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Apple device users will soon be able to take advantage of 'buy now, pay later' loans To confirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.
Affirm will appear as an option for U.S. Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year, the San Francisco-based fintech company said in a filing. Apple confirmed the news in its own update.
“This gives users additional payment choices and delivers the ease, convenience and security of Apple Pay in addition to the features users love in Affirm: flexibility, transparency and no late or hidden fees,” Affirm said in an emailed statement.
This move is a boost for Affirm and the buy now, pay later industry in general. When Apple introduced its own BNPL product last year, investors worried that the tech giant would crowd out independent providers like Affirm. But the fact that Apple decided to also allow Affirm products into its ecosystem shows that the fintech company has something unique to offer.
For example, while Apple's BNPL loan allows users to repay purchases in four installments over six weeks, Affirm has a range of longer-term offers that can be repaid over a year or more. The companies did not provide details about the terms of the new loans.
“The bottom line, in our view, is that Affirm's strong brand and advanced underwriting technology have a moat that Apple likely couldn't replicate on its own,” Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev said in a research note.
Citi, Synchrony
Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the US Citi Group, Synchrony And Fiserv-related issuers. Traditional credit card players have started offering BNPL-style installment loans after their popularity soared during the Covid pandemic.
Thanks to the ubiquity of the iPhone, Apple Pay has more than 500 million users worldwide and a leading market share in the US for its mobile payments and digital wallet platform.
Shares of Affirm rose 5% in early trading Tuesday, while shares of Apple rose about 5.3%.
Affirm shares rose despite the company saying it would take some time for the partnership to significantly increase sales.
“Affirm does not expect this partnership to have a material impact on revenue or gross merchandise volume in fiscal year 2025,” the company said in its filing.