Affirm has announced a filing for an initial public offering (IPO), according to a press release, and the company has submitted a draft to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The number of shares that will be offered and the price range have not been determined, the release stated. The IPO will take place after the SEC review process is complete.
Affirm, a point-of-sale (POS) lender, offers short-term loans that can be repaid in installments.
The company announced in July that it was considering an IPO, with a potential valuation of $10 billion through a deal with Goldman Sachs. The company was founded in 2012 and has since been partnered with companies including Walmart and Expedia Group. It was valued at $2.9 billion in April 2019 but has seen boosts since then — first to over $5 billion, and then to near $10 billion.
In September, Affirm announced a Series G funding round for $500 million, raising its total funding to $1.3 billion, although the company didn't announce what the money would go toward. The company also introduced a new interest-free biweekly payment product for transactions as low as $50.
Over the summer, Affirm announced it would help power Shopify's buy now, pay later (BNPL) service, called Shop Pay Installments, PYMNTS reported, allowing Shopify customers to buy goods and then pay in installments.
Max Levchin, founder and CEO of Affirm, said at the time that it is important to help businesses get on board with the rising trend of online shopping. The BNPL trend has become useful, especially due to the economic effects of the pandemic, which have left millions of consumers tightening their belts and searching for more savvy ways to pay.
Shopify, which offers a subscription service providing an eCommerce platform for online stores and retail POS systems, now has more flexibility through Affirm's assistance, as well as a more seamless, quick way of checking out, according to Kaz Nejatian, vice president and general manager of Shopify’s financial solutions team.
