Affirm Opens BNPL Offering to Apple Pay Users

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) network Affirm is now available for Apple Pay users.

The integration, announced Monday (Sept. 16), lets Apple Pay users in the U.S. pay for purchases via iPhone and iPad over time using Affirm, breaking down their payments into biweekly or monthly installments.

“We are thrilled to bring the power of Affirm to Apple Pay users in the U.S. and the retailers where they shop,” Vishal Kapoor, Affirm’s senior vice president of product, said in a news release. “This integration combines the ease, convenience and security of Apple Pay alongside the features users love in Affirm — flexibility, transparency and no late or hidden fees.”

“We are excited to provide users with even more flexibility and choice when making a purchase using Apple Pay with the introduction of Affirm loans at checkout with Apple Pay,” added Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. 

“This gives users access to Affirm’s pay-over-time options right at the point of purchase, and leverages the easy, secure and private experience that our users already enjoy with Apple Pay.”

To use the service, consumers with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 or later can pick “Other Cards & Pay Later Options” when checking out with their Apple device before undertaking an eligibility check that will not affect their credit score.

Users who are approved will see customized payment plans and can select the one that works best for them. 

Last month, Affirm released earnings showing a 31% year-over-year growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV), reaching $7.2 billion, as well as a 48% surge in revenue, taking in $659 million. As PYMNTS wrote, these figures “underscore the growing appetite for flexible payment options as consumers deal with financial pressures.”

CEO Max Levchin told analysts on an earnings call that potential reductions in interest rates could increase BNPL usage.

“The most exciting thing about reductions at that fund rate is we’ll just have more active users. … We’ll have more repeat users, because we’ll be able to approve more people,” Levchin said.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Redefining Retail: Consumer Finance Trends Driving the Evolution of Pay Later Plans” found that a third of consumers had used BNPL in the last year. That number climbs to 39% for people living paycheck to paycheck without issues paying bills and to 43% for consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and have trouble paying bills.

The report also found that nearly 6 out of every 10 consumers use pay later plans to help them better manage their spending around big-ticket purchases, while 63% of BNPL users pointed to cash flow management as an important reason they chose the payment method.