- Apple Pay Later is finally available in the United States
- Payments spread over six weeks, with no fees or interest
- For the moment, the international deployment is not mentioned
Apple Pay Later, Apple’s split payment service, is finally coming to an end. It’s been long enough since this service was announced and today it’s finally available in the United States. Across the Atlantic, the Cupertino company announces that it will begin to invite users to use this new mechanism for payments, before offering Apple Pay Later to more people in the coming months.
Concretely, what does Apple offer? In essence, for purchases from merchants that accept Apple Pay, “Pay Later” allows payment to be spread out over multiple installments. Loans given range from $50 to $1,000. And payments can be spread over six weeks, without any fees or interest, provided, of course, that the user meets all the criteria. Indeed, before granting loans, Apple first checks that the user is in a good financial situation.
© Apple
During a payment, those who can use Pay Later have the choice between two options: the classic Apple Pay payment, and the spread payment. On its Wallet application, on which payment is integrated, Apple also offers an interface for managing loans.
© Apple
“Apple Pay Later was designed with the financial health of our users in mind, so it has no fees or interest, and can be used and managed in Wallet, making it easier for consumers to make borrowing decisions informed and responsible”said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president for Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
Apple takes a big step
For the moment, Apple does not mention an international deployment for this feature. And this is understandable, as financial services must comply with strict regulations in each country. We must not forget that Apple Pay, for example, only arrived in France two years after its American launch. And today, the Apple Card service is still not offered in France.
But the launch of Apple Pay Later is in any case an important step in the development of Apple’s financial services. And the possibility of spreading payments will encourage more e-commerce sites and shops to adopt the Apple Pay payment system. Moreover, Apple is more and more autonomous, compared to the banks. Indeed, it is a subsidiary called Apple Financing (and not a partner bank) that “is responsible for credit and loan evaluation”.
Remember also that according to rumors, other Apple financial services are currently in the pipeline. The firm would consider offering longer-term loans, as well as an iPhone subscription
