Later this fall, Apple Pay Later will let customers in the United States pay for online and in-app purchases through a six-week installment plan with no interest or fees.
Previewed at WWDC, Apple Pay Later will let customers split a purchase into four equal payments paid over the course of six weeks. Apple Pay Later will include zero interest and no fees and will be available "everywhere Apple Pay is accepted," according to Apple.
Inside the Wallet app, users will see a new overview of all of their upcoming payments and how much they owe and can set a personal budget. Apple says that Apple Pay Later will only be available to qualifying applicants, but no further details have been shared.
Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
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Apple is today providing developers with the first betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, with the new software introducing an early version of the Apple Intelligence features. These new betas will be in testing alongside the current iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15 betas. Developers can choose whether to opt into the new betas with Apple Intelligence, or stay on the ...
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I find the 3 x fortnightly payment thing a bit strange. The use case for this would normally be to spread the cost across salary payments which, in the UK, normally happen monthly. I appreciate this is US only, so perhaps the payment frequency is different in the US?
US workers generally get paid fortnightly, and this is a US-only feature for now. Here in the UK it is common to have a credit card where, if you pay back your debt monthly with direct debit, you end up having ~1.5 month interest-free (I have that with my Amex). PS autocorrect wrote that US workers get laid fortnightly, does Apple know something I don’t?
Well that would be the fiscally responsible thing to do... but so many people lack the discipline to do that.
(those with such discipline, as well as not spending everything they make, typically don't use buy-now-pay-later financing...)
Paying cash when you can get an interest-free loan is not smart, financially speaking.
I can afford to buy anything that Apple currently sells in online store, but given the choice between paying all upfront, or paying over time, I would choose paying over time, every time, and I do.
Now, if there was a discount for cash, that would be a totally different story.
For more info about Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), CNBC ('https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/13/buy-now-pay-later-is-not-a-boom-its-a-bubble-harvard-fellow-says-.html') has some good articles. Search for "BNPL"- this is still a new 'product' in the US, "without much regulatory oversight, the BNPL market currently exists in “a legal gray space,” according to Lux."
The merchants / stores are able to ring up higher purchase totals; the banks loaning out the money are making their money through late fees, etc.
Good point...I was thinking about the money they make if the customer pays on time...the banks stand to make even more money on late fees, etc if the customer pays late. They only lose in a complete default which is probably relatively rare given the short terms and relatively low amounts of the funding.
Bleagh, now that it's clear what this product really is, it feels pretty unsavory for Apple to be getting involved with it.
