Apple launches Pay Later service in the United States

Apple has launched its service called Pay Later in the United States. For now, this is the only country where the service is available. This concerns deferred payments when placing orders via Apple Pay.

Apple says that the Pay Later service, which is part of the Wallet app on an iPhone, is designed with the financial health of its users in mind. Users can sign up for Pay Later loans ranging from $50 to $1,000. These amounts can then be used for online and in-app purchases made on the iPhone or iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay. Apple Pay users can split their purchases into four payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees charged.

Not everyone can use the service yet. Apple talks about a pre-release version of Pay Later where ‘randomly selected’ users can participate based on invitations. Pay Later requires iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4. Sometime in the coming months, all eligible users should get access, but it’s unclear when that will happen. It is also unclear if and when Apple will release the service outside the US.

Last month, Bloomberg editor Mark Gurman reported that Apple’s Pay Later system looks at the user’s history of being a good customer and that borrowers are evaluated based on their previous order history. In addition, the Cupertino company would also specifically look at which Apple hardware the customer has in his possession. Apple also looks at whether customers have previously signed up for an Apple Card credit card and the other cards they have linked to their Apple Pay accounts.