GoodRx and Partner Pharmacies to Offer Affirm’s BNPL Option

Prescription savings platform GoodRx and its partner retail pharmacies will begin offering Affirm’s pay-over-time option directly to consumers in the coming months.

With this new offering, approved consumers will be able to select an Affirm payment option for select medications at participating retailers on the GoodRx platform, GoodRx said in a Wednesday (Oct. 16) press release.

“Through this new technology solution, we’re offering a unique capability that will help people access their medications — whether it’s helping them reach a deductible or providing great financial flexibility and control,” GoodRx Interim CEO Scott Wagner said in the release. “It’s part of our broader eCommerce strategy to make the entire process much simpler, certainly for patients but also for retail pharmacies.

One of the GoodRx partner pharmacies participating in this program is Hy-Vee, a grocery retailer with more than 275 pharmacies, according to the release.

When consumers type their medication into GoodRx and select Hy-Vee as their preferred pharmacy, the system will validate their prescription, check for medication inventory, show the option to pay over time with Affirm, and, if the consumer is approved, allow them to select a monthly payment option before submitting their order and picking it up at their local Hy-Vee location, per the release.

“As a provider, we are excited to work with GoodRx to offer this new payment solution to Hy-Vee Pharmacy patients as we continue efforts to remove healthcare barriers and improve medication adherence,” Angie Nelson, senior vice president of pharmacy at Hy-Vee, said in the release.

One-third of consumers take advantage of buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to buy health and beauty products in installments, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and AWS collaboration, “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: What BNPL Needs to Win Wider Adoption.”

Affirm CEO Max Levchin told Bloomberg in September that as more shoppers use BNPL to finance their spending, retailers are increasingly interested in offering that payment option.

In another, separate partnership in this space, Rite Aid said Wednesday that it teamed up with Klarna to offer BNPL options at its drugstores. In this collaboration, the BNPL option is not available for prescriptions or doctor services, but can be used for everyday essentials, health and wellness items, and over-the-counter medicines.

The companies said in a press release: “Klarna’s seamless integration with Rite Aid’s in-store checkout process ensures that customers can enjoy greater financial convenience when purchasing a wide range of products.”