Apple shuts down pay-later service
The service made it possible to pay for purchases slowly using Apple Pay. However, it was never introduced in Europe.
Apple Pay Later: Not yet available in Europe.
(Image: Apple)
Apple has decided to discontinue its installment payment service Apple Pay Later, which was launched just over a year ago. The service, which was intended to compete with services such as Klarna, was never launched outside the USA. Apple now wants banks that offer credit or debit cards via Apple Pay to operate such installment payment services themselves, according to a statement provided to 9to5Mac.
Global rather than local
The iPhone company explained that installment loans would be introduced "all over the world" from the end of the year anyway. Only a few of these have been communicated so far. Apple is apparently also assuming that various new moneylenders will also be added. "With the launch of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the US." The new solution will make it possible to "bring flexible payments to more users".
At the same time, however, this also means that Apple has apparently not succeeded in attracting enough customers for itself and its banking partner Goldman Sachs – with whom the company is already in an ongoing dispute. Apple Pay Later allowed purchases between 50 and 1000 US dollars to be settled with up to four payments, with no interest initially being charged. Purchases had to be made using Apple Pay via an iPhone, with each purchase being processed separately via a credit agreement. The service was introduced on a trial basis in March 2023 and has been available to all US customers since October 2023. The payment period was six weeks in each case.
Apple Card still not internationalized
Along with iOS 18, its AI strategy and the other new operating systems, Apple also announced last week that it would be introducing changes to Apple Pay, its contactless payment service for iPhone and Apple Watch, which can also be used in the Safari browser. This includes new installment payment offers from various banks. CaixaBank in the UK, HSBC and Monzo in the UK, Synchrony and Citi in the USA (plus card issuer Fiserv) and ANZ in Australia were among those named. So far, only Affirm in the USA has been named as the first pure credit partner.
The Apple Card, Apple's own credit card, has still not been internationalized. The company has been looking for a new banking partner since last year, after Goldman Sachs actually wanted to leave the business for many months, but at the same time was unable to contribute to a launch in other markets. The Apple Card has already been on the market for almost five years, purely in the USA. For iOS 18, Apple had announced that Apple Pay would also be opened up to other platforms. It will be possible to pay in browsers outside of Safari - including Windows PCs - using a QR code, provided you have an iPhone with Apple Pay installed.
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