Apple plans new ‘buy now, pay later’ service

Apple Inc is planning a new service that will allow consumers to ‘buy now, pay later’. The service will be applicable for any Apple Pay purchase and the amount can be paid in installments over time. The upcoming service is known as Apple Pay Later internally. It will use Goldman Sachs as the lender for loans required for the installment schemes

While Goldman Sachs has been Apple’s partner for the Apple Card credit card since 2019, the new offering is not connected to Apple Card, stated a report in Bloomberg. The use of Apple Card won’t be required either for the new scheme.

When a user makes a purchase via Apple Pay on their Apple device, they will be given a choice to pay for it interest-free every two weeks or with interest across several months. The plans are internally called ‘Apple Pay in 4’ and ‘Apple Pay Monthly Installments’.

Consumers can purchase through an Apple Pay Later plan and use any credit card to make their payments. Buyers can avail the service at any retail or online stores.

It must be mentioned that Apple offers this service to users of Apple Card but with the new service it will be extended to Apply Pay transactions too.

The company receives a percentage of the transactions made with Apple Pay, driving additional revenue.

Users who want to use the Apple Pay Later service will need to get an approval via an application through iPhone’s Wallet app. One can manage their payments through that app. There will also be an exit plan that will enable customers to pay off the remainder of their purchase balance.

Some plans will exclude late fees and processing fees. The service will not require a credit check on the user. The company is also testing a feature that will let users create temporary, digital Apple Pay Later credit cards for individual purchases.

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