Affirm, one of the big beasts of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market, is making a “slow move” into the UK market. The US firm is making its foray into the UK market as the UK government announces new rules to regulate the booming BNPL sector, which allows consumers to pay for goods in instalments, typically interest-free.
The new rules, which come into effect in 2026, will require BNPL firms to carry out affordability checks on users before they sign up for a loan. Ruth Spratt, who is heading up Affirm in the UK, denied that Affirm planned the timing of the launch to coincide with the new rules but admitted it was “timely”.
Affirm, founded in 2012 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, launched in the US and then moved into Canada. The UK marks its first market outside of North America. Affirm has 50 million consumers and over 300,000 merchant partners, including the likes of Amazon, Shopify and Walmart.
But Spratt, UK country manager, said Affirm was taken a “slow move” into the UK market.
Spratt said:
“We are taking a very deliberate, considered move into the market.”
It is launching in the UK, where it has around 30 staff, with partners Alternative Airlines, a flight booking site, and Fexco, a payment processor.
But Spratt said more partners would follow.
She said:
“We will be working on increasing the number of merchants that we have got in the UK market.”
She said that BNPL was “not a new sector anymore, it is a growing sector and I think we are coming in at just the right time”. In the UK, Affirm, which is FCA authorised, will initially offer its interest-free and interest-bearing monthly payment options.
Spratt said the two products would appeal to a wide gamut of consumers, from those wanting to buy a pair of trainers and pay off interest-free over three months to those who purchase higher valued products and opt for its interest-bearing product.
Spratt said in the UK, Affirm had a roadmap to bring further products to the market, which would also include a physical payment card, which it currently offers in the US. In the UK, Affirm, which will be fully remote in the UK, will go up against the likes of rival BNPL outfits like Klarna and Zilch, PayPal which has a BNPL offering, as well as credit card firms.
Affirm will underwrite every single transaction and not charge late fees in the UK, which is a point of difference to Klarna, which began charging late fees in the UK last year.
Levchin said:
“We know that UK consumers are savvy shoppers who appreciate upfront, no-nonsense products.
“We look forward to offering them responsible credit options that truly put consumers first and working collaboratively with our UK partners to demonstrate how honest finance is good business.”
BNPL has proven very popular in the UK with millions using the form of credit.
But critics argue that BNPL users were getting into debt and struggling to pay for food and bills.