SAN FRANCISCO — Buy now, pay later provider Affirm is reporting it has partnered with fintech company Esusu to pilot a program that allows some renters to split monthly rent payments into two installments.
The offering will carry 0% interest and no late fees, according to an Affirm spokesperson cited by CNBC. The companies have not announced a launch date and said the initiative is currently in a pilot phase.
The program is aimed at giving renters “a flexible option for managing one of their largest monthly expenses,” the spokesperson told CNBC.
Under the partnership, Esusu members will gain another payment option alongside Esusu Pay, a rent payment product the company launched recently, CNBC reported.
Five-Million Rental Units
Esusu uses rental payment data to help consumers build credit and improve financial stability. According to a press release, the platform is used by property owners, operators and financial institutions and covers about five-million rental units, reaching roughly 12 million people and processing $100 billion in annual gross lease volume.
Esusu raised $50 million in a Series C funding round in December and said at the time that it planned to use part of the capital to scale Esusu Pay.
‘Greater Flexibility’
Real estate owner and operator BLDG Partners, which works with Esusu, said the product gives residents greater flexibility.
“Esusu Pay gives our residents meaningful flexibility by allowing them to split rent into manageable installments,” Karen Esparza, senior vice president of asset management at BLDG Partners, said in a statement. “It reduces financial strain and supports real stability.”
In November, Esusu partnered with Zillow to launch CreditClimb, a tool that allows renters to build credit through rent payments. For $20 a year, CreditClimb reports on-time rent payments to the three major credit bureaus, allows users to monitor their credit scores and enables them to add up to two years of prior rent payment history.
Strong Merchant Growth
Affirm reported in November that its merchant count grew 30% in its most recent quarter to 419,000, reflecting continued demand for 0% installment payment options across independent software vendors and payment service providers.
