Affirm

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Our Founder & CEO, Max Levchin, recently went on Bloomberg News Odd Lots with Joe Weisenthal Tracy Alloway in one of the most insightful deep dives into how modern consumer finance should work, including an unvarnished take on buy now, pay later. The conversation also covered product design, AI, what merchants value in payments, the future of credit, and regulation. 📢 The founding story of Affirm hits harder when you hear Max tell it: “I got my first credit card at 18… didn’t understand the fine print… it wrecked my credit score years later.” 🚨 On the differences between credit cards and Affirm: “Credit cards make money from: interest compounding into principal, minimum payments that keep balances revolving, and late fees.” So at Affirm, we said: ❌ no compounding interest ❌ no late fees ✅ underwrite every transaction ✅ aligned incentives ✅ fixed payment plans 🤝On why Affirm does not have late fees or hidden charges: “We don’t make any money when someone stumbles… If a borrower is late, we lose money. Our incentives are aligned: we only want to lend when someone can pay us back… We don’t charge late fees. Not now. Not ever… 24 million people used Affirm this year. They keep coming back because we don’t get them when they stumble.” 🎯 On how Affirm manages credit: “We underwrite every transaction. Delinquency rates for us are about half the credit card industry, because we don’t benefit when people are late.” 🔍 On why Affirm reports payment behavior to credit bureaus and why the industry should step up: “From the very beginning, we saw the idea of building credit history as a key value proposition. We are not going to be the only lender for our consumers in their lives. They're on time all the time, it has to reflect in their record. If you’re a BNPL provider and you're not furnishing data, you have no excuse.” On the role of credit: “People who never revolve and pay off their credit card at the end of the month —transactors—telling people that they should just not borrow is an incredible “let them eat cake” equivalent to the 21st century. Half the country revolves.” Listen wherever you get your podcasts!👇 Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3Y8kr19 Spotify: https://bit.ly/3YaeNvv YouTube: https://bit.ly/4pnlDtG

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Affirm is expanding our partnership with Amazon to the UK. Rolling out over the coming weeks, eligible customers can select Affirm at checkout to split payments flexibly, with clear terms upfront and no late or hidden fees – ever. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hcNGsI

Everyone remembers the career firsts that shape them. For our UK employees, many of those firsts happened at Affirm—from working on a product used by millions of consumers, to finding mentors and colleagues who really care. Hear what they have to say and explore your next career opportunity: https://lnkd.in/dgkvj7EW