While Apple has not formally announced a launch date for Apple Pay Later, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that “it will be launching soon.”
Apple Pay Later is a service that will allow customers to split a purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees to pay. Initially expected to launch sometime in 2022, the service was delayed due to developmental issues.
Apple Pay Later is being tested by employees, launch date yet to be announced
Thursday saw the release of Apple’s financial results, and Cook made a brief remark about the company’s continued plans to introduce Apple Pay Later, which would fall under its Services division. Apple Pay Later is also being beta tested by Apple employees, as per Cook.
“It will be launching soon,” Cook confirmed on Thursday to CNBC. According to a report from September by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple may release Apple Pay Later in the iOS 16.4 software update. At the time, Gurman said the following:
This leads me to believe that the company isn’t completely certain when Apple Pay Later will be ready for launch. It’s possible the feature won’t arrive until iOS 16.4 in the spring. I’m hearing there have been fairly significant technical and engineering challenges in rolling out the service, leading to the delays.
Apple Pay Later will be available within the Wallet app when it launches so users can easily view, track and repay their payments. “Apple Pay Later is available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app, using the Mastercard network,” Apple has confirmed.
For Apple Pay Later transactions, the Cupertino tech giant will manage the loans in-house and will not rely on its financial partners to conduct services like credit checks, lending, etc. However, due to Apple’s lack of a bank charter, Goldman Sachs will act as the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used to process Apple Pay Later transactions.
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