Apple launches Apple Pay Later, but only for selected users

The delayed Apple Pay Later service has begun in the US, with Apple saying it will invite users onto the service which gives them the ability to pay for goods in four installments at 0% interest.

Apple Pay Later was announced in mid-2022, but immediately faced a series of delays. Now Apple has announced that it is introducing the service, but at first it is in a very limited way.

"Starting today, Apple will begin inviting select users to access a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later," said the company in a press release, "with plans to offer it to all eligible users in the coming months."

"There's no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how people manage their finances," Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet said. "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 invited, users can get started with Apple Pay Later by first applying for a loan within the Wallet app. The loan application does not affect a user's credit score, and if approved they will then see the Pay Later option whenever they use Apple Pay.

The users invited on to what Apple is calling "early access to a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later," are to be selected randomly.

How it works

Apple says that the application process lets the company do "a soft credit pull... to help ensure the user is in a good financial position before taking on the loan."

Applying for the loan and later paying it back is all done within the Wallet app. Apple says that the Wallet will show the total amount due overall, plus the amount due in the next 30 days.

Their payment schedule can also be seen in the Wallet's calendar view, and users will get notifications when payments are due.

Those payments have to be via a debit card. Apple says that "to help prevent users from taking on more debt to pay back loans, credit cards will not be accepted."

At present, the loans can be from $50 to $1,000. It works through the Mastercard Instalment program.

Merchants who currently accept Apple Pay will see an Apple Pay Later option for their customers during checkout.

It's previously been reported that Apple formed a subsidiary company specifically to finance all of the lending that Apple Pay Later will create. The Mastercard network connectivity is still being provided by Goldman Sachs.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

18 Comments

jas99 168 comments · 11 Years

About 1 year ago

This will be yet another compelling part of the secure, easy to use Apple ecosystem.

mikethemartian 1485 comments · 18 Years

The interchange fees for debit cards is less than that for credit cards, that’s the reason they won’t accept them. Kind off sounds like those payday loan companies like Amscot.

mystigo 183 comments · 16 Years

I don't get why it has to be a debit card. All that is doing is coming straight out of your bank account. Can't they just take the money directly from the bank account? I already have my AppleCard being auto-drafted as it is.

chasm 3590 comments · 10 Years

mystigo said:

I don't get why it has to be a debit card. All that is doing is coming straight out of your bank account. Can't they just take the money directly from the bank account? I already have my AppleCard being auto-drafted as it is.

Good question. I don’t know, but I would imagine that in the RELEASE version of Apple Pay Later, the payments would be automatically taken from the chosen bank debit card you already have in Wallet, or you can make payments using Apple Pay Cash if desired.

Xed 2871 comments · 4 Years

JP234 said:

If you have any brains, your credit reports and scores are locked. If not, prepare to lose your identity to a thief in Nigeria or Russia, and soon.

If you have locked them, you'll have to temporarily unlock them so Apple or Goldman Sachs can run your credit. Not worth the trouble. Here's an idea: instead of buying something now and paying for it in 4 installments, why not save up for 4 months and just buy it when you have the money? If you can't come up with the money in 4 months, DON'T BUY IT.

Simple!

Why are your comments always filled with such silly paranoia and an assumption that you understand everyone's circumstance. It's like you read the title and then react without even thinking through why this 0% loan over 6 weeks makes sense to Apple and customers alike.

Did you ever consider "what if someone can't wait 4 months—which is an odd duration since the payments will be completed in just under 1.5 months—for a transaction to be had?" I certainly don't have a use for this kind of financing but I could see someone, say, needing to get access to a plane or bus ticket who doesn't have the credit or cash to pay for it up front, but will be able to pay for it over 3 bi-weekly paychecks.

Do you really not think that's better than going to a payday or title loan place that charge several hundred percent per year? I certainly do.

PS: What's the big deal about doing a temporary unfreeze of your credit for each of the bureaus. It takes about 60 seconds per bureau to set that for a day. In fact, I keep the specific Freeze link in my password manager (along with their main URL) specifically to speed up their process when I do need to allow a service to access my credit.