The Head of Product at Affirm Discusses Its New Approach to Buy Now, Pay Later

Introduction

The buy now, pay later service is making a comeback, but it is likely to be in a different form. Companies offering this service are expanding the concept into other areas, and one of the largest companies in this sector, Affirm, is one of them.

Affirm Card

In Affirm’s case, the company approaches this concept through the Affirm Card, a credit card that provides consumers with the flexibility to pay upfront or opt for payment over a specified period through the Affirm app. Consumers can request a payment plan for eligible purchases before checkout or link their bank account to pay using the Affirm Card via the app. Affirm differs from BNPL cards issued by competitors, such as Klarna and Apple Pay, as Affirm secures transactions made with its credit card, according to the opinion of Affirm’s Head of Product, Vishal Kapoor.

Differentiating Affirm from Competitors

Affirm differentiates itself from competitors in several ways. First, the company secures every purchase. It provides all necessary warranties and controls for customers, as it does not impose late fees. Therefore, the company can offer the necessary security and prevent the transaction from being executed if the customer is not eligible for repayment. Second, Affirm can provide instant analytics and features that a regular credit card cannot. Simply put, you can pay now, pay while using it, or plan a purchase. For the last option, you can go to the app and create a pre-purchase, which can then be used as a pay-later function. The beauty of it is that these two modes are not mutually exclusive. You can switch between them easily. This is the future.

Uses of Affirm

Affirm is generally used for spending on travel and ticket bookings. It has recently formed partnerships with companies like Cathay Pacific and Booking.com. The company is enhancing this relationship with customers and trade partners.

Regarding the card, we observe new and exciting behaviors. Since 85% of commerce occurs in an offline environment, we see about 30% of all purchases happening in an offline setting, which is nine times more than traditional Affirm users.

We also see people using Affirm to pay for groceries, whether paying now or, in some cases, paying later due to inflation.

The Future of Affirm

We are intensely focused on consumer features and will continue to innovate in the card and ensure that consumers find good value in using the product and that Affirm is a trusted partner for their transactions.

We also have a very strong trade network where we work on innovating to ensure that trade partners can easily integrate with AWS solutions, whether at points of sale or other mediums. There is also the process of signing up for Affirm as a merchant and what happens next. For example, what kind of analytics you have available, how your business customers are performing, and how much the average order value has increased. One of the values we provide to merchants is offering a comprehensive view of their businesses, how they can increase conversion rates, and how to operate their businesses more efficiently.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/27/affirms-head-of-product-new-approach-to-buy-now-pay-later/