Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, and Shopify, a provider of internet infrastructure for commerce, announced the acceleration of their expansion plans.
Shopify merchants in Canada with early access can now offer Shop Pay Installments, powered by Affirm, to shoppers, “marking the product’s first availability outside the U.S.”
Shop Pay Installments will become available in general access to Shopify merchants “in Canada and the U.K. this summer, with cross-border commerce capabilities between the U.S., Canada, and U.K. to follow.”
Additionally, the companies plan to expand “to Australia and Western Europe next, starting with France, Germany and the Netherlands.”
Affirm looks forward to engaging with all of its “local constituents – shoppers, merchants, capital partners, and regulators – as the company further grows internationally.”
Kaz Nejatian, COO of Shopify said:
“We’re thrilled to launch Shop Pay Installments in early access to Canada as our first step beyond the U.S. Our partnership with Affirm expands our global reach, giving shoppers the flexibility to pay over time, and drives higher conversion rates for merchants worldwide.”
Max Levchin, Founder and CEO of Affirm said:
“From day one, Affirm’s partnership with Shopify has been focused on empowering merchants to succeed by offering transparent, flexible payments that unlock purchasing power for consumers. Millions of shoppers in the U.S. trust and rely on Shop Pay Installments. Today’s launch in Canada marks an exciting first step as we further extend our global presence – first with Shopify merchants, and soon after with our integrated merchants across the U.K., Europe, and Australia.”
As Shop Pay Installments launches in each new market, local merchants will be able to “activate the product directly from their Shopify admin dashboard—no additional development or technical integration required.”
From there, customers will be able to “apply to split eligible purchases into biweekly and monthly payments.”
If approved, shoppers can choose “from customized payment plans, with rates as low as 0% APR, and they will never encounter late or hidden fees.”
Since its launch in 2021, Shop Pay Installments has “seen widespread use, with millions of consumers actively utilizing this payment method across Shopify’s merchant network in the U.S.”
Affirm’s mission is to deliver “honest financial products that improve lives.”
By building a new kind of payment network—one that is said to be based on trust, transparency, and putting people first—they “empower consumers to spend and save responsibly, and give thousands of businesses the tools to fuel growth.”
Unlike most credit cards and other pay-over-time options, they claim to never charge any late or hidden fees.”
As noted in the update, Shopify is the global commerce company that provides essential internet infrastructure for commerce, “offering trusted tools to start, scale, market, and run a retail business of any size.”
Shopify says it makes commerce better with a platform and services that are engineered for “speed, customization, reliability, and security, while delivering a better shopping experience for consumers online, in store, and everywhere in between.”
Shopify reportedly powers businesses in “more than 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as BarkBox, Vuori, BevMo, Carrier, JB Hi-Fi, Meta, ButcherBox, SKIMS, Supreme.”