Shares of Affirm Holdings Inc. were falling in Monday afternoon trading after Apple Inc. announced an installment-pay offering similar to one of Affirm’s buy-now pay-later options. The smartphone giant previewed Apple Pay Later, a new buy-now pay-later offering that will allow people to split purchases into four payments without incurring interests or fees. Apple announced the payment offering during the keynote speech of its WWDC developer event Monday and said that the installment option will be available where the Apple Pay service is accepted. The feature has been expected as a possibility since at least last summer. In a statement, an Affirm spokesperson told MarketWatch, “Even as more players join the movement we started, the prize remains massive and Affirm is well-positioned to win. We simply don’t think anyone can do what our team and our technology can do.” Affirm shares fell 5.5% in Monday trading. Shares of Apple closed 0.5% higher.
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