Apple Discontinuing Apple Pay Later

[MacRumors]

Apple is discontinuing Apple Pay Later, the buy now, pay later feature that it just launched last October. Apple Pay Later is being discontinued as of today, but people who have existing Apple Pay Later loans will be able to continue to pay them off and manage them through the Wallet app.

Apple announced plans to end the feature in a statement provided to 9to5Mac, which also notes that customers will be able to access installment loans through their credit and debit cards with changes coming to Apple Pay this fall.

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. With the introduction of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the U.S. 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.

Apple Pay Later officially launched in October and only in the United States, but it had been available in a testing capacity since March 2023. Available in the Wallet app, Apple Pay later allowed customers to split a purchase made with Apple Pay into four equal payments over a six week period, with no interest or fees. Apple Pay Later was available on purchases made on an iOS device using Apple Pay, and was limited to merchandise priced between $75 and $1,000. Each purchase required a separate loan application and approval.

Apple did not provide insight into why it is discontinuing Apple Pay Later, but it is working to unravel its partnership with Goldman Sachs, the company that handles the Apple Card, the Apple Savings account, and Apple Pay Later. Nixing Apple Pay Later means that Apple does not need to worry about replacing that functionality with a future partner.

In iOS 18, Apple will let users access installment financing options from their bank when using Apple Pay, which will replace the Apple Pay Later feature that Apple is eliminating. Apple Pay will also gain support for viewing rewards or points balances in Wallet and redeeming them with purchases.

Article Link: Apple Discontinuing Apple Pay Later

 

[sniffies]

Woah, how am I supposed to finance Apple Polishing Cloth now?

 

[jz0309]

was kind of an odd "deal" anyway ...

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

What were they thinking?!

 

[itsboi]

Very Google of them to axe this so fast.

 

[seek3r]

I had to do a reread on the headline, I thought for a moment this was saying something like “later [in the year] apple will be discontinuing apple pay” and was sitting there going “wut??”

 

[cjsuk]

This is a good thing. Being a loan shark doesn't fit with their corporate branding really.

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple is discontinuing Apple Pay Later, the buy now, pay later feature that it just launched last October.

Apple did not provide insight into why it is discontinuing Apple Pay Later, but it is working to unravel its partnership with Goldman Sachs, the company that handles the Apple Card, the Apple Savings account, and Apple Pay Later. Nixing Apple Pay Later means that Apple does not need to worry about replacing that functionality with a future partner.

Probably has to do with Apple's new partnership with Affirm they announced last week

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/apple-pay-affirm-buy-now-pay-later-loans.html

• Apple device users will soon be able to tap into buy now, pay later loans from Affirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.
• Affirm will surface as an option for Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year.
• Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the U.S. with Citigroup, Synchrony and Fiserv-related issuers.

New features come to Apple services this fall

With the release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 18, visionOS, and tvOS 18 this fall, Apple is enhancing the services users love with all-new features.

www.apple.com

The ability to redeem rewards for a purchase with Apple Pay will be available beginning in the U.S. with Discover and Synchrony, and across Apple Pay issuers with Fiserv. The ability to access installments from credit and debit cards with Apple Pay will roll out starting in Australia with ANZ; in Spain with CaixaBank; in the U.K. with HSBC and Monzo; and in the U.S. with Citi, Synchrony, and issuers with Fiserv. Users in the U.S. will also be able to apply for loans directly through Affirm when they check out with Apple Pay.


Article title should be Apple Discontinuing Apple Pay Later, Replacing It With Affirm

 

[sleeptodream]

This is a good thing. Being a loan shark doesn't fit with their corporate branding really.

Exactly what I was thinking, it wasn’t a good look. Leave that kind of thing to Paypal etc

 

[JordanCautious]

Honestly, it's probably for the best. I do find it funny I was listening to the Vox's Podcast episode on the worrying trend of BNPL when I opened MR and saw this article. In the Apple Podcasts app for Mac no less lol.

BNPL, at least from my experience with Klarna, is kinda the opposite of what the Apple Card tries to do. It encourages spending more than you actually have to a higher degree than Credit Cards, whereas Apple Card tries to help you be financially smart. So while I used to be a user of BNPL, I realize now that it's a bad product to get hooked on

 

[kc9hzn]

Probably has to do with Apple's new partnership with Affirm they announced last week

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/apple-pay-affirm-buy-now-pay-later-loans.html

• Apple device users will soon be able to tap into buy now, pay later loans from Affirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.
• Affirm will surface as an option for Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year.
• Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the U.S. with Citigroup, Synchrony and Fiserv-related issuers.

