How Affirm is reinventing its approach, and where the firm sees potential for more growth

Love them or loathe them, Buy Now, Pay Later [BNPL] services have cemented their presence in the modern financial landscape. Despite the outcry over its regulation and the growing burden of consumer debts, it’s the ‘consumers‘ who are propelling its momentum forward. 

In fact, Buy Now, Pay Later firms are scaling and adopting a multi-product strategy. They’re shifting away from single product and conventional B2B interactions, and instead, focusing on diversifying their product ranges and fostering direct relationships with consumers. This could also suggest that relying solely on the traditional BNPL model may not be adequate and now needs shoring up, especially considering the increasing cost of capital for non-bank lenders and fintechs — or simply establishing a safety net around the business.

Affirm presents a similar scenario. Expanding its scope beyond lending, BNPL options with various installment plans, Point of Sale (POS) integration at checkout, Affirm also offers savings accounts, a virtual card, and its own Affirm card.

Wednesday saw the release of Affirm’s earnings report for the quarter ending March 2024. Affirm substantially increased its revenue, growing 51% YoY to $576 million, exceeding expectations. This surge was largely attributed to a strong focus on the Affirm card and positive metrics in gross merchandise volume [GMV] that saw a 36% uptick.

“This is the fourth consecutive quarter of accelerating GMV growth for Affirm,” said CEO Max Levchin in the shareholder letter.

While these figures were indeed reported, we delve into some of the recent behind-the-scenes strategies that the firm has likely been and continues to be mindful of, contributing to its successful quarter.

1) Affirm Card: How has it fared over the quarter?

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