Affirm CEO Sees Greater BNPL Demand as Gas Prices Climb

The head of buy now, pay later provider Affirm says gas prices are weighing on consumers.

“The U.S. consumer undoubtedly sees the higher gas prices, so can’t, can’t ignore that,” Max Levchin said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday (Aug. 28). “They’re also coming to us to help manage those prices across all the various inflationary points.”

As of Sunday (Aug. 30), the national average gas price was $4.07 per gallon, according to data from AAA. While that number is down slightly since May, it is still nearly a dollar more than a year ago, before the Iran war began.

“In times of inflation, we see more demand because folks are budgeting,” Levchin said. “They’re more thoughtful about how they want to use the money, and we’re there to help.”

He added that while the consumers are generally healthy, there is still cause for concern.

“I do think that sustained pressure on prices isn’t great in the long term, and so can’t ignore that either,” Levchin told CNBC.

His comments came soon after Affirm reported earnings that, as PYMNTS wrote, showed BNPL “moving deeper into everyday spending, where affordability depends less on financing one large purchase and more on giving consumers flexibility across a growing number of transactions.”

During a question-and-answer session with analysts, Levchin described the appeal in affordability terms.

“Free use of money is valuable to all consumers,” he said, adding that one use case is helping consumers fit “a considered purchase” into monthly outflows.

Recent PYMNTS Intelligence research shows the popularity of Affirm, which is used by 45% of BNPL users, with Klarna and PayPal Pay Later both at 44% and Afterpay at 42%.

The research also found consumers increasingly using multiple BNPL providers. The number of users who had used at least two companies climbed from 68% in April 2025 to 74% in May 2026, according to June’s “BNPL’s Multi-Provider Moment: Why Shoppers No Longer Pick Just One” report.

“The report does not ask consumers why they use several providers. Still, differences among the leading products offer a likely explanation,” PYMNTS wrote last week.

For example, Affirm provides short-term plans and financing lasting up to five years while Klarna offers Pay in 30, Pay in 4 and longer-term financing.

“Consumers may therefore treat BNPL providers much as travelers treat a row of departure boards, checking several options before choosing the route that best fits the trip,” the report added.

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