Affirm and Shopify have launched Shop Pay Installments in Australia, letting shoppers pay for purchases over time with no late fees.
According to the official press release, the service allows eligible shoppers to split purchases into fortnightly or monthly payments, with no late fees, account fees, or compounding interest.
The launch marks Affirm's return to Australia and extends its global partnership with Shopify to a new market. Shop Pay Installments has been available to Shopify merchants in the US, Canada, and the UK since 2021. According to the companies, shoppers in those markets have collectively made purchases worth billions of USD through the service since its introduction.
Affirm assesses each transaction individually, making a real-time credit decision before approving a shopper for an instalment plan. Approved customers will have the possibility to choose between interest-free or interest-bearing plans and can view the full repayment schedule before completing a purchase. Affirm does not charge late fees, account fees, or compounding interest, meaning the company's revenue depends on shoppers repaying their instalments rather than on penalty charges.
Shopify merchants in Australia can enable Shop Pay Installments through the Shopify admin dashboard. Affirm and Shopify said the option is intended to help merchants of varying sizes increase conversion rates and average order values. It was also noted that in North America, more than 90% of Affirm's purchases come from repeat customers, which the company attributed to the absence of late fees and other charges in its repayment model.
Expansion plans
The Australian launch follows Affirm's exit from and subsequent return to the market, and forms part of a broader rollout of Shop Pay Installments internationally. Affirm and Shopify said they intend to extend the service to further countries where merchants and consumers show demand for pay-later options, though neither company specified additional markets or a timeline for further expansion.
The BNPL sector has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in several markets, including Australia, where reforms bringing BNPL providers under credit licensing requirements have been introduced in recent years. The launch of Shop Pay Installments adds a further underwritten BNPL option to the Australian ecommerce market, alongside existing providers already operating in the country.
