The news: Affirm partnered with Shopmonkey and Xsolla so auto mechanics and video game developers can offer installment plans at checkout.

Partnership strategy: Affirm is trying to broaden its partnership base to gain payment volume in previously untapped retail sectors. Equipment and auto transactions made up just 6% of Affirm’s gross merchandise volume mix, for example. 

Affirm has inked a flurry of other deals to keep up with BNPL competitors and card-linked installments, including Mattress Firm, FIS, Adyen, and JPMorgan to capture the widest number of consumers.

Autopay: Auto-repair bills are increasingly unaffordable. A ConsumerAffairs poll found that 13% of surveyed consumers could not afford a $1,000 repair bill, even with taking on debt. Even wealthier households were found to be financially vulnerable—23% of households with incomes over $150,000 also could not pay in cash for repairs.

With Shopmonkey, Affirm may be well positioned to alleviate a major stressor for car-owning households by making it easier to access flexible payment plans.

Game on: Xsolla powers transactions for game developers, and Affirm will be available for both buying games and buying in-app content for orders starting at $50. 

Affirm stands to benefit from the $912 a year on average that gamers spend on their hobby, per a survey by All Home Connections. Millennial gamers spend even more—averaging $1,032 a year.

Our take: Affirm has focused on building out its partnership network and the Affirm Card—and its fiscal Q3 results (ended March 31, 2025) bear out the strategies’ success, with total revenues increasing 36% YoY.