Airwallex has partnered with Affirm to bring buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to eligible US merchants using its payment infrastructure, giving consumers access to installment payments directly at checkout.
The integration allows businesses operating on Airwallex to offer Affirm’s payment options without building and maintaining a separate BNPL integration. Eligible customers can select flexible installment plans when completing purchases through Airwallex-powered checkout experiences.
For merchants, the addition expands the range of payment methods available through Airwallex while giving them another option for serving consumers who prefer to spread payments over time.
The partnership strengthens Airwallex’s position as a broader payments and financial infrastructure provider for businesses operating in the US. By incorporating Affirm into its existing checkout capabilities, the company can offer merchants access to a recognised consumer financing network alongside its other payment services.
Affirm, meanwhile, gains access to additional merchants through Airwallex’s platform, expanding the distribution of its BNPL offering across businesses that may otherwise need to establish separate integrations.
Expanding the Checkout Stack
The integration comes as merchants increasingly look to consolidate payment methods within a single technical infrastructure. Card payments, digital wallets, bank payments, and installment options can otherwise require separate connections, creating additional complexity for businesses operating across multiple channels.
For Airwallex, bringing Affirm into its checkout stack allows merchants to manage another payment option through infrastructure they are already using, while potentially giving consumers greater flexibility at the point of purchase.
The partnership also reflects the continued convergence between payment processing and embedded consumer finance. BNPL providers are increasingly becoming part of broader payment platforms rather than operating solely as standalone checkout products.
As US merchants continue to expand their digital sales channels, the ability to offer multiple payment options through a unified infrastructure is becoming an increasingly important part of the payments stack.
The Airwallex-Affirm integration gives both companies an additional route to expand their respective merchant and consumer networks while making installment payments more accessible within existing checkout flows.
