How to Create an App Like Affirm?

Want to create an app like Affirm? Well, you are on the right blog.

Apps like Affirm made it easy for users to shop the way want without worrying about payment. They allow consumers the services of “buy now and pay later” meaning making purchases now and paying over time.

This concept has taken the market by storm, and as a result people constantly look for new apps like Affirm that can offer them flexible payment options without worrying about breaking their savings.

Wondering How Much Does it Cost to Create a Buy Now Pay Later App like Affirm?

Cost is a factor that’s not constant, but it can vary from $10,000 to $60,000 or more. Several factors affect the app development cost including complexity, features, and the development team location.

There is a lot to learn before you jump on the bandwagon, we will surely share all of that with you in this blog.

As the market of BNPL apps grows, experts believe the market is going to grow at a CAGR of 20.7% from 2024 to 2032. This must have made you motivated enough to Create an app like Affirm.

Well, let’s find out how different factors affect the cost to build an app like Affirm and more.

What is Affirm?

Let’s start with the basics: “What is Affirm?”

Affirm is an app that provides BNPL services, allowing consumers to make purchases and pay for them with flexible and transparent payment.

This has completely revolutionized shopping, making it easy, accessible, and efficient.

It’s a great alternative to traditional credit cards, focusing on clear terms and no hidden fees.

The company’s model is inspiring entrepreneurs to develop their apps by showcasing how fintech innovation can address consumer needs for flexibility and transparency.

Affirm’s success demonstrates the potential for new Fintech solutions to transform industries, encouraging developers to create a Fintech app that provides value, convenience, and improved financial accessibility for users.

Features of the Affirm-Like App

Features are one of the most important elements to create an app like Affirm.

After all, this is what is going to attract new customers and retain the old ones. To help you out, we have compiled a list of the top features required for an Affirm-like app.

1. Easy and Quick Registration

Easy and Quick Registration is the need of the hour where you allow users to onboard on the app quickly.

This way, they skip the long sign-up process and get on the app quickly through email, contact numbers, and social media apps like Facebook.

2. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

A key feature of an Affirm-like app is the ability for users to make immediate purchases and pay in fixed, easy-to-understand installments.

A similar feature can be seen in Afterpay like app development.

This payment model allows customers to split costs into manageable payments over time, with clear interest rates or zero interest options, providing financial flexibility while avoiding hidden fees or surprises.

3. Instant Credit Decisions

An Affirm-like app offers real-time credit approvals based on a customer’s financial profile, allowing users to immediately know if they’re eligible for a loan or financing.

This instant decision-making process enhances user experience by providing quick access to funds without long waiting periods or paperwork, making the checkout process smoother and more efficient.

4. Transparent Terms and Fees

 An Affirm-like app prides itself on providing transparent terms, clearly outlining the cost of financing, including interest rates and any associated fees, so users know exactly what they’re agreeing to before making a purchase.

This ensures no hidden surprises, fostering trust between the platform and users, and improving financial literacy by emphasizing clarity.

5. Flexible Payment Options

One standout fintech feature of an Affirm-like app is offering multiple payment plans.

Users can choose from a variety of terms, such as 3, 6, 12, or 24-month repayment schedules.

This flexibility allows users to select the most convenient option for their financial situation, making larger purchases more manageable by distributing payments over a time frame that fits their budget.

6. No Hidden Fees

One of the most attractive aspects of an Affirm-like app is its commitment to no hidden fees.

Users are not subject to unexpected charges such as late fees or hidden processing costs, creating a transparent and trustworthy relationship between the platform and customers.

This feature sets it apart from traditional credit options, which often come with hidden costs.

7. Easy Account Management

An Affirm-like app allows users to easily manage their accounts, check payment history, and track outstanding balances directly within the app.

Simple user interfaces and intuitive dashboards enable seamless monitoring of purchases, remaining payments, and due dates, making it easy for users to stay on top of their financial commitments without confusion.

8. Personalized Loan Offers

Personalization has become a growing BNPL trend.

You need to offer personalized financing options tailored to the user’s creditworthiness, purchase amount, and financial behavior.

By using advanced algorithms, the app can present individualized loan terms and rates, ensuring that users are offered the best possible financing options based on their specific situation, and improving the chances of approval and customer satisfaction.

9. Instant Purchases at Checkout

Seamless integration with online retailers is a key feature to make an app like Affirm.

Users can select the app as a payment option during checkout, where they receive instant financing offers based on their purchase amount.

This smooth, frictionless process allows customers to complete transactions quickly and efficiently without leaving the retailer’s website or app.

10. Credit Score Impact Monitoring

Such apps typically provide users with the ability to track the impact of their BNPL usage on their credit score.

The app notifies users of any changes to their credit profile as they make payments, helping them understand how their financial decisions affect their overall credit health and encouraging responsible borrowing.

11. Merchant Partnerships and Discounts

To incentivize usage, your app may offer exclusive discounts or promotions in partnership with a wide range of online merchants.

These deals encourage consumers to use the app for larger or more frequent purchases, creating a win-win situation for both consumers (with better deals) and merchants (with increased conversion rates).

Now, after knowing the Fintech features, the question remains…………

How to Create an App Like Affirm?

Building a buy now pay later app like Affirm may seem like complex work.

It consists of a proper process to develop an app like Affirm.

Let’s get to know:

► Market Research

The critical step in How to create an app like Affirm starts with Market Research.

You need to start by gathering an understanding of customers and merchants to understand their pain points, challenges, and more.

You also want to do competitor analysis, make sure to know recent trends in the industry & more to establish a proper foundation for your app.

► Pick your Features

You will need to shortlist an all-encompassing list of features for your BNPL app.

