Shop Pay Installments Australia is now live, letting shoppers pick installment plans through the Shopify checkout button, the companies announced Thursday.
How the new payment option works
When an Australian buyer clicks the Shopify Shop Pay button, an Affirm-powered choice appears. Customers can split a purchase into biweekly or monthly installments, opting for interest‑free or interest‑bearing terms. The interface shows the total cost before the order is placed.
Shopify merchants activate the feature from the admin dashboard, a step the release says is “just a toggle.” Once turned on, the option appears automatically at checkout for eligible shoppers.
“Bringing Shop Pay Installments to Australia unlocks even more flexibility and choice, helping our merchants continue to meet consumers where they are and how they like to shop,” said Rohit Mishra, vice president of product, payments and cross‑border at Shopify.
Background of the partnership
The collaboration began in June 2021 with a U.S. rollout. Unlike many buy now, pay later services, the solution keeps shoppers on the merchant’s site, avoiding a redirect to a third‑party portal.
In February 2025, the partners announced an expansion plan that added Canada and the United Kingdom. By April, the installment service was live in Canada, marking its first availability outside the United States.
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Australian shoppers now join users in three other markets, expanding the global footprint of the joint offering.
Affirm’s Australia country manager, Nitin Kashid, added, “In partnership with Shopify, Affirm built Shop Pay Installments for the future — a way to pay with even more flexible terms and no late fees, ever.”
For merchants, integrating the feature means fewer abandoned carts, a common challenge when checkout steps become cumbersome. The built‑in nature of the tool also reduces the need for separate BNPL plugins, simplifying site maintenance. It feels oddly like a coffee break for the checkout process, a small but noticeable shift in flow.
Affirm’s recent performance
PYMNTS reported that the latest quarter shows the installment model moving deeper into everyday spending. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Affirm recorded a 36% year‑over‑year increase in gross merchandise volume, reaching $14.1 billion. Transaction count rose 41% to 53 million.
The growth suggests that consumers are comfortable using flexible payment options for a broader range of purchases, not just high‑ticket items.
Industry observers note that the Australian rollout could accelerate that trend, given the country’s strong e‑commerce growth and consumer appetite for alternative financing.
