 40% more per visit when BNPL is available, and the booking data shows clients are more likely to say yes to premium add-ons when they're not paying a large lump sum all at once.

Yes, as long as the deposit is over $50 and the appointment is within 30 days. In Goldie, clients can select BNPL when paying a deposit at booking, and can also pay the remaining balance after their appointment via a payment link with BNPL as an option. This is useful for high-value services where you require a deposit upfront: clients who might otherwise hesitate to commit can book confidently knowing the cost is split.

Goldie supports Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and Zip. Offering multiple providers matters because eligibility varies. A client who doesn't qualify with one provider may be approved with another. Having four options means more clients can say yes, which is the whole point of offering BNPL in the first place.