蘑菇AV

The news: Affirm partnered with Shopmonkey and Xsolla so auto mechanics and video game developers can offer installment plans at checkout. Our take: Affirm has focused on building out its partnership network and the Affirm Card鈥攁nd its fiscal Q3 results (ended March 31, 2025) bear out the strategies鈥� success, with total revenues increasing 36% YoY.

The BNPL provider pushed the Affirm Card and notched new partnerships to stay ahead of competition.

The news: Google Pay added Klarna to its in-app BNPL roster of Affirm, Zip, and Afterpay. Our take: Klarna鈥檚 late adoption of a physical card like Affirm鈥檚 Affirm Card in the US set the BNPL provider back in terms of capturing a wider user base and payment volume. Integrations like Google Pay and Apple Pay can help overcome that gap鈥攖hough Affirm also has partnerships with both Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The news: Sezzle debuted a suite of payment and deal-hunting features, per a press release. Our take: Sezzle needs to find any kind of foothold in the BNPL space, as its market share is massively outstripped by competitors like Klarna and Affirm.

CVS puts Novo Nordisk鈥檚 Wegovy (not Lilly鈥檚 Zepbound) on commercial drug formularies: Market reaction to the decision affirms how much influence PBMs like CVS Caremark have over prescription drug access. Eli Lilly may need to explore creative pricing strategies to improve access to Zepbound.

Affirm teams up with JPMorgan to expand BNPL reach: The partnership will help the fintech keep pace with Klarna and capitalize on growing demand for flexible payment options.

The partnership will help Affirm compete with rival Klarna, which already has a large European presence

BNPL credit reporting has been hotly debated, but Affirm argues it will help consumers build credit

The partnership will give the BNPL provider a boost and help it better compete against rival Affirm

Sezzle faces an uphill battle competing against larger players like Affirm and Klarna

Participating BNPL providers: Affirm is the only major BNPL company reporting to the credit bureaus. Previous tie-ins with FICO, Experian, and TransUnion have demonstrated Affirm鈥檚 commitment to cementing BNPL鈥檚 standing as a mainstream payment method. We forecast that Affirm commands 30.6% of total US payment value penetration for BNPL, making it the running leader of the BNPL field in the US.

Affirm is currently promoting 0% APR loans with select merchants to attract prime borrowers and cement consumer loyalty. Affirm stands to make significant returns with consumers drifting towards installment loans: barring its interest-free Pay in 4 program, Affirm鈥檚 longer-term installment plans may have up to 36% APR.

Affirm and Afterpay cut their rewards program last year after struggling to harness the revenue streams to finance these costly programs. Other BNPL firms pivoted to subscription models to boost profitability and finance their rewards programs or simulate a credit card experience for consumers鈥攁nd user adoption was tepid at best. The crux of the issue: BNPL is a low margin business.