Amazon Taps Affirm To Offer A New Installment Purchase Option For Buyers

Amazon has teamed up with popular financial company Affirm to offer its customers a new installment payment plan option for online goods. The financial offer, which is only available to some customers at this time, will allow eligible users to make relatively pricey purchases and pay for the item in multiple monthly installments instead of all at once.

If you regularly purchase items online, you'll likely be familiar with Affirm; it is, more often than not, the company behind retailers' buy-now-pay-later options, which is essentially like a short-term credit that is paid off within a handful of months. The service works by showing customers what they will pay if they choose a monthly installment.

According to Amazon, some of its customers already have access to the new financing feature, which joins Amazon's existing installment payment option available on certain items. More users will get access to the Affirm installment option "in the coming months," the company said, though it's unclear how many people will get access to the payment option by the end of the year.

The Affirm option will be available for purchases of at least $50; likewise, the customer will have to be approved for the financing option. Those who choose to pay off an item in monthly installments will see the overall purchase amount they'll pay over the course of the short-term credit arrangement.

The company notes that it doesn't charge late or undeclared fees. Though Amazon already has its own installment financing option, this splits the payments up into installments over as many months and is limited to certain customers who, among other things, have a credit card on their account. The new Affirm option will provide the same financing opportunity for people who don't want to use credit cards for their purchases.