Amazon is unveiling its first buy now, pay later checkout option for the millions of small business owners who use its online store, CNBC learned exclusively.
The tech giant confirmed Thursday that its partnership with Affirm is expanding to include Amazon Business, the e-commerce platform that caters to companies.
Affirm shares jumped more than 14% after the news.
The service, with loans ranging from $100 to $20,000, will be available to all eligible customers by Black Friday, or Nov. 24. It is specifically for sole proprietors, or small businesses owned by a single person, the most common form of business ownership in the U.S.
It’s the latest sign of the widening adoption of a fintech feature that exploded in popularity early in the pandemic, along with the valuations of leading players Affirm and Klarna. When boom turned to bust in 2021, and valuations in the industry dropped steeply, skeptics pointed to rising interest rates and borrower defaults as hurdles for growth and profitability.
But for users, the option is touted as being more transparent than credit cards because customers know how much interest they will owe up front. That’s made its appeal durable for households and businesses coming under increasing strain as excess cash from pandemic stimulus programs has dwindled.
“We constantly hear from small businesses that say they need payment solutions to manage their cash flow,” Todd Heimes, director of Amazon Business Worldwide, said in an interview. “We offer the ability to use credit cards and to pay by invoice; this is another option available to small business customers to pay over time.”
Amazon Business was launched in 2015 after the company realized businesses were using its popular retail website for office supplies and bulk purchases. The division reached $35 billion in sales this year and has more than 6 million customers globally.
Amazon customer with access to a buy now, pay later option at checkout from Affirm.
Courtesy: Amazon Inc.
If approved, users can pay for Amazon purchases in equal installments over three to 48 months. They are charged an annualized interest rate between 10% and 36%, based on the perceived risk of the transaction, according to Affirm Chief Revenue Officer Wayne Pommen. There are no late or hidden fees, the companies said.
“The financial industry is not great at providing credit to really small businesses,” Pommen said. “They can’t walk into a bank branch and get a loan until they reach a certain scale. So us being able to provide this for purchases” helps business grow and manage their cash flows, he said.
The move is a boost in a crucial relationship for Affirm, which has had to search for revenue growth after demand for expensive Peloton bikes collapsed. Affirm first began offering installment loans to Amazon’s retail customers in 2021, launched on Amazon in Canada in 2022 and was then added to Amazon Pay earlier this year.
Affirm decided to target sole proprietors first because they make up most small businesses in the country, with 28 million registered in the U.S., according to Pommen.
“We’ll see how the product performs and if it makes sense to expand it to a wider universe of businesses,” he said. “Our assessment is that we can underwrite this very successfully and have the strong performance that we need.”
Elon Musk announced his new company xAI, which he says has the goal to understand the true nature of the universe.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Elon Musk‘s artificial intelligence company xAI has raised $15 billion from investors, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC’s David Faber.
The funding adds another $5 billion to the $10 billion round CNBC reported on in September that valued the startup at $200 billion. Sources told CNBC that a lot of the money will fund graphic processing units that underpin large language models.
Artificial intelligence startups have reached sky high valuations in recent months as they raise massive amounts of capital to power seemingly endless demand for foundational models.
Last last week, Tesla shareholders voted to approve Musk’s massive pay package worth nearly $1 trillion, and voted on a proposal for the company to invest in xAI.
Brandon Ehrhart, general counsel at Tesla, said there were more votes for than against, but noted the abstentions and said the company is considering next steps on the issue.
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U.S. President Donald Trump signs the funding bill to end the U.S. government shutdown, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 12, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Opening time
President Donald Trump ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last night, signing into law a short-term funding bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the evening that funds the government through January.
Here’s what to know:
While the deal does not include the extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits that Democrats wanted, it does include a guarantee from Republicans that the Senate will vote on a health care bill of Democrats’ choosing next month.
The agreement also ensures funding for food stamps, the reversal of shutdown-related layoffs and backpay for government employees.
As he signed the legislation ending the 43-day shutdown, Trump said “people were hurt so badly” and that “we can never let this happen again.” He blamed Democrats for the closure, saying “Republicans never wanted a shutdown.”
Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said key inflation and labor data for October may never be released because of the shutdown. Without these reports, Leavitt said Federal Reserve policymakers will be “flying blind at a critical period.”
