Investing in fitness equipment can be expensive, especially if you are looking for equipment that is high-quality and built to last. 

For example, brand new cardio machines can cost anywhere from $500 up to over $6000. Some strength training machines can cost more than $5000, and racks and cages can be just as expensive too. 

If you are planning on designing a home gym for yourself and maybe even your peers, you’ll want equipment that is built to last. The more equipment that you require for your fitness goals, the more it will cost you. 

If you’re someone who runs a commercial gym, the price will go up even more as you’ll need multiple pieces of equipment to properly service your clientele. 

Thankfully, here at Akfit we are partnered with a couple of finance providers that can  help make the one-time upfront payment or the overall cost of our fitness equipment less intimidating. These services are put in place to make working within your budget a lot easier. 

Whether it’s the opportunity to pay in monthly installments through Paybright, or to be approved for a retail-services based loan via Fairstone, we offer a few different options through these Canadian providers to help you finance your fitness equipment. 

In this article:

1. What is Paybright?
2. How to Finance Your Equipment Through Paybright
3. What is Fairstone?
4. How to Finance Your Equipment Through Fairstone
5. Purchasing Your Gym Equipment at Akfit

What is Paybright?

Paybright is a Canadian financial institution. The company, which was founded in 2009, pledges their mission is to make the everyday ecommerce experience easier for Canadians. 

Paybright has partnerships with companies that specialize in many different industries such as gym equipment, sporting goods, electronics, home & furniture, beauty & wellness, fashion, automotive, and more from reputable retailers such as:

• eBay
• The Source
• The Bay
• Samsung
• The Sony Shop
• And many more (including Akfit)

In fact, over 7,000 merchants are partnered with Paybright. So you can sleep soundly at night knowing that they are a trusted and reputable service. 

How to Finance Your Gym Equipment Through Paybright

When you finance your brand new gym equipment through Paybright, you have the ability to choose a payment plan that allows you to break down the overall cost of your purchase. These payments can be made in monthly or bi-weekly installments. 

You must be the age of the majority of the province or territory you reside in and must have a valid credit history in Canada in order to qualify. 

This can be completed in five simple steps:

Step one: Click on the desired product that you wish to purchase.

Step two: On the upper-right corner of the product page, click the green “pre-qualify now” button which is placed above the “add to cart” button.

Step three: Sign up for an account with your Canadian phone number. 

Step four: Choose your payment plan. These plans are either an “equal monthly payment plan,” ranging from 3 to 60 months or a “Four bi-weekly payment plan,” for purchases under $1000.  

Paybright will do a credit check to confirm your eligibility. If you are purchasing multiple products from multiple retailers at once, each application will be subject to a credit check. 

Step five: Enjoy your purchase and check your Paybright account for more information regarding your repayment plan.

Paybright may charge interest or other fees on your purchase, depending on the retailer. For more information regarding these fees click here.

What is Fairstone?

Fairstone is another Canadian financial institution and has operated since 1923. They are a non-bank lender that offers loans for the purpose of alternative financing with retail, travel, home renovation, and debt consolidation. 

Similar to Paybright, Fairstone has partnerships with over 3,000 Canadian retailers in a variety of industries such as fitness, sporting goods, electronics, home & furniture, automotive, dental, veterinary, and more. Some of these retailers include:

• Best Buy
• Home Hardware
• Kent
• Midas
• And many more (including Akfit)

How to Finance Your Gym Equipment with Fairstone

Using a Fairstone loan through Akfit is only available in-store. 

However, before visiting us at our Sudbury location, you will need to sign up for an Akfit Fairstone loan account online. This account is linked to our store.

Alternatively, you can sign up online using your phone while in our store, it takes about 4 minutes.

While signing up your Fairstone account, expect to answer the following questions:

• How much you are looking to borrow
• The purpose of the loan
• Your name and address (Nunavut addresses not applicable)
• Your contact information
• Your annual income and social insurance number

Fairstone will then perform a credit check and inform you if you qualify. They will email you a 16 digit account number. 

The customer seeking the loan can be approved for an amount up to $7,500 that can be used towards Akfit products. However, the customer does not have to use the entirety of their loan. 

Once approved, the client can visit our store and our fitness professionals will then provide the different loan options available for their purchase. 

There are four different options for repayment applicable for Akfit products:

Option 1: The customer has 3 months to pay back the entirety of the loan in any way they desire with no upfront or interest charges. If the amount is not paid back within the 3 month period, an annual percentage charge of 29% will be retroactively applied to the full amount.

Option 2: The total financed amount of the purchase is divided into 12-monthly equal payments to pay off the total amount of their purchase. There is no interest fee attached to this option, however an upfront fee of 5% will be charged. If the entire amount is not paid within the 12-month period, a 29% interest charge will be retroactively applied to the total amount. 

Option 3: The customer is only required to repay a minimum of 3% of the balance every month. However, the entire amount is required to be paid off within 12 months. This option does come with an upfront fee of 5%. If the total amount is not paid within the 12-month period, a 29% interest fee will be applied to the total amount. 

Option 4: The customer is required to repay the total financed amount within a 36-month period. However, an annual percentage rate of charge of 13% will be applied. 

While Fairstone may offer other options depending on the retailer, these are the only 4 repayment options available for Akfit products.

When you make your Fairstone financed purchase through us, Akfit will send the bill to Fairstone. Fairstone will pay Akfit the total amount of the purchase and it is up to the customer to pay Fairstone back in its entirety based on the details of their loan.

Purchasing Your Gym Equipment at Akfit

We hope that you are now aware of the financing options available to you and the idea of making that big purchase might not be so intimidating. 

However, it also doesn’t have to feel that way at all! In fact, our fitness professionals will work directly with you to help you find the perfect type of gym equipment that will help you achieve your fitness goals and work within your budget. 

Over the last three decades Akfit has been operating as a Canadian speciality fitness store located in Sudbury, Ontario and we have been working closely with our communities and our clientele in northern Ontario, the rest of Canada, and beyond. 

Any fitness related question you may have, we can help! Our experts will share all their fitness related knowledge with you regarding all of our products, how to plan your home gym, and we even provide commercial gym services as well. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start, thankfully you can reach out to us anytime with any fitness related question or request. You can visit us in-store at our Sudbury location or you can book an online meeting with us if you prefer to distance yourself socially.  

If you have already decided on your purchase and need help with our financing options, click here. 

We also offer delivery and installation services too! It doesn’t stop there either, our fitness professionals don’t only offer installation, but they will also show you how to safely use your equipment as well.