Amazon is going to be implementing a buy-now-pay-later option with most products on their online store, including the Kindle and Fire tablets. The company just announced a partnership with Affirm, one of the leaders in this pay later space. Starting soon, customers at checkout will see the option to pay in a series of monthly installments on purchases of $50 or more. In a statement, the companies said they have already begun testing the feature with “select customers.” This will be available in the United States and other countries too.
By partnering with Amazon we’re bringing the transparency, predictability and affordability that Affirm provides today to the millions of people who shop on Amazon.com in the U.S.,” said Eric Morse, Senior Vice President of Sales at Affirm. “Offering Affirm’s alternative to credit cards also delivers more of the payment choice and flexibility consumers on Amazon want.” They also mentioned 0 APR.
Affirm deals with many companies, including Walmart. It is the latest sign of the booming lending space as younger consumers move towards these alternative lines of credit. Earlier in August, Square jumped into the space with a $29 billion deal to buy Australian fintech Afterpay.
I was one of the early test customers for this program. I bought a pair of Apple AirPod Pro, over the ear headphones. I pay a monthly fee to Amazon, and was not diverted to the Affirm website, everything was frictionless and occurred on the Amazon website.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.