The Affirm Antom partnership gives merchants on Ant International’s Antom platform the option to offer Affirm pay-over-time plans to US customers, according to a Business Wire release dated 6 October 2026. On the same day, 30 minutes earlier, Klarna announced a deepened partnership with Wayfair that adds always-on 0% APR financing for up to six months across the retailer’s four brands in the US and the full Klarna suite in Canada. Together they show two distribution models for the same product.

What does the Affirm Antom partnership offer merchants?

Antom is the global merchant payment and digitisation platform of Ant International. Its merchants will enable Affirm through the Antom portal in a few steps, and Affirm’s real-time underwriting will tailor each approved offer to the purchase. Affirm says plans run from $35 to $30,000 and from 30 days to 36 months, with biweekly or monthly payments and six-month interest-free options. The release gives an example of a $300 purchase costing $27.08 a month over 12 months at 15% APR, and states that Affirm charges no late or hidden fees.

Antom says it supports more than 300 payment methods through one integration, across more than 200 markets and 140 currencies. Affirm said it expects availability for Antom customers in the UK within 2026 and further global markets later. Affirm also reports that 96% of its transactions come from repeat customers, which is the company’s own figure and not an independent one. Fintechbits covered Affirm’s British expansion in Affirm’s Costco UK partnership.

How does Klarna’s Wayfair renewal differ from the Affirm Antom route?

Klarna’s announcement is a renewal with a single large retailer rather than a platform. Eligible US customers can access 0% APR financing up to six months across Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern and Birch Lane. In Canada, shoppers get Klarna’s full suite of flexible payment options at Wayfair for the first time, including pay in full, interest-free instalments and longer financing for larger orders. David Sykes, Klarna’s chief commercial officer, said the home category is among its fastest growing in North America.

Klarna describes itself as having more than 120 million global active users, 3.8 million transactions a day and more than 1.2 million retailers, and it is listed on the NYSE as KLAR. The Wayfair release follows a series of Klarna distribution announcements that Fintechbits has covered, including Klarna’s StockX rollout across the US and Canada. Where Affirm reaches Antom’s merchants through a gateway Antom already runs, Klarna deepens a relationship with one retailer that sells larger home purchases.

What the Affirm Antom and Klarna releases leave unproven

Both releases promote six-month interest-free financing, and neither says who pays for it. Zero percent financing normally costs someone: the merchant through a higher fee, the lender through margin, or the consumer through behaviour the lender expects to recoup elsewhere. Affirm gives a 15% APR example for a 12-month plan but publishes no merchant discount rate, and Klarna gives no information on Wayfair’s cost. The question of whether the Affirm Antom platform route carries a different fee structure than a direct retailer relationship is unanswered.

Volume is also missing from the Affirm Antom release. It does not state how many Antom merchants are US-based or likely to enable the option, and Antom’s global figures describe its network rather than its US base. The Wayfair release gives no contract length or transaction share. Finally, the Affirm figure on repeat customers is a company statistic with no stated period.

Fintechbits analysis

Why the Affirm Antom deal matters more than a typical BNPL partnership

I think the Affirm Antom link is the more strategically interesting of the two. Antom says it bundles more than 300 payment methods behind one integration. For Affirm that is a way to reach merchants without negotiating each one, and gives Antom a US credit option to place beside wallet and card methods.

For Klarna the Wayfair renewal protects a major home-category client against competition from rival BNPL providers, and opens Canada to the full range. The comparison shows the market splitting into two plays: platform reach versus retailer depth. Neither wins on financing terms alone, because the headline offer, six months at 0%, appears in both releases.

What to Watch Next

The first measurable signal for Affirm Antom is whether Affirm is live for Antom merchants in the US in October 2026 and whether Antom names a UK launch date inside 2026. A second is whether Affirm discloses a merchant count or gross merchandise volume from the Antom channel in its next earnings release, which Affirm has scheduled for 5 November 2026. The primary releases are on Business Wire from Affirm and Antom and Klarna and Wayfair.

Questions and answers

What is the Affirm Antom partnership?

Affirm will be offered to merchants on Antom, Ant International’s payment platform, so their US customers can choose pay-over-time plans at checkout. Affirm says Antom merchants can offer it from October 2026.

What loan amounts and terms does Affirm offer through Antom?

Affirm says amounts run from $35 to $30,000 over periods between 30 days and 36 months, and include six-month interest-free options. Eligibility depends on a real-time underwriting check.

What did Klarna announce with Wayfair?

Klarna announced a deepened partnership with Wayfair on 6 October 2026, adding 0% APR financing for up to six months across Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern and Birch Lane in the US and Klarna’s full suite in Canada.

When will Affirm through Antom reach the UK?

Affirm says the service will be available to Antom customers in the UK within 2026, with further global markets planned, but no date has been given.