Affirm

Affirm is a financial technology company founded in 2012 by Max Levchin, a co-founder of PayPal. It is the largest U.S.-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) financier, providing point-of-sale installment loans at the moment of purchase - online, in-store, or through digital wallets - with the terms of each loan set out clearly at the outset. The company charges no late fees, no hidden charges and no compounding interest.

The company reports that it serves nearly 26 million users and processes $37 billion in annual payments. It operates in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, working across consumer credit and lending, financial services, and e-commerce and retail payments. Its products include buy now, pay later installment loans and broader transparent consumer credit options designed to offer flexible repayment without the debt traps associated with traditional credit.

Technical work at Affirm spans machine learning, credit underwriting, payments technology and financial technology. Underwriting decisions combine credit scores with other relevant factors using machine-learning models. The company describes its approach as mission-driven, with an emphasis on honest financial products and the elimination of predatory credit practices, summarised internally by the principle that "when customers win, Affirm wins".