Add features like Credit checks, credit score tracking, different payment options, and more. And, if you can later add some other advanced features such as multiple language support, credit score tracking, and more.

Remember, all these will affect your app’s reputation and user experience.

► Focus on Design

Time to focus on your BNPL design.

This is where you create a prototype and wireframe to learn about the structure and functionality of your design.

Creating wireframes helps you to outline the basic layout and navigation, while prototypes allow you to test and refine the interactive elements and visual details.

This is why, it is important to put more effort into this step to create something users engage with.

► Developing Your App

Now, once you are done with the design.

Time to work on bringing the “front end and back end’’ together. For this, developers will choose the right programming languages and write code to build your app.

It is one of the longest processes of the app development process so make sure to have proper communication with the team. 

► Mobile App Testing

There is no second thought that app testing is one of the important elements of development.

To launch a better quality Affirm-like app, it is important to make the app bug-free and technical issue-free, testing is necessary.

There are several tests including Integration, functional, unit testing, and performance are done to ensure that your app is functional and up-to-the-market standards.

► Launching Your App

Now, it’s time to launch your app and make it visible to other people for download.

In order to do so, you need to follow the guidelines of the store including icons, and descriptions.

You can either publish your app on the App Store or Submit your app on the Play Store.

Both stores require you to submit your app for review. You need to wait to hear back from them it might take some days to some weeks, so have patience.

► Post-Launch and Maintenance

Once you deploy the app, it’s time to work on support and maintenance services.

In this, you are going to find and fix issues, new updates, and features if needed. Support and maintenance aim that your app is as per the market standards and requirements.

So, make sure to consider it your top priority for Affirm-like app development.

Now that you have an idea on how to build a BNPL app. If you are still dwelling in confusion, take a look at the big players in the market to get inspired.

Top Apps Like Affirm

To develop a BNPL like Affirm, it’s wise to take a look at successful & best buy now pay later apps that have an amazing grip in the market.

Here, they are mentioned below:

These apps are inspiring investors big time by showing the market potential of the BNPL apps. As the market will grow, the demand will grow bigger.

Time to get to know about……

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App Like Affirm?

A ballpark figure says Affirm-like app development cost can be somewhere between $10,000 to $60,000 or more.

This cost can vary as per the different project requirements and different factors.

These factors include:

• Complexity.
• Development Team Location & Experience.
• Design
• Choosing a Platform
• Tech Stack Selection

In a nutshell, understanding these factors in detail requires a proper approach to budgeting your app development without compromising quality.

Want to know the factors affecting Affirm like app development cost?

The next section will help.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Making an App Like Affirm

Honestly, getting an exact figure for the development cost of a bnpl app is hard.

As we said, different factors affect your budget. To know about the pricing, you need to know about how the factors work.

In this section, we’ll be discussing them all in detail:

♦ UI/UX Design

If you want a basic and minimalistic design, the overall cost to develop an app like Affirm might not be much as it will not take a lot of time and resources.

Whereas, advanced design requires customization and iterations which in turn shoot up the cost.

So, keep your eyes on the design understanding user preference design it in a way.

♦ Selecting the Right Platform

You know that to make an app like Affirm, you have to choose the right platform.

This can be:

► Native App Development

• Android App Development
• iOS App Development

► Hybrid App Development

Native app development has its benefits and challenges, and applications intended for particular operating systems. Whereas, cross-platform solutions offer cost-effectiveness by supporting platforms for both the OS with a single codebase.

♦ Tech Stack Selection

Choosing the right tech stack has a lot of impact on your app.

The tech stack includes security and overall performance. Several technologies offer different speeds, effectiveness, and more.

So, work with the tech stack that you believe can help you improve your app performance, scalability and enhance user experience.

If you work with complex technology that has a steep learning curve, it surely needs expert developers and they will charge you more. Whereas, technology that is open source will offer you a lot of free elements, without exceeding your budget.

Here is a quick breakdown of Tech-stack for Affirm-like app development.

♦ Third-Party Integration

If you are developing an app like Affirm, third-party BNPL integration is important.

And, with so many options, it is sure that your choice will affect the overall Affirm-like app development cost.

While initial setup and subscription fees may be included, these integrations often eliminate the need for extensive development and also make the app familiar to the users.

Moreover, they simplify operations, reducing manual processes and associated labor costs. But, the selection of third-party integration you choose may have some hidden fees, charges, and more which can impact your overall cost to build a BNPL like Affirm.

♦ Features

Affirm-like app stands out in the BNPL space for having amazing features.

So, it is clear that you will need basic features including user registration, a flexible payment method, an Autopay option, and more.

To get an edge over competitors, you can also integrate advanced features like adaptive checkout virtual card, and payment plans.

But remember, every choice you make has a direct impact on Affirm’s like app development cost.

With these, we believe you have an idea of factors affecting the cost to make an app like Affirm.

To get a better cost estimation, you can take the help of an expert company that’s what we will be discussing in the next section:

Collaborate with Nimble AppGenie to Develop an App Like Affirm

Do you want to jump on the bandwagon and get an app like Affirm? Let us help.

Nimble AppGenie, the best BNPL app development company has the right tools & resources to create an app like Affirm.

We know the requirement of creating secure and innovative solutions. From concept to launch- we ensure that your app stands out in the market.

With the right resources and expertise, you can create an app like Affirm that exceeds your expectations. Let’s connect!

Conclusion

Creating an app like Affirm, involves proper research, a strategic approach, and appropriate execution.

We made sure to offer you complete information that you need to know about how to develop an like Affirm.

By placing focus on user experience and taking help from experts such as Nimble AppGenie, you can build a robust and scalable BNPL app.

Ready to make a mark in the industry? This is your time to sign.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.