Google has added installment payment options from Affirm and Klarna to Google Pay.

On May 13, fintech outlet Finextra reported that Google Pay users can choose pay-later installments via Affirm and Klarna buttons on the payment screen.

The integration runs on a platform based on Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). Users can see installment options alongside existing payment methods while searching for products and proceeding with purchases.

The key point is not simply the addition of payment options, but that Google has started directly linking payment functions into AI shopping flows. After users select products through search or conversational recommendations and move to checkout, they can handle installment payments within Google Pay without switching to a separate service. It is a structure aimed at reducing steps between shopping discovery and payment, making Google’s strategy clearer.

Klarna linked the change to the spread of AI shopping. David Sykes (데이비드 사익스), Klarna’s chief commercial officer, said that as shopping moves to conversational, AI-based environments, flexible payments are becoming core infrastructure for how purchases are made. That means payment methods are not just a follow-on step but an element that completes the AI shopping experience.

Google also stressed the same direction. Asish Gupta (아쉬쉬 굽타), Google’s vice president and general manager for merchant shopping, said that as AI plays a more active role in product discovery and the purchase process, the security and trustworthiness of payment options become important. He said stability must be secured at the final stage where actual payment takes place as AI changes the front end of the purchase journey.

The move is also seen as an effort by Google Pay to expand its role beyond a simple wallet function into a payment hub for AI shopping. Affirm and Klarna can broaden user access by entering Google’s shopping touchpoints. With payment buttons displayed immediately at checkout, the focus is on widening choices at the moment of purchase.

Google did not disclose details such as rollout countries, plans to add partners or the fee structure in the announcement. As AI becomes involved not only in shopping discovery but also in actual purchase conversion, how naturally payment options are connected is emerging as an axis of platform competition.