Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company Affirm has announced its launch in the UK.

The payments firm, which was founded in the US in 2012, says it aims to offer “honest” financial products that allow uses to pay over extended time periods and split the total cost of purchases.

The Klarna rival has a network of around 50 million customers and around 300,000 active merchants around the world including Amazon, Shopify and Walmart, with plans to expand to further aims to partner with more brands over the coming months.

The business, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), claims it offers a “responsible” extension of credit as it does not have any late fees or hidden charges. Almost a quarter of Brits have been charged late payment fees when using BNPL services according to a report released in January.

Additionally, Affirm said it underwrites every individual transaction before making a real-time credit decision and only approves consumers following an assessment that evidences their ability to repay.

Affirm said it will initially offer its interest-free and interest-bearing monthly payment options.
Any interest applied will be fixed and calculated solely on the original principal amount, meaning the amount of any interest does not ever increase or compound.

For its launch, Affirm is partnering with flight booking site Alternative Airlines and Fexco, a global FinTech and payments processer.

Eligible Alternative Airlines customers will be able to choose Affirm at checkout, go through an eligibility check, and if approved, select from Affirm’s monthly payment plans for their flight purchases.

Over the past five years, Affirm said it has processed over $75 billion in transactions in the US and Canada and has been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2021.

“Building on our leadership in the US and Canada, where we partner with top retailers and commerce platforms, we see a significant opportunity to extend our mission of building honest financial products to the UK,” said Max Levchin, founder and chief executive of Affirm. “We know that UK consumers are savvy shoppers who appreciate upfront, no-nonsense products.

“We look forward to offering them responsible credit options that truly put consumers first and working collaboratively with our UK partners to demonstrate how honest finance is good business.”

Last month, HM Treasury announced BNPL will come under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 2026.

The government department said that new legislation will allow the regulator to apply rules on affordability, meaning that BNPL companies like Klarna and Clearpay will have to ensure that users of its services can afford repayments.

The announcement follows years of uncertainty about when BNPL regulation would be brought into law.

---