Pros

• There are no interest charges or fees
• Allows you to spend a bit more time on purchases
• Apple Pay allows you to use your iPhone easily

Cons

• There are limited repayment options
• This is only available for iPhone and iPad users. It may not be available everywhere.
• May encourage excessive spending

The truth about Apple Pay Later

Apple Inc., a tech giant, announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference, June 20, 2022 that it will be entering the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market through its upcoming Apple Pay Later service. Apple Pay Later, which is similar to Afterpay or Klarna, will allow customers spread the cost of purchases over four equal payments over six week.

Apple Pay Later can only be used with iPhones and iPads to make Apple Pay purchases. It is only available online or in apps.

Apple Pay Later does not charge interest nor fees

Apple Pay Later isn’t like other financing options such as credit cards or personal loans. It doesn’t charge origination fees or interest. This may allow you to break down your payments into smaller pieces without additional costs and help with a budget. However, six weeks is a short time frame to spread payments for large purchases. You’ll need to be able to pay them in full and on time.

There are very few options for repayment

Apple Pay Later allows for four equal payments over six months, but does not offer any other repayment options. This is in contrast to Affirm which allows you to choose from many options including the option to make payments over 12 month — although Affirm charges interest for longer repayment terms. Although personal loans and credit cards are interest-based, they allow you to spread your payments over a longer time period than you could with Apply Pay Later.

Apple Pay Later could result in overspending

Although BNPL services such as Apple Pay Later make large purchases easier with installment payments, they can also encourage overspending, especially if you have multiple BNPL loans. To help you keep track of your expenses, you might consider using a BNPL such as Apple Pay Later.

Apple Pay Later was delayed

Apple Pay Later was originally supposed to launch in September 2022. However, there has been some delay.

Apple’s website states that Apple Pay Later will be coming to the U.S. in a future iOS update. However, it is possible that it might not be available in every state.

For whom is Apple Pay Later useful?

Apple Pay Later allows eligible customers to purchase something online and split it into four equal payments over six weeks, without any interest.

BNPL services work best for customers who use it to make a single purchase, and can afford the monthly payments. Keep in mind that Apple Pay Later requires you to pay the full purchase amount within a little over a month. If you have more time you may want to look into other financing options such as 0% credit cards or waiting to save the money you need.

How to Apply with Apple Pay Later

Apple Pay Later, which will be available for iPhone and iPad users, will be available in Apple’s digital wallet Apple Wallet. There you can track the amount due to Apple Pay Later as well as the payment due dates.

We have some other options to Apple Pay Later.

• Uplift If your vacation is planned, Uplift lets you book flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements and then pay in installments. Please note that Uplift charges interest.
• Affirm Affirm, unlike Apple Pay Later allows you to spread your payments over up to 12 months. However, Affirm will charge interest for its 6- and 12-month repayment plans.