Amazon is beginning to expand into the buy now, pay later service. The e-commerce giant is partnering with Affirm for its first-ever installment payment option for Amazon shoppers. Affirm’s buy now, pay later checkout option will be available to certain Amazon customers in the U.S. starting Friday, eventually rolling out to other customers in the upcoming months. The service allows customers to split purchases of $50 or more into monthly payments. AFRM closed at $92.08, up 35.61%, adding more than $8 billion to their market cap. Affirm is one of the best known installment payment options. It works with more than 12,000 merchants, a few including Peloton and Walmart. Affirm claimed Amazon customer loans will bear interest, but some will come with 0% APR.
Amazon’s partnership with Affirm isn’t a surprise, as many companies are looking to expand into the lending space as younger consumers move toward these options. In early August, Square entered the lending space by buying Australian fintech, Afterpay, for $29 billion dollars. Apple is also planning to launch installment options in partnership with Goldman Sachs.