What is Affirm Payments in WooCommerce: A How-to Guide

Affirm isn’t just another Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider; it’s reshaping how consumers finance their purchases. With a 23% year-over-year jump in active users, now totaling over 21 million, it’s clear: Affirm is accelerating fast.

Major partnerships with Apple, Amazon, and Shopify are fueling Affirm’s dominance, making it increasingly impossible for online retailers to ignore. Apple announced that U.S. users can now apply for loans directly via Affirm during checkout through Apple Pay.

With WooCommerce powering a large share of eCommerce stores globally, integrating Affirm into the WooCommerce checkout opens the door. While this article will walk you through how to enable Affirm payments in WooCommerce, we’ll also go far beyond.

You’ll gain a complete understanding of what Affirm is, the benefits of offering it, how it operates, and how to configure Affirm in your WooCommerce store.

Ready to set up Affirm Payments in WooCommerce? Let’s get started!

The Affirm Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution enables customers to split purchases into smaller, scheduled payments, either through short-term interest-free plans or longer monthly installments with interest rates. Affirm’s payment plans are designed to promote flexible spending and give shoppers more control at checkout while giving merchants faster conversions and fewer abandoned carts.

When a customer chooses Affirm as the payment method, they’re offered two options: the popular “Pay in 4″ model, which breaks the total into four biweekly, interest-free payments. 

Affirm also offers monthly installment plans that can extend from 3 to 48 months. Interest on monthly plans ranges between 0% and 36%, depending on the buyer’s credit profile and the terms set by the merchant.

For users wondering about credit implications, Affirm prequalifies most applicants with a soft credit check, which doesn’t impact their credit score. However, for longer-term financing, Affirm may perform a hard inquiry and report to Experian. Paying off Affirm loans on time can contribute positively, although missed payments may have the opposite effect.

Now that we’ve covered what Affirm is and why it matters, let’s take a closer look at how Affirm payments actually work.

Affirm simplifies both the customer experience and merchant processing by acting as a middle layer between the buyer and your store.

Once a shopper selects the Affirm payment method at checkout, the platform immediately performs a credit assessment through a soft credit check. If approved, the customer chooses between two primary financing options: interest-free biweekly payments or monthly installments.

After approval, Affirm pays your store the full purchase amount within two to three business days, minus a processing fee. This means your business gets paid upfront, while the buyer settles the amount over time. You don’t carry any risk of default or late payments.

In terms of fees, Affirm charges merchants a flat fee plus a percentage of purchase value. These charges are transparent, helping businesses understand cost implications before integrating.

Now that we’ve seen how Affirm works behind the scenes, let’s get into the practical steps to enable Affirm payments in your WooCommerce store.

Activating Affirm in your WooCommerce store is easy if you’re already using Stripe as your payment gateway. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set it up quickly and start offering Affirm payment to your customers.

The Stripe Payment Gateway plugin doesn’t just enable Affirm payment; it also lets you accept credit/debit cards, Google Pay, Alipay, and over 20 other payment methods within your WooCommerce store. You can also enable Stripe Checkout, a prebuilt payment page hosted by Stripe to deliver a fast, secure, and conversion-optimized checkout experience. 

Let’s walk through the process and how you can configure the Affirm payment method using the free plugin in WooCommerce step by step.

Step 1: Install and Activate the Stripe Plugin for WooCommerce

Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add Plugin, and search for “Stripe Payment Plugin for WooCommerce”. Install and activate the plugin developed by WebToffee.

Step 2: Connect Your Store to Stripe

Once activated, go to WebToffee Stripe in the WordPress dashboard, and click on Connect to Stripe. Follow the on-screen steps to link your WooCommerce store to your Stripe account.

If you don’t have a Stripe account yet, you can register one during this process. 

Once connected, you’ll see a screen (like the one shown below), indicating that your store is successfully linked. Keep in mind, you’re in test mode. You can click Switch to live mode at any time from the top right.

Once connected, enabling the Affirm payment method in WooCommerce becomes easy and just a few clicks away.

Step 3: Enable the Affirm Payment in WooCommerce

Next, in the WebToffee Stripe dashboard, go to Local Gateways and click on Affirm to enable WooCommerce Affirm.

• Check the checkbox to enable Affirm.
• Optionally, edit the title, description, and button text that will appear to your customers during checkout.
• Click Save changes to update the WooCommerce Stripe settings.

That’s it! Setting up Affirm in WooCommerce is as easy as that. Now, let’s see how WooCommerce Affirm payment is activated in your store.

Step 4: Test the Affirm Payment Flow

This is an optional but recommended step when setting up different payment methods in WooCommerce.

Before going live, switch your Stripe account to “Test Mode” and simulate an Affirm payment. This ensures everything works smoothly before accepting real payments.

Step 5: Go Live and Accept WooCommerce Affirm Payments

Once you’ve confirmed everything is working, switch back to “Live Mode” and you’re ready to start accepting payments via Affirm in WooCommerce.

Customers will see Affirm as a payment option at checkout.

By following these steps, you can easily set up WooCommerce Affirm payments and offer more flexibility to your users.

That’s all it takes to set up Affirm in WooCommerce!

By now, your WooCommerce store should be ready to accept Affirm payments, offering your customers the flexibility they expect from modern online shopping experiences.

Now, if someone asks you about Affirm meaning, what is Affirm payment, or how it compares to traditional credit methods, you’ve got the answers. Affirm is more than just a trending payment option; it’s a powerful buy now, pay later tool that offers transparency, flexibility, and real value for both merchants and shoppers.

By enabling WooCommerce Affirm payments via Stripe, you can instantly upgrade your WooCommerce store’s checkout experience, increase conversions, and offer customers a buy now pay later alternative.

And the best part is that integrating Affirm is as simple as toggling it on inside WebToffee Stripe settings using the Stripe Payment Gateway plugin.

That’s it, guys! Thanks for following along. We hope you found this guide on WooCommerce Affirm payment helpful! Drop your questions or experiences with Affirm in the comments below.