The "No Buy” trend of 2025 making waves on social media encourages being frugal while not succumbing to high-interest credit cards. This trend is favorable for buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM). The pioneer of BNPL facilitates high conversion rates for merchants, turning online window shoppers into paying customers. It competes with Afterpay, owned by Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ), and Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ: SEZL).
Affirm arranges short-term microloans for its users so they make purchases that are paid off in four bi-weekly payments with no interest. This is a three-way win-win-win dynamic that has finally turned the business services sector company profitable. The customer wins by being able to afford the purchase, and the merchant wins by making a sale that may not have otherwise been made due to the cost. Affirm wins by collecting a fee from the merchant.
