Buy now, pay later network Affirm is introducing its artificial intelligence-powered platform, AdaptAI, to its merchant partners.
Merchants can provide shoppers with personalized, targeted, real-time promotions and credit offers at the point of purchase via the offering, according to a Wednesday (April 30) news release.
“Unlike conventional credit card rewards — which are opaque, static and subsidized by the financially vulnerable — AdaptAI dynamically matches the right benefit to the right consumer at exactly the right moment,” Affirm Senior Vice President of Product Vishal Kapoor said in the release. “Consumers no longer need to spend more, keep track of, or wait months to recoup their rewards. Now, they can immediately receive tailored, transparent value at the time of purchase. This is only made possible with Affirm’s AI-powered technology and real-time underwriting, and [it] builds on what we do best: delivering customized payment options that help consumers take their money further.”
Consumers expect individualized experiences, particularly when paying, leading Affirm — and now its merchants — to offer payment solutions customized to consumers’ purchase and financial profiles, the release said.
Affirm founder and CEO Max Levchin told PYMNTS last month about the evolution of his company and the attraction behind BNPL offerings.
“The appeal of pay later is not that it’s some cool way of borrowing money,” Levchin said. “It’s the sense of control around the schedule and the plan that you create.”
There’s also an appeal for merchants seeking to increase their conversion rates, as businesses can spend more than 30% of gross sales just to get customers’ attention, he said.
After 13 years, Affirm is tied to merchant sites, has been embedded in commerce and digital wallets, and has a merchant marketplace, a financial services platform and a discovery platform for merchants to allow for 0% financing offers.
“I’ve often compared Affirm to a sort of aspirational Amex,” Levchin said. “We want to be thought of as the company that stands behind the consumer in a way that goes above and beyond.”
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