Apple Inc. is shutting down its Pay Later program, which let clients make purchases on an installment plan, marking a retreat from efforts to supply extra monetary companies in-house.
The corporate mentioned Monday that it’s not providing loans for Apple Pay Later, which allowed customers to repay purchases of as a lot as $1,000 over 4 installments. The iPhone maker took the step after asserting that third-party companies—reminiscent of ones from Affirm Holdings Inc. and Citigroup Inc.—could be built-in into its upcoming iOS 18 software program.
“Starting later this year, users across the globe will be able to access installment loans offered through credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay,” a spokesperson mentioned in a press release. “With the introduction of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the US.”
Apple launched its Pay Later program within the U.S. final yr utilizing an in-house platform. For the primary time, Apple itself issued the loans to clients by way of a brand new subsidiary. However it nonetheless relied on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and MasterCard Inc. to assist deal with the method.
The brand new companies in iOS 18 might be accessible globally by the corporate’s Apple Pay platform. And customers with open loans will proceed to have the ability to handle them inside the Pockets app, Apple mentioned.
“Our focus continues to be on providing our users with access to easy, secure and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will enable us to bring flexible payments to more users, in more places across the globe, in collaboration with Apple Pay enabled banks and lenders,” the corporate mentioned.
The information was beforehand reported by 9to5Mac.
