Affirm

The VC rounds just keep getting bigger and bigger. SF-based Affirm has raised $200M in funding, led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund (we saw similar funding rounds recently with Atlanta's

Kabbage as well). The firm is now in Unicorn territory, with valuation of between $1.5-$2B. Yes, with a "B". The firm was launched in 2012, but their new app rolled out in October, and is synced with over 1200 online retailers, including the mattress site Casper, Wayfair (think HGTV), Expedia and Motorola and more. As of April, they've issued over a million consumer loans, with the average size being $750. Very innovative, and much needed fintech for the retail sector.

(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)


Point-of-sale lender Affirm raised $200 million in a new funding round, bringing its total equity funding to $450 million.

The Series E round was led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. Other investors included Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Spark Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Ribbit Capital and others.

This new round in funding increases the company’s valuation to range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion, from a previous valuation of $800 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In an email to

Bank Innovation

, Affirm CEO (and PayPal co-founder) Max Levchin, stated:

"This funding allows Affirm to continue to grow our point of sale credit business, expand into new verticals, offer new services for our merchant partners, build new products within the new Affirm App and begin our international expansion."

The Affirm app was first launched in October. It provides customers a virtual card for online purchases. The app, which is available on both iOS and Android Google Play, also lets users split larger online purchases into smaller fixed payments. Customers can make payments to Affirm through this app, with the option of setting up automated payments.

In addition to its app, Affirm has spent the year building out its roster of merchant partners. Currently, the company has 1,200 partnerships with companies like Wayfair, Expedia, Goodyear, Motorola, DJI, Casper, and Cole Haan, among others..."


Full Story at BankInnovation.net