Apple has finally launched its much-awaited BNPL offering Apple Pay Later, in its digital wallet.
Apple launches BNPL offering Apple Pay Later
The product, like conventional BNPL offerings, allows customers to pay for online purchases in instalments.
Apple Pay Later lets customers split payments for purchases into four instalments over six weeks, with the first instalment due at the time of purchase.
Apple users can also apply for a loan within the Wallet app, ranging from $50 to $1,000, with no interest or fees, to make online or in-app purchases.
The payment option is rolling out to selected, random, users in the US on an invite only basis, with plans to offer it to all eligible customers over the next several months, according to a company release.
Apple’s move comes as a growing number of consumers have turned to BNPL services to stretch their budgets at a time of high inflation and broader economic uncertainty.
But some economists and consumer advocates have raised concerns that these services could cause shoppers to take on more debt.
Apple says the new feature is “designed with users’ financial health in mind.”
According to Apple, users can apply for a loan within the Apple Wallet “with no impact to their credit,” but the company notes in the fine print that the Pay Later loan and payment history “may be reported to credit bureaus and impact their credit.”
Once approved for a loan, users will start seeing the Pay Later option at checkout in apps and online on the iPhone and iPad.
Apple says users will be able to view and manage their loans within the Wallet app and that they’ll receive notifications when payment is due.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how people manage their finances,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
“Many people are looking for flexible payment options, which is why we’re excited to provide our users with Apple Pay Later.”
Apple users will be able to track and manage upcoming loan payments in the Wallet app. Any loan application can also be done in the app with no impact on credit, according to the company.
Apple launched a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs in 2019, but this BNPL offering marks the first time that Apple is handling the financial side of things by itself.
As noted by Apple, the Pay Later program is managed by a new subsidiary, Apple Financing LLC, which the company says “is responsible for credit assessment and lending.”
The company did, however, partner with the BNPL program Mastercard Instalments to enable Apple Pay Later, while “Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the Mastercard payment credentials.”
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