Apple Pay Later, a financial tool that launched in 2023, has already been discontinued. The now-defunct service allowed shoppers to borrow up to $1,000 and pay it back in installments with no interest.
The company said Monday that, starting later this year, Apple Pay will instead allow buyers to access similar small “buy now, pay later” loans via other financial institutions’ credit and debit cards.
Experian now includes small consumer loans made through Apple Pay Later on consumers’ credit reports. That makes Apple the first “buy now pay later” provider to supply this information to the credit reporting agency.
This can improve the customer’s credit score.
Seven months after its limited release, Apple is finally making Pay Later available to all iPhone users in the US.
Apple Pay Later launched as a limited preview in late March 2023, allowing selected consumers to pay off their big purchases in four equal installments.
You can split up a big purchase across four smaller payments using Apple Pay Later. Unlike other similar services like Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm, there’s no interest — you pay the exact same amount of money as if you were purchasing at once.
Payments are expected every two weeks, matching the most common paycheck schedule in the United States. It’s easy to use and transparent about what you’ll pay when; it couldn’t be more straightforward.
Goldman Sachs reportedly wants out of a partnership with Apple that has the bank backing the Apple Card and other financial services. It’s not hard to guess why: recent filings from the bank indicate it has lost at least $1 billion on the deal.
It’s supposedly looking to hand the business off to another megabank.
Macs offer great value, but they aren’t necessarily cheap. After all, Apple’s most affordable laptop, the MacBook Air, currently starts at $999. If you need a capable computer that you can take anywhere, but you don’t have enough cash on hand to buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro outright, you have options.
In order to be approved for Apple Pay Later, the company’s own buy now, pay later service, individuals will need to be loyal Apple customers. The service has strict hoops you need to jump through: Apple will check your spending at Apple Stores, purchases and subscriptions on the App Store, Apple Cash payments, Apple Pay history and more.
Even if you work for Apple, you may only be approved for a $1,000 loan. The feature continues to undergo internal testing after being delayed since September, according to Bloomberg.
Apple continues working on its long-rumored iPhone hardware subscription service despite hitting several roadblocks. The service was first rumored to launch in late 2022.
With a subscription service, Apple will allow customers to get the latest iPhone by paying a monthly fee. This would save them from shelling out the total device cost upfront.
Apple Pay Later reportedly has entered beta testing among Apple’s retail store employees, signaling that the “buy now, pay later” service is nearing public release.
The move comes months after Apple announced the financing option at its Worldwide Developers Conference last June.
When Apple said in July at WWDC22 it would launch Apple Pay Later with iOS 16, it effectively said it would enter the short-term loan business, known for “buy now, pay later” plans.
So it’s no big surprise that the Cupertino tech giant — accustomed to regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad — is now facing it from financial industry regulators.
But what’s somewhat surprising is that regulators are making noise about a host of concerns even before Apple Pay Later comes out.