At WWDC 2022, Apple's annual developer conference - on now until June 10 – the tech giant announced iOS 16, which brings a plethora of new features with it, including a buy now pay later service. Apple Pay Later, a new feature in Apple Pay, will be available to iPhone and Apple device users in the US, allowing them to spread the cost of a purchase into four payments over six weeks, with no fees or interest. Its Apple’s entry into the huge buy now pay later market.
Apple Pay Later: Where you can use it
You can use Apple Pay later is everywhere that Apple Pay is accepted, as it’s a feature in Apple Pay. Apple Pay is a part of Wallet – the app where can store digital versions of your debit and credit cards – allowing you to check out with Apple Pay and with iOS 16, Apple Pay Later, too. Users can make payments in both physical shops and online via websites and apps, assuming they allow Apple's contactless payment system.
Apple has said that Apple Pay Later requires no integration for merchants – it will just work using the standard Apple Pay implementation – so Apple Pay Later looks to be widely available in the US.
Apple Pay Later: How to use it
Apple Pay Later will be super simple to use – users will authenticate their identity on their device via Touch ID or Face ID, then once verified be prompted to either pay in full or use Pay Later. When Apple Pay Later is chosen, users will then see how much is due immediately and what the payments will be every fortnight.
Subsequent payments from using Apple Pay Later will be tracked and managed through the Apple Wallet app – you can see what’s due and when. Apple Pay also offers order tracking, which lets shops provide customers with receipt and tracking information within Apple Wallet, which will make it easy to keep tabs on purchases.
Apple Pay Later: Charges and fees
Apple has confirmed that there are no charges or fees for customers using Apple Pay Later, so it’s basically a 0% interest short-term loan from Apple.
Apple Pay Later will only be available in the US initially and come into use when iOS 16 is launched – the public beta of the free software update is due this summer, with the official rollout due in the autumn.
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