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Affirm is expanding its partnership with New York Life Insurance, a move that highlights how traditional financial giants are deepening their exposure to fintech-driven consumer lending.
Under the new agreement, New York Life will purchase up to $750 million worth of Affirm’s installment loans through 2026, giving the payments company fresh off-balance-sheet funding to support roughly $1.75 billion in annual loan volume.
The deal extends a relationship that began in 2023, when New York Life first started investing in Affirm’s asset-backed securities and other loan structures.
To date, the insurer has funneled nearly $2 billion into Affirm’s collateral pools.
The partnership is part of a broader trend of insurers and private-credit investors moving deeper into consumer finance as higher interest rates make these assets more attractive.
In recent years, Affirm has secured similar funding lines with Liberty Mutual Investments, PGIM, and Sixth Street Partners, mirroring activity across the buy-now-pay-later sector.
Klarna has tapped Nelnet and Pagaya for comparable deals, while PayPal struck a $7 billion agreement with Blue Owl Capital, which formed a joint venture with Meta in a $27 billion project to fund and develop the massive Hyperion data center in Louisiana.
Affirm, which has financed more than $100 billion in transactions, says more than 90% of its borrowers are repeat customers — a key factor behind its strong credit performance.
The tie-up with New York Life comes as consumer lenders navigate mixed economic signals: Spending remains solid and delinquencies are easing, but investor caution has lingered after recent bankruptcies in subprime auto and consumer credit.
