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Affirm, a business that has helped popularize a "buy now pay later" trend for Internet shopping, offered its shares to the public on Wednesday. The listing came weeks after the company pulled back its initial IPO plans amid uncertainty over how to price the sale. Affirm ultimately listed its shares at $49 under the ticker AFRM, but by mid-day shares were trading at over $100—a more than 100% increase.
In an interview with Fortune, Levchin reiterated his familiar mantra that the credit card industry is deceitful and immoral, and that Affirm offers a way to provide consumers credit with dignity. "We don't profit from our customers mistakes and misfortunes. The entire premise of the credit card industry is based on late fees. Deferred interest is a terrible product," said Levchin.
