Pay-over-time, a flexible payment model, historically closely tied to card-based credit, will now extend to debit products as well, as Fiserv and Affirm expand their long-standing partnership.
Payments and financial technology provider Fiserv has launched a strategic collaboration with Affirm Holdings to embed pay-over-time capabilities into debit card programs offered by thousands of U.S. banks and credit unions. The deal reflects growing consumer demand for flexible payment options and expands an existing relationship between the two companies.
Under the agreement, Fiserv will integrate Affirm’s platform directly into its debit card and digital banking solutions, giving participating financial institutions a turnkey way to offer buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) options without needing to build their own lending infrastructure. The integration includes real-time underwriting, loan origination and fundingmanaged jointly by Fiserv and Affirm, with no operational lift required from issuers.
Once enabled, debit cardholders will be able to split eligible purchases into fixed, pay-over-time payments, with transparent repayment schedules and no hidden fees, aligning with Affirm’s longstanding pricing model. Through the partnership, consumers can access Affirm’s flexible payment options anywhere their debit cards are accepted, tapping into the company’s merchant network of nearly 420,000 retail partners, including large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Target, Walmart and Shopify merchants. Some available BNPL offers may include 0% APR at select brands, boosting affordability of purchases for consumers amidst a subdued 2026 retail sales outlook.
The collaboration builds on a 2022 integration between Fiserv and Affirm that brought Affirm’s BNPL service to Fiserv’s Commerce Hub, enabling merchants to offer buy-now, pay-later at checkout. This latest expansion shifts focus to financial institutions, enabling banks and credit unions to embed BNPL functionality into the core debit experience used by their customers. This addition might be crucial for numerous providers, since around half of consumers are expecting pay-over-time alternatives as default when shopping, saying they only complete a purchase if a BNPL option is available.
According to Fiserv, the partnership helps community and regional banks and credit unions meet evolving consumer expectations for flexible payment options while strengthening relationships with cardholders and driving engagement with their debit products. Affirm’s chief revenue officer noted the collaboration allows consumers to access transparent pay-over-time choices from the financial institutions they already trust, rather than seeking external alternatives.
By bringing pay-over-time functionality directly into debit card programs, Fiserv and Affirm aim to help issuers retain spending within their ecosystem, boost transaction volume and enhance customer loyalty in a competitive payments landscape.
