Apple Pay Later Will Let You Pay for Purchases Through an Installment Plan With No Interest or Fees

[MacRumors]

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.

The development of Apple Pay Later was first reported by Bloomberg in July 2021. Apple Pay Later is one of several new features coming to the Wallet app with iOS 16, including a built-in parcel and order tracking.

Article Link: Apple Pay Later Will Let You Pay for Purchases Through an Installment Plan With No Interest or Fees

 

[Kev0172]

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?

 

[Chopper3]

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?

I was thinking exactly the same thing, clearly developed by US people, pretty much the only people who get paid fortnightly in the world!

 

[0194839]

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?

I concur, it doesn’t make sense. They should give us a 3-month installment plan.

 

[applyr]

So is this a US only thing for now?

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Really wish the additional Apple Pay features eventually trickle out internationally, feel like they're great features that I would definitely use.

 

[krspkbl]

bring it to the UK pls. i'd definitely use this in addition to my credit card. i know there are other apps out there that offer pay later like paypal/klarna but i'd use Apple Pay

 

[kyjaotkb]

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?

 

[jsmith189]

It's a shame they seem to have little interest in adding these things worldwide. Australia still don't even have Apple Cash, and I doubt this will be coming our way. Which is strange, considering 99% of the country runs on contactless/Apple Pay. I get it's not as simple as "just doing it", but c'mon.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

It's a shame they seem to have little interest in adding these things worldwide. Australia still don't even have Apple Cash, and I doubt this will be coming our way. Which is strange, considering 99% of the country runs on contactless/Apple Pay. I get it's not as simple as "just doing it", but c'mon.

Yeah, it's really frustrating. Contactless payments have been the norm in the UK for like 12-14 years now.

I'm sure there was some rumours about international availability maybe coming soon, but who knows. Suppose we'll just need to wait 😭

 

[entropys]

Australia is paid fortnightly too. I suspect it will be a while before we get the feature, given how fast Apple Australia doesn’t move.

 

[9646829]

As with everything new Wallet related this will never leave the US, Apple Card/Cash which have been out for years and the new Tap to Pay for example is also US only.

Don't ever expect driving licenses in Wallet in the EU either.

 

[Lostanddamned]

Payday loans, now available right there on your phone.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Payday loans, now available right there on your phone.

It's not a payday loan, it's an interest-free payment plan.

 

[Coochie Boogs]

Apple moving closer and closer to providing more of the “FinTech” services. What are the chances they become an online bank?

 

[aParkerMusic]

Really wish the additional Apple Pay features eventually trickle out internationally, feel like they're great features that I would definitely use.

There could be both an experimental aspect to it, as well as a regulatory aspect to it. Being a US-based company, do they want to iron out the wrinkles in a familiar landscape before expnding? Could it take longer for these things to be approved by non-US regulatory bodies? Just a thought. I remember Steve Jobs mentioning regulatory filings and approvals as reasons that devices were only launched in certain regions at a given time.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

There could be both an experimental aspect to it, as well as a regulatory aspect to it. Being a US-based company, do they want to iron out the wrinkles in a familiar landscape before expnding? Could it take longer for these things to be approved by non-US regulatory bodies? Just a thought. I remember Steve Jobs mentioning regulatory filings and approvals as reasons that devices were only launched in certain regions at a given time.

Oh yeah for sure, it'll more than likely be regulatory.

 

[robd003]

What happens when customers miss a payment?

 

[danny842003]

I was thinking exactly the same thing, clearly developed by US people, pretty much the only people who get paid fortnightly in the world!

It’s pretty common in Australia as well.

 

[moabal]

Can this be used with a credit card to get cash back?

 

[BvizioN]

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?

Yeah, find this strange too and what good would this be for someone who gets the wage monthly! PayPal does have something similar but the cost is spread for three months.

 

[BF1M]

I don’t understand who this is for. Is it an extension of Apple Card? Clearly it will have a credit score requirement so why not just push them towards Apple Card. Is there a maximum number of purchases? Total billed? A lot of questions.

 

[hj8ag]

Apple moving closer and closer to providing more of the “FinTech” services. What are the chances they become an online bank?

0


Way too much regulation, way too much risk for Apple.

 

[bbfc]

So is this a US only thing for now?

Yes.

 

[BruiserB]

Trying to figure out who/how anyone makes money here. At first I thought I would choose one of the credit cards in my wallet and then choose to do an ApplePay later transaction and then my selected credit card would be charged over time and I couldn't figure out how that would make Apple or anyone else money.

However it now appears the ApplePay Later card is a separate card in the wallet, so all transactions will go through it. So my guess now is that card is either a Visa or MC issued by some bank. When you make the charge, it goes through to the merchant you are purchasing from as a single payment in full and that party pays the Visa/MC merchant fee. Then the card issuer does an immediate debit from your bank account and 3 more at 2-week intervals. The card issuing bank and Apple probably then take some split of merchant fee for effectively providing a 6 week loan (even less since the loan is paid back in installments). So they make 3% of the transaction for providing 3 weeks average of float which seems to be a 52% return on their money. I'm using round numbers, but probably not far from the actual.

I get just as much or more float using my own credit cards for a transaction....I float the whole amount for between 4 and 8 weeks depending on where in my billing cycle I make a purchase. Plus my own credit card gives me some of that merchant fee back as cash back. This may appeal to those with no ability to get credit, but there would be absolutely no advantage to me to use it. It will also be interesting to see how many people default on these when the money isn't in their bank accounts for the subsequent debits.