All Things D confirms that PayPal co-founder Max Levchin has launched a new venture in eCommerce.
As one of the visionaries behind the global payments company, Levchin has an impressive track record at PayPal to live up to with his latest venture. Called Affirm, his mobile payments startup is already billed by some as a quality alternative to Square and Stripe because of its focus on limited clicks.
“We are trying to get as close as possible to one-click, which has always been the case on the desktop,” Levchin says, according to CNET. “In mobile, it has become an imperative to be able to buy it now or you lose a customer quickly.”
Affirm will use Facebook authentication to verify the identity of buyers and then will guarantee payment to merchants, according to AllThingsD. It might also verify buyers by using ZIP code income ranges and people’s mobile device IDs. The startup’s beta launch partner is 1-800-Flowers.
“You will essentially be putting a purchase on a digital tab, and we are going to make it work for us by looking at all available data to determine if you are someone who will pay it back,” Levchin he added.
Although the extent of the start-up capital behind the venture isn’t publicly known, Affirm was reportedly funded in the “low-digit millions” by Levchin and his closest associates.