New features come to Apple services this fall

With the release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 18, visionOS, and tvOS 18 this fall, Apple is enhancing the services users love with all-new features.

www.apple.com

The ability to redeem rewards for a purchase with Apple Pay will be available beginning in the U.S. with Discover and Synchrony, and across Apple Pay issuers with Fiserv. The ability to access installments from credit and debit cards with Apple Pay will roll out starting in Australia with ANZ; in Spain with CaixaBank; in the U.K. with HSBC and Monzo; and in the U.S. with Citi, Synchrony, and issuers with Fiserv. Users in the U.S. will also be able to apply for loans directly through Affirm when they check out with Apple Pay.

Oh, that’s the answer right there, then. These sorts of fixed price pay-later loans are Affirm’s direct market, after all.

 

[Apleeseed84]

Probably has to do with Apple's new partnership with Affirm they announced last week

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/apple-pay-affirm-buy-now-pay-later-loans.html

• Apple device users will soon be able to tap into buy now, pay later loans from Affirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.
• Affirm will surface as an option for Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year.
• Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the U.S. with Citigroup, Synchrony and Fiserv-related issuers.

New features come to Apple services this fall

With the release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 18, visionOS, and tvOS 18 this fall, Apple is enhancing the services users love with all-new features.

www.apple.com

The ability to redeem rewards for a purchase with Apple Pay will be available beginning in the U.S. with Discover and Synchrony, and across Apple Pay issuers with Fiserv. The ability to access installments from credit and debit cards with Apple Pay will roll out starting in Australia with ANZ; in Spain with CaixaBank; in the U.K. with HSBC and Monzo; and in the U.S. with Citi, Synchrony, and issuers with Fiserv. Users in the U.S. will also be able to apply for loans directly through Affirm when they check out with Apple Pay.

I never liked how Apple Pay later nagged me for payments, i prefer affirms

 

[WarmWinterHat]

This felt greasy from the beginning. Glad to see it getting axed.

 

[jvchappy]

Exactly what I was thinking, it wasn’t a good look. Leave that kind of thing to Paypal etc

I don't think they were being a loan shark... it was 0% loans... they weren't making anything off of it

 

[zorinlynx]

Honestly I always wondered what the point of this is. If you use your Apple Card, you end up paying for your stuff later, so isn't it just duplicating functionality? It was a confusing product and made no sense. Who is it for?

 

[alexandr]

Did they really have to discontinue Apple Pay Later today? Couldn't they have discounted Apple Pay Later later?

 

[flexwithmarius]

Tbh I always thought Apple Pay Later was some sort of white-label version of Affirm. Who was the lender?

 

[Goodeye]

Apple realized that Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal were doing it better I guess?

 

[alexandr]

Honestly I always wondered what the point of this is. If you use your Apple Card, you end up paying for your stuff later, so isn't it just duplicating functionality? It was a confusing product and made no sense. Who is it for?

I never looked into this, but I'm assuming with Pay Later — there was no interest, presuming you paid in the designated timeframe.

 

[pamon]

apple getting too much bad press on this and its launch. got out of it by switching those programs to third parties and users can blame them if not paid or taken advantage of. BNPL always getting hate, but some use it well.

 

[kc9hzn]

Tbh I always thought Apple Pay Later was some sort of white-label version of Affirm. Who was the lender?

The article suggests that Goldman Sachs was the lender. Of course, Apple is looking to disentangle their offerings from Goldman Sachs, and Goldman Sachs is simultaneously looking to wind down its efforts in retail banking. Seems like the relationship made sense at the time of launch (or maybe up to the time of launch) but not much later.

 

[Dulcimer]

We live in a society

 

[uuee6543]

Apple need to get their act together and stop releasing Apple Pay features that are US only. With all due respect to my American friends, you guys don’t even use Apple Pay! It’s shocking that you can’t even pay in almost any restaurant in the US with it. It’s shocking how low the adoption is. In the UK for example, the adoption rate of Apple Pay is practically 100% of all iPhone users. And it’s accepted everywhere. I can pay for a Michelin star meal as well as any local restaurant with Apple Pay.

 

[sw1tcher]

Tbh I always thought Apple Pay Later was some sort of white-label version of Affirm. Who was the lender?

It was mentioned here https://www.macrumors.com/2023/03/28/apple-pay-later-early-access/ that Apple was the lender

Apple Pay Later credit assessment and lending is handled by Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple. The service is based on the Mastercard Installments program, so merchants that accept Apple Pay do not need to do anything to implement it.

 

[spaxxedout]

Goldman Sachs does not service Apple Pay Later. It is instead handled by Apple Financing, LLC (NMLS #2154940).

It makes sense to leave the loans to other providers while offering tight integrations. Curious to know if there was a lot of fraud / adverse selection.