Apple Starts Rolling Out ‘Pay Later’ Service in the US

Apple is launching a new ‘buy now, pay later’ service in the US today. The company has started inviting select users to test its new Apple Pay Later service today, and it plans to make it available to all eligible users in the coming months.

This new financial service was first announced back at Apple’s WWDC conference last year, and it will let users split purchases into four payments spread over six weeks with no interest or fees. Apple Pay Later can be used for purchases made with Apple Pay online or in an app on an iPhone and iPad.

“Many people are looking for flexible payment options, which is why we’re excited to provide our users with Apple Pay Later,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Apple Pay Later was designed with our users’ financial health in mind, so it has no fees and no interest, and can be used and managed within Wallet, making it easier for consumers to make informed and responsible borrowing decisions.”

Once users receive an invite to test Apple Pay Later, they can apply for a loan of $50 to 1,000 in the Apple Wallet app. “A soft credit pull will be done during the application process to help ensure the user is in a good financial position before taking on the loan,” Apple explained.

After receiving approval, iPhone and iPad users will see the Pay Later option during checkout when purchasing something with Apple Pay online or in iOS apps. The Apple Wallet app will also let users keep track of the total amount due for their loans, and Apple will also send push and email notifications before payment is due.

Apple Pay Later requires the freshly-released iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. These two updates released yesterday also brought 21 new emojis, a new Voice Isolation feature for voice calls, and push notifications support for pinned web apps.