Affirm Adds Account Balances and Cash Flow Trends to Underwriting

Flexible payment provider Affirm is updating its underwriting to include richer real-time signals such as account balances and cash flow trends.

The company is already applying this capability to Affirm Card users who have linked a third-party bank account or have an Affirm Money Account, and it will soon expand it to more consumers who link their bank account, Affirm said in a Wednesday (Jan. 14) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

Using these insights enables more informed credit decisions at checkout, because they give Affirm a more current view of the customer’s financial status, according to the release.

“Adding this new layer of insight builds on our real-time approach, helping ensure our decisions align with the reality of consumers’ finances today,” Vishal Kapoor, senior vice president of product at Affirm, said in the release.

The addition of more current data also enables the company to responsibly reach more consumers, especially those who have a limited credit history or who have gained a new job or a raise, per the release.

“Our goal is to make decisions that reflect real people, not just numbers on a report,” Kapoor said in the release. “People’s financial lives are dynamic, and they deserve credit that evolves with them.”

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Pay Later Revolution: Redefining the Credit Economy” found that 128 million Americans had used a pay-later product from a least one alternative credit provider over the previous 12 months.

Affirm reported in November that during the first quarter of its fiscal 2026, the company earned record volumes and profitable growth amid durable demand for transparent credit and 0% installment options.

Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, wrote in a shareholder letter released at that time that the company is “a payment network … a multisided one” that is marked by “network effects” and the value of transmitting “information-rich messages” that strengthen with scale.

Each transaction improves Affirm’s models for credit, fraud and personalization, creating a feedback loop, Levchin wrote. At that time, the company had processed more than 6 petabytes of data.

When fashion retailer Revolve Group announced in December that it had expanded its partnership with Affirm, the retailer said the collaboration provides consumers with “simple, transparent payment options that fit naturally into the way they shop.”