Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
What you need to know
- Max Levchin’s inability to obtain a creditcard led him to create Affirm.
- Levchin and his former colleague Elon Musk are now more interested in science fiction than politics.
- Levchin noted that Affirm statistics show consumers to be doing well.
Max Levchin was once a computer scientist who couldn't get a credit card—even after his company went public. Now he runs a payments platform taking on the credit-card companies he calls the "coal-burning fuel plants" of the financial industry.
Levchin discussed the holiday shopping season with CNBC’s Tuesday report. He described his career origin and how his friendship with Paypal co-founder Elon Musk (PYPL) has changed.
These are some highlights.
Credit card companies rejected his application.
Levchin came to the United States as a young teenager, without having a credit record. He claimed he had been late in paying credit cards a few time while in college. This impacted his credit rating for years.
"Even after the Paypal IPO, I couldn't get a credit card, couldn't buy a car," Levchin said. "There are many people like me, and I wanted to start a company that would help them get recognition, get fairly underwritten."
With Affirm, he said, he also sought to undercut an industry that had "devolved" into relying on late fees and deferred interest policies.
The entrepreneur is a plus for him.
Levchin, when asked if he had discussed the new President Donald Trump, with Musk, who is a part of the administration that will be taking over, said they talked about lighter topics.
“We keep our conversations to science fiction," Levchin said. "It’s always a safe topic."
Still, Levchin expressed support for making the government more efficient, the stated aim of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
"All the talk of efficiency sounds great to me. I am far from a governmental expert, so how they pull that off is probably a little bit mysterious," Levchin said. "I love the idea of entrepreneurial spirit in the government."
Personal tech and apparel are popular purchases this holiday season.
Users have been spending on apparel, furniture, housewares, travel and tech, he noted. (Read more of Investopedia’s coverage of the start to holiday shopping season here.)
"I made a big pronouncement that consumer electronics were going to be back; everybody needs an upgrade," he said. "I was right. It's in the top five."
Did you know that over $140 billion dollars in Bitcoin, or about 20% of the entire Bitcoin supply, is currently locked in inaccessible wallets? Or maybe you have lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? Don’t let those funds remain out of reach! AI Seed Phrase Finder is here to help you regain access effortlessly. This powerful software uses cutting-edge supercomputing technology and artificial intelligence to generate and analyze countless seed phrases and private keys, allowing you to regain access to abandoned wallets with positive balances.
