Mikey Campbell
Apple is reportedly set to partner with "buy now, pay later" specialist Affirm's PayBright subsidiary to launch a new pay-over-time platform in Canada, the latest in the tech giant's growing quiver of financial services.
Citing an internal email sent to Apple retail employees, Bloomberg reports the service will launch at online and brick-and-mortar Apple Stores in Canada in August, allowing customers to spread out the purchase price of iPhone, iPad and Mac products over 12 or 24 months.
"Some customers visiting Apple want to buy now and pay later," Apple's letter to Canada staff reads. "Now, they have a new option that lets them pay over time for their favorite Apple products."
The offering will allow customers to make down payments with funds generated from trade-ins, as well as add Apple Care to eligible devices. Unlike Apple's U.S. installment payments options, major product lines like Apple Watch and AirPods will be left out of the Canadian plan, the report said.
The initiative is expected to debut on Aug. 11, and payments will be interest-free for a limited time, according to the email.
Apple last year presented U.S. customers with a similar interest-free monthly installment system that covers a variety of Apple products through its Apple Card credit card. Apple Card is not available outside of Apple's domestic market, however, leaving the company to forge partnerships and create its own deferred payment solutions in other countries.
The company is also said to be developing an Apple Pay installment payment strategy with Apple Card partner Goldman Sachs. Dubbed "Apple Pay Later," the payments service will reportedly be available for any purchase processed through Apple Pay, with installment options including a four-payment plan with no interest or a monthly plan with interest.
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5 Comments
scheme?
service
If you can afford something? Then if they offer you interest free, take advantage of it. Interest free is, in effect, free money once inflation is factored in (100 dollars on Jan 1 2021 is equivalent of 97$ on Jan 1 2022 if inflation is 3% for 2021). Just set up the payment as auto and never change it.
With that said, if you can't afford something outright, please consider saving up for it and/or don't buy it. Cut your cable service to basic or altogether out, eat home cooked, shop for cheaper car insurance, buy food stuff in bulk. You'd be surprised how much you can save up in 3 months by examining your expenditures then cutting out outsized cash expenses.
I have no idea what the buy now/pay later interest rate is, but if it is commensurate with credit cards (which is likely), you are probably paying 15%. This means if you buy a 1000$ for whatever on credit, and you pay the 1000$ credit debt off in 5 years, you're paying in the range of double.
You work hard, you collect a paycheck, yet you're throwing away that hard work on overpaying for things using credit debt. Work hard to be cash poor? Not a good thing.