Affirm and Esusu to Launch Flexible Payment Option for Renters

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Affirm has partnered with FinTech company Esusu to enable some people to pay their rent in two installments, CNBC reported Thursday (Jan. 22), citing an Affirm spokesperson.

This offering will include 0% interest and no late fees, according to the report.

The companies are running a pilot program and have not announced a launch date, per the report.

The program is designed to offer renters “a flexible option for managing one of their largest monthly expenses,” the Affirm spokesperson told CNBC.

The partnership with Affirm will provide Esusu members with another option, alongside another payment method called Esusu Pay that Esusu recently launched, according to the report.

The Esusu platform uses rental data to build credit and enhance financial stability, according to a December press release. The platform is used by property owners, operators and financial institutions; covers 5 million units; reaches 12 million people; and processes $100 billion in annual gross lease volume.

When Esusu raised $50 million in a Series C funding round in December, the company said one of the ways it would use the new capital is to scale Esusu Pay.

One of the real estate owners and operators with which the company collaborates, BLDG Partners, has found that this offering provides flexibility to residents, according to the release.

“Esusu Pay gives our residents meaningful flexibility by allowing them to split rent into manageable installments,” Karen Esparza, senior vice president, asset management at BLDG Partners, said in the release. “It reduces financial strain and supports real stability.”

In November, Esusu partnered with real estate company Zillow to launch a tool called CreditClimb that lets renters build credit through rent payments. CreditClimb lets renters have their on-time payments reported to the three major credit bureaus for $20 a year, monitor their credit score, and add up to two years of previous rent payments to their report.

Meanwhile, Affirm reported in November that during its most recent quarter, its merchant count grew by 30% to reach 419,000, reflecting continued demand for 0% installments across independent software vendors and payment service providers.