Affirm raises $500 mn & announces new interest-free biweekly payment product

By Pavithra R

Affirm, providing significant disruptive innovation to the financial industry, has announced that the firm has secured $500 million in series G funding round. The investment round was led by GIC, a returning investor, and Durable Capital Partners LP.

Other investors who participated in the funding round include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Wellington Management Company, Baillie Gifford, Spark Capital, Founders Fund, and Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC. The new investment has raised the company’s total funding to date to $1.3 billion.

“We’re excited about this vote of confidence from both new and existing investors as we advance our mission to build honest financial products that improve lives,” said Max Levchin, CEO and founder of Affirm.

Affirm has plans to introduce an interest-free biweekly payment product for transactions as low as $50. As with the company’s existing monthly payment options, consumers will not be charged late or hidden fees when using this new product. Consumers can check eligibility when paying biweekly with Affirm without impacting their credit score or inputting their social security number.

“Alongside this new capital, our latest product is another step towards becoming as ubiquitous as credit cards – Affirm is now an even more attractive payment option for everyday wants and needs. We can also now better support merchants who offer smaller ticket items and bring their customers a more transparent, flexible way to pay,” added Levchin.

Recently, Affirm partnered with Shopify to power Shop Pay Installments in the U.S.

Founded in 2012 San Francisco-based Affirm offers a more transparent, flexible alternative to credit cards. The company operates as a financial lender of installment loans for consumers to use at the point of sale to finance a purchase.