After much delay, the Apple Pay Later service is finally here, allowing users to finance their purchases in a series of four monthly installments at 0 percent interest to remove some burden off of their shoulders. Pricey Apple products can take a massive hit on your wallet, which is likely why this service materialized. Unfortunately, it is not ready for a mass deployment, but Apple probably has something in the pipeline.
Apple Pay Later will only provide loans of up to $1,000, which is the price of an iPhone 14 Pro with 128GB internal storage in the U.S.
The service has currently rolled out in the U.S., according to the press release shared by Apple. However, the firm states that it will take months for Apple Pay Later to arrive to potentially millions of users as only a select few have been invited to try it out. The company also says you need to install iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4 to start using it.
“Starting today, randomly selected users will be invited to get early access to a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later via Wallet and through their Apple ID email. Apple Pay Later is available in the U.S. for online and in-app purchases on iPhone and iPad. Apple Pay Later is available with iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.”
Once users are invited, they can apply for their first loan within the Wallet app. Of course, the loan amount needs to be approved first, but thankfully, the application will not affect your credit score. However, the applicable loan amount, at this time, is up to $1,000, meaning that even if you are eligible, the most you can get is a 128GB version of the iPhone 14 Pro, which may not suffice for the majority of customers.
“Users can apply for Apple Pay Later loans of $50 to $1,000, which can be used for online and in-app purchases made on iPhone and iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay. Starting today, Apple will begin inviting select users to access a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later, with plans to offer it to all eligible users in the coming months.”
Apple has prohibited the support of credit cards, too, as the company does not want users to take on more debt. As a result, payments have to be made through a debit card. As for how the technology giant made all of this possible, it has been reported that Apple formed a subsidiary company to finance all of this lending. As for the Mastercard network connectivity, that part is covered by Goldman Sachs.
Hopefully, in the future, Apple can increase the loan limit. While a $1,000 limit might be plentiful for some, it is not when considering the company’s product pricing. The more powerful machines that actually deliver more utility, such as the MacBook Pro models, are costly, and Apple Pay Later would be viewed as an attractive option for buyers if they could finance themselves the pricer goods. Unfortunately, at this time, Apple is not budging.
The post Apple Pay Later Has Rolled Out In The U.S., But Only A Select Users Can Try Out The Service, For Now by Omar Sohail appeared first on Wccftech.
