Google Pay has rolled out a handful of updates to its Chrome autofill platform, with the most notable being that “pay over time” options now appear beneath credit and debit cards in the menu. This change underscores the idea that buy now, pay later services are becoming a standard payment method.
The biggest immediate winner may be Affirm, which can now be accessed directly through Chrome’s autofill in just a couple of clicks. Google Pay has also added Australian-based Zip to the menu, with plans to support Klarna, Afterpay, and other providers in the near future.
Shoppers who choose to pay over time through the menu are presented with a list of available options and can even proceed with a virtual card generated for each specific purchase. The feature will be automatically activated for merchants, requiring no integration effort on their part.
Affirm Expands Its Presence
Affirm integrated with Google Pay in early 2024, enabling eligible consumers to pay over time with Affirm wherever the Google Pay button is available. With the new options, users selecting Affirm through the autofill feature will first undergo an eligibility check before choosing between biweekly or monthly payment plans.
“This is a great strategic move by Affirm, and really underscores the power of embedded finance in keeping payment options top of mind for consumers,” said Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Although not a digital wallet per se, Google’s autofill has become a popular tool, making it easy for e-commerce shoppers to select stored payment credentials as if held in a wallet. Now consumers can just as easily select an Affirm buy now, pay later option at participating merchants.”
More New Payment Features
The upgrades also introduce features to make payments easier through Google. Google Wallet is adding new options for international money transfers, allowing users to view clear fee and exchange rate details from multiple providers before sending money abroad.
Last year, Chrome’s autofill dropdown began displaying credit card reward details to help shoppers choose the best payment method for each transaction. The latest Google Wallet update expands this feature to cover more than 100 credit cards.
