Overview

Pre-Qualification allows customers to know in advance whether they might be approved by Zip to make a purchase while remaining on a merchant’s site, before they initiate the Zip checkout flow.

A customer will be shown an approval or non-approval for a specific amount that a merchant passes in. There are two types of non-approvals: a 'declined' and a 'continue' option where the customer may be able to use Zip if they go through the Zip checkout flow and take a specific action, like unfreezing their credit report, for example.

How to Implement

The merchant will build a screen to collect additional information they don’t currently store but is required by Zip (example: date of birth). This screen will also contain relevant disclosures Zip requires for customers to use our services.
When the API is invoked, the merchant will make a request to the Zip pre-qualification endpoint via their backend, passing in a specific order amount.

Note: The merchant will need to generate an HTTP signature for authentication. Please follow the instructions listed in the API JavaScript SDK docs to calculate the signature. Merchants should keep their Merchant Secret secure in their backend so it won't be exposed in the browser.

Production Endpoint URL: https://gateway.us.zip.co/orders/pre-qualifications/assess

Sandbox Endpoint URL: https://gateway.sand.us.zip.co/orders/pre-qualifications/assess

Request Body

Request Body Parameters

{
    "merchantId": "44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444",
    "customer": {
        "firstName": "Joe",
        "lastName": "Smith",
        "dateOfBirth": "1985-09-09",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "phoneNumber": "+15554441234",
        "address": {
            "line1": "1265 Lombardi Ave",
            "line2": "", // Optional second address line
            "city": "New York",
            "state": "NY",
            "postalCode": "54304",
            "country": "US"
        },
        "ipAddress": "192.168.1.1", 
        "ConsentTimestamp": "2024-11-20T15:30:00Z" // Consent date in ISO 8601 format
    },
    "order": { 
        "currency": "USD",
        "amount": "200", 
        "merchantReference": "12345_abc" 
    },
    "ForceNewCustomer": true //Used only in Sandbox to force a new customer record creation
}

A result will be obtained from performing a pre-qualification, and if successful, the pre-qualification approval information will be displayed to the customer.

Response Body

Approved

{
    "maxApprovedAmount": 500.0,
    "disclosure": "Pay-in-4: For example, for a $335 purchase, you'd make four $85.25 payments every two weeks starting today for a 31.11% annual percentage rate and a total of payments of $341.\nA $6 installment fee is charged at commencement and prepaid as a finance charge when you make your initial payment today. Actual installment fees vary and can range from $0 to $7.50 depending on the purchase price and Zip product used. Actual amount of fee for your purchase will be reflected in checkout. Estimation of installment payment and annual percentage rate excludes potential tax and shipping costs. Zip Pay Anywhere and Zip Checkout financing through Zip issued by WebBank. All loans are subject to credit approval.\n\nYou have been pre-qualified to apply for Zip today for an order up to the amount of $500.00 at this merchant. This amount may differ from the Estimated Spending Power you see in the Zip App. You received this offer because you met Zip's initial creditworthiness criteria. If your creditworthiness materially differs from the initial information used during our pre-qualification process, you make another purchase with Zip, or Zip is unable to verify your identity, Zip reserves the right to decline your application. This pre-qualification expires in 90 days",
    "preQualificationStatus": "approved",
    "message": "Your pre-qualification has been approved, please continue through the checkout process.",
    "availablePaymentPlans": [
        {
            "installmentCount": 4,
            "installmentIntervalDays": 14,
            "installments": [
                {
                    "sequenceNumber": 0,
                    "amount": 120.5,
                    "date": "2025-09-05T15:27:04.9596649+00:00",
                    "totalAmountIncludingFees": 126.5,
                    "feeAmount": 6.0
                },
                {
                    "sequenceNumber": 1,
                    "amount": 126.5,
                    "date": "2025-09-19T15:27:04.9596649+00:00",
                    "totalAmountIncludingFees": 126.5,
                    "feeAmount": 0.0
                },
                {
                    "sequenceNumber": 2,
                    "amount": 126.5,
                    "date": "2025-10-03T15:27:04.9596649+00:00",
                    "totalAmountIncludingFees": 126.5,
                    "feeAmount": 0.0
                },
                {
                    "sequenceNumber": 3,
                    "amount": 126.5,
                    "date": "2025-10-17T15:27:04.9596649+00:00",
                    "totalAmountIncludingFees": 126.5,
                    "feeAmount": 0.0
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Declined

{
  "preQualificationStatus": "declined",
  "message": "Unfortunately, Zip could not pre-qualify for access to Zip buy now, pay later today. Zip will send more information about the decision via email."
}

Continue

If the customer receives a Continue status, this means they can be approved in the checkout flow if they perform certain action (e.g. paying off existing installments).

{
  "preQualificationStatus": "continue",
  "message": "There is an issue with your Zip pre-qualification application, but you may still be able to checkout with Zip. Continue through the Zip checkout process to resolve the issue."
}

When the customer initiates the Zip checkout flow and enters in their phone number, Zip will check for any current existing pre-qualifications for that customer.