Affirm and Adyen Deepen Ties to Bring BNPL to Platforms and Canadian Markets

WHY THIS MATTERS:

The expansion of the Affirm-Adyen partnership into the 'Adyen for Platforms' ecosystem marks a significant shift in the democratization of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. By targeting SaaS platforms and marketplaces, this move transitions BNPL from a standard retail checkout tool into a core component of embedded finance for specialized industries—ranging from legal services to on-demand gig economies. As platforms increasingly seek to monetize their user bases through financial services, the ability to offer flexible credit at the point of sale becomes a critical competitive differentiator. Furthermore, the push into the Canadian market with longer-term installment plans highlights a strategic pivot toward high-ticket items and credit diversification. In an era of high interest rates, providing transparent, interest-free or low-APR alternatives via a single global integration layer like Adyen is essential for maintaining consumer purchasing power and merchant conversion rates.

Affirm and Adyen Expand Partnership to Bring Flexible Payment Options to More Merchants and Platforms

SAN FRANCISCO – December 18, 2024 -- Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM), the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, today announced that it has expanded its partnership with Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses. The expanded partnership makes Affirm the first Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider to support Adyen for Platforms, an end-to-end payment solution for platform businesses, and brings more payment options to Adyen merchants in Canada.

Launched in November 2020, the partnership between Affirm and Adyen began by making Affirm available to eligible Adyen merchants in the U.S., online as well as in-store through Adyen’s physical payment terminals. With the expanded agreement, Affirm will be available to customers of Adyen for Platforms, which include peer-to-peer marketplaces, on-demand services, crowdfunding platforms and more. Additionally, Adyen merchants in Canada will access a wider range of Affirm’s offerings, delivering monthly installments alongside the existing biweekly payment option. With Affirm, approved consumers can choose from a range of customized payment plans – from six weeks to 36 months, and for as low as 0% APR – and will never owe a penny in late or hidden fees.

This milestone in Affirm and Adyen’s relationship follows the significant growth the partnership has experienced since launch with average annual volume increasing by more than seven times from 2021 to 2023.

“Adyen is committed to delivering best-in-class payment experiences that help our global merchants drive growth and better serve their customers. That is why we’re excited to expand our partnership with Affirm, enabling Adyen for Platforms customers to offer this payment method,” said Davi Strazza, president of Adyen North America.

“The opportunity for platforms to embed payments and financial services is incredible — a game-changing $185 billion market opportunity for SaaS platforms, according to our research with Boston Consulting Group. Together with Affirm, we’re unlocking greater flexibility for consumers across the US and Canada,” said Davi Strazza, president of Adyen North America.

Merchants and their customers are reaping the benefits of Affirm and Adyen’s partnership. Since integrating with Affirm, AffiniPay, an Adyen partner that is a leading provider of practice management software, integrated payments and embedded fintech for professionals, has processed over $125 million in payments with Pay Later. Pay Later is AffiniPay’s legal fee financing solution powered by Affirm and exclusively available through their leading legal payments software, LawPay.

“At AffiniPay, we are relentlessly committed to providing the latest innovative technology to drive outstanding outcomes for our customers,” said Dru Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of AffiniPay.

“By partnering with market leaders like Adyen and Affirm, we are able to continuously exceed expectations for our customers,” said Dru Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of AffiniPay.

"Adyen has built a powerful platform to help businesses drive growth all around the world," said Wayne Pommen, Chief Revenue Officer of Affirm.

"Deepening our partnership with Adyen — and continuing to build out an unparalleled network of payment partners — will further expand Affirm’s reach so that more consumers, merchants and platforms can benefit from our honest financial products,” said Wayne Pommen, Chief Revenue Officer of Affirm.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This isn't just another BNPL rollout; it’s a land grab for the platform economy. By becoming the first BNPL provider on Adyen for Platforms, Affirm is effectively bypassing individual merchant sales cycles to capture entire ecosystems at once. The 7x volume growth already seen proves the synergy is real. For Adyen, it solidifies their 'one-stop-shop' status, making it harder for platforms to look elsewhere for their financial infrastructure.