Affirm Launching Buy Now, Pay Later Debit Card

Silicon Valley FinTech Affirm is launching a debit card with buy now, pay later (BNPL) functionality, the company announced in a Thursday (Feb. 25) blog post.

“We know consumers are looking for financial control and flexibility. In the last year, we’ve seen two key trends: huge growth of buy-now-pay-later transactions, and consumer preference shift to debit cards over credit cards. The Affirm Card combines the two, allowing Affirm to meet consumers where they are and empowering them to pay on their own terms,” Affirm Founder and CEO Max Levchin said in the announcement.

The Affirm Card gives people the ability to pay for something using their bank account, or opting to use the post-purchase BNPL feature. Affirm Card users can instantly convert eligible transactions into BNPL. 

More than one-third of U.S. shoppers have used a BNPL service, according to data from The Ascent, per Affirm. In a recent study, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said that debit accounted for 30 percent of all payments. 

“Millions of consumers have already enjoyed Affirm’s simple and transparent pay-over-time offerings at thousands of merchants,” said Levchin. “Soon, whether shopping for a laptop at Walmart or glasses at Warby Parker, consumers will be able to choose to buy now or pay later, using the Affirm Card at check out, online or in-store, with no hidden fees.”

The Affirm Card has a waiting list for new users and plans to roll out the card in the first half of this year.

Affirm’s initial public offering (IPO) last month gave it an initial valuation in excess of $12 billion. There has been an escalating demand for BNPL from shoppers and retailers. 

The startup held its first earnings call as a public company on Feb. 11 and reported GMV for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 was $2.1 billion, up 55 percent the same time frame in 2020. The company also said that it now has 4.5 million users.