Apple CEO Tim Cook recently confirmed that Apple Pay Later will launch “soon.” Initially, the service was reportedly being tested exclusively by Apple employees. Now, the tech giant has expanded the testing of the service to its retail employees in the United States.
‘Apple Pay Later’ now being tested at Apple’s retail locations
According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a beta version of Apple’s “buy now, pay later” service was recently made available to 80,000 Apple retail employees in the United States. This leads us to believe that the launch of the service is tantalizingly close.
Announced during WWDC 2022, Apple Pay Later is a service that will allow customers in the United States to split a purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees to pay. The service will be available within the Wallet app when it launches so users can easily view, track and repay their payments. Using the Mastercard network, Apple Pay Later will be available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app.
it was initially expected that the service would launch in 2022. However, the launch of Apple Pay Later was pushed back time and time again due to numerous technical and engineering challenges. Back in September 2022, Gurman suggested that the service would launch in the spring of 2023 alongside the arrival of iOS 16.4, which is expected to enter beta testing next week.
For Apple Pay Later transactions, the Cupertino tech giant will manage the loans in-house and will not rely on its financial partners to conduct services like credit checks, lending, etc. However, due to Apple’s lack of a bank charter, Goldman Sachs will act as the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used to process Apple Pay Later transactions.
The Bloomberg report also revealed that Apple is working on an iteration of Apple Pay Later called “Apple Pay Monthly Installments,” which would offer longer-term payment plans to customers. But, they will not be interest-free
The company also has been developing a version of the service called Apple Pay Monthly Installments, working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., that will split up the cost of large transactions over several months with interest. That offering hasn’t been announced yet.
At launch, Apple Pay Later will not be available in all U.S. states. Apple will likely roll out wider support for the service in the coming months following its release.
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