Affirm's 2026 small-business survey is useful as a market read, but it should not be treated as independent proof that credit unions are behind in small-business payments. The earlier title used "what credit unions must know"; this update narrows the takeaway.
Affirm reported that 90% of surveyed small-business owners were confident in their business outlook over the next 12 months, while 86% cited rising costs as a top concern and 61% worried about competing with larger businesses. Because Affirm is a BNPL provider, readers should treat the survey as sponsored market research and compare it with independent small-business data before making strategy decisions.
Credit-union relevance
Credit unions serving small businesses should pay attention to the underlying member problem: firms want cash-flow flexibility, simple checkout options, predictable payments, and tools that help them compete with larger merchants. BNPL is one way providers are trying to answer that demand, but it is not the only answer and not necessarily the right one for every credit union.
The practical action is product discovery: talk with small-business members, review card and merchant-services usage, understand demand for receivables, working-capital, and payment-plan tools, and evaluate any BNPL or embedded-finance partner through the normal third-party-risk process.