The Department of Transportation also halted the flight cuts it imposed last week as disruptions to air travel eased. The cancellations would have risen from 6% to 10% on Friday.
A shot of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
RandomEye Photography | Twenty20
Mickey Mouse may be joining Pluto in the dog house. Disneymissed Wall Street’s revenue estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter this morning, sending shares down more than 4% in premarket trading.
While the company’s Disney+ streaming service grew, the entertainment giant was hampered by its linear TV business and its its theatrical film slate. But Disney’s quarterly earnings came in higher than analysts anticipated.
“Overall we’re leaving the year with a lot of momentum,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning, referring to the company’s streaming and experience businesses.
3. Personnel matters
U.S. President Donald Trump and Lisa Cook, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters | Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mark your calendar: The Supreme Court said it will hear arguments on Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Jan. 21. The court in October allowed Cook to keep her job while the case plays out.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic announced yesterday that he will leave his position when his term expires in February. Bostic, the first Black and openly gay regional Fed president, said in a statement that he was proud of efforts “to turn the lofty goal of an economy that works for everyone into more of a reality.”
4. Inside the AFP business
Jgi/jamie Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images
As drug costs in the U.S. skyrocket, a growing industry of businesses called alternative funding programs are promising patients more affordable options for accessing specialty medications — in many cases by obtaining the drugs overseas.
Federal authorities are raising alarm about the legality of AFPs and the potential health risks for patients. Nicole Johnson, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, said AFPs are fulfilling prescriptions through “unverified” suppliers and “potentially illicit” online pharmacies.
In a new investigation, CNBC traced medications traveling into the U.S. via a supply chain that’s not authorized by the drug companies that make them. The investigation shows how ubiquitous these companies — which contract with employer-sponsored health plans — are becoming.
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5. Electric slide
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Anthropic announced yesterday that it plans to spend $50 billion to build out infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence. As CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos notes, the move makes the technology company a major U.S. player in physical AI infrastructure. The project will start with custom data centers in Texas and New York and is expected to create 800 permanent jobs and more than 2,000 construction positions.
But there’s growing political backlash to the AI industry’s data centers, with voters angry over rising electricity prices. Abigail Spanberger, who won last week’s governor race in Virginia, promised to make the industry pay “their fair share” of higher costs.
The Daily Dividend
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released more than 20,000 documents obtained from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate yesterday, among which were emails referencing Trump. The president has denied knowing about Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls and young women and has never been charged with wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote next week on releasing files related to Epstein.
I know how dirty donald is
Jeffrey Epstein in a 2018 email thread
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan, Jeff Cox, Emily Wilkins, Sean Conlon, Lillian Rizzo, Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli, Melissa Lee, MacKenzie Sigalos and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.
With ski season approaching, Uber wants to take you to the slopes.
The ride-hailing company on Thursday announced Uber Ski, which will allow users to book a ride to and from nearly 40 mountains in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and France, according to a release. The services is available through March.
Uber is partnering with Vail Resorts to let riders book an Uber Reserve directly to the mountain resort company’s various destinations. Users can buy an Epic Pass, which grants access to over 90 ski and snowboarding resorts, directly on the app.
Riders can reserve an UberXL or UberXXL up to 90 days in advance, with the larger vehicles offering more trunk space to fit extra gear.
Uber Ski landing page.
Courtesy: Uber
The launch is a part of a series of updates Uber is offering ahead of the holiday season.
Pradeep Parameswaran, Uber’s global head of mobility, said that new features will help “people spend less time stressing about logistics and more time enjoying the moments that matter” during the festive months.
The company is also rolling out Uber Share at three airports as flight delays and cancellations continue to pile up across the country from the government shutdown. President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed into law a funding bill to end the longest shutdown of the federal in U.S. history.
At John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Orlando International Airport, riders can use Uber Share to save up to 25% by pairing up with another traveler headed in the same direction.
Additionally, Uber released a new “Send a Ride” in-app feature that lets users cover the expense of someone else’s ride by sending a voucher link that will be automatically applied to the person’s next trip. The company already has a gifting option for its Uber Eats platform.
When using the “Send a Gift” feature, customers will be able to include a video that could be personalized or picked from a selection of celebrities, including Megan Thee Stallion, the Jonas Brothers, and Tracee Ellis Ross.