Affirm acquires personal finance startup Sweep to expand beyond point-of-sale lending

Affirm isn’t wasting any time in moving forward with its “direct-to-consumer” products. A couple of weeks after raising $100 million in equity funding, the financial technology company announced today that it has acquired Sweep and its personal finance management app service. Although financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, we’re told that Sweep’s investors “are pleased and excited about being a part of Affirm.”

As a result of the deal, Sweep’s current app has been pulled from app stores. Those that already have it installed will still have service for a little bit longer — the exact duration is unknown. However, an updated app is in the works and will be launched later this year under the Affirm banner.

Above: Affirm mobile app

Image Credit: Affirm

Affirm’s broader vision, according to vice president of merchant services Brad Selby, is to “create a new financial service company without negative shenanigans.” It’s looking to develop “useful services for people so that they can live their lives without worrying about their overdrafts and credit cards.” This interest in financial peace of mind is what brought Affirm and Sweep together.

Founded in 2014 by former Pandora executives Jackson Gates and Asi Behar, Sweep says its mission is to help people save money by planning for the future. Its product operates as a savings bucket, allowing you to manage your cash flow timeline, track your bills, and understand how much of your paycheck goes toward those expenses. “You’ll never fall behind or wonder if you have enough money, because Sweep tells you exactly how much you need to stay ahead,” the company claims.

Gates and Behar felt the next step for their company was in the area of lending, and when they were looking for the right firm to partner with, Affirm’s name repeatedly came up. “Being part of Affirm allows us to reach our goal of helping people plan for the future, grow savings, and better direct their money so they can live richer and more enjoyable lives,” Gates said.

The addition of Sweep accelerates a process that Affirm CEO Max Levchin talked about this month when he said that his company would be pursuing more direct-to-consumer products, expanding beyond its point-of-sale financing platform.

What’s more, Selby suggested Sweep will play a role in the overall user experience for those products and praised Gates’ team for having an app that was beautifully designed.

The acquisition closed last year, and most of Sweep’s team was retained (with the exception of a backend engineer who Gates said has decided to pursue “something else”). Previously, Sweep had raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Kapor Capital, Vulcan CApital, The Valley Fund, and StartX.