The Nasdaq Stock Market is proud to have so many innovation-driven companies choosing to list their stocks on its stock exchange. Many of the biggest tech companies on the planet have made Nasdaq their home, and the actions they take have a huge influence on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^ IXIC). On Thursday, the Nasdaq was back above the 14,000 level by 1 p.m. EDT as it tried to find its way to new all-time highs.

Pure tech stocks aren’t the only big Nasdaq winners, however. Lately, companies working in the field of fintech have started to stand out. Some of these companies, Affirm holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) and Free Mercado (NASDAQ: MELI), were making waves on Thursday, and long-term investors can see plenty of reasons to love both stocks and their exposure to fintech.

Buy now, pay later – everywhere

Shares of Affirm Holdings rose nearly 5% early in the afternoon on Thursday. The company specializes in allowing retailers to offer installment payment plans for purchases of all kinds – even relatively small ones – and it has taken major strategic steps to try to expand its availability and build an advantage. first come.

Latest win for Affirm comes from deal with e-commerce giant Shopify (NYSE: SHOP). As part of the larger agreement, Shopify is making the Affirm payment service available to merchants in the US market.

The decision to expand what was a slightly more limited deal between Shopify and Affirm makes sense for both companies. For Shopify, the availability of installment payments has helped thousands of new merchants sign up for Shopify’s service. Meanwhile, securing the vote of confidence from a key e-commerce player has also benefited Affirm, especially as it seeks to diversify its market exposure.

Affirm’s business is deceptively simple and there will certainly be competition. Yet by doing all it can to grow rapidly right now, the company is looking to set the stage for itself as the best-known name in installment payments. It could make a big difference in the long run.

Looking south

Meanwhile, MercadoLibre shares rose nearly 4% on Thursday. The Latin American e-commerce company is well known for its online marketplace, but its expertise in financial technology plays an important role in its overall growth.

The MercadoLibre corporate umbrella includes many different services, and the Mercado Pago electronic payments business is one of the most important. Originally designed to facilitate online transactions in the MercadoLibre marketplace, Mercado Pago is now seeing an increasing number of payments made completely independently from the e-commerce side of the business.

In addition, MercadoLibre also seeks to stay ahead of the curve in other areas of fintech. The online retailer recently bought cryptocurrency, joining the growing list of companies investing in it. Crypto has a different appeal in the main markets of MercadoLibre, as governments in Latin America are used to devaluing local currencies and experiencing rampant inflationary pressure that makes holding ordinary money risky.

MercadoLibre’s move today is nice, but the stock is still over 30% of its all-time highs. This leaves a great opportunity for those who believe the Latin American e-commerce giant is on the verge of a full rebound.