Apple to Discontinue 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Service in US as It Launches New Loan Program

By Madz Dizon

Jun 18 2024, 06:41 AM EDT

Apple to Discontinue 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Service in US as It Launches New Loan Program — The Apple store on Fifth Avenue is seen on January 26, 2016 in New York City. This afternoon Apple reported the slowest iPhone earnings since 2007. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Apple has decided to discontinue its buy now, pay later service, which was introduced just over a year ago.

A new service called Apple Pay Later has been introduced, giving customers the option to divide their purchases ranging from $50 to $1,000 into four payments over a span of six weeks, Reuters reported.

Apple Halts Buy Now, Pay Later Service

The best part? There are no interest charges or additional fees involved.

In March 2023, the company introduced an initiative as part of its efforts to strengthen its connection with consumers through financial means. It was in direct competition with other companies in the buy now, pay later industry, like Affirm and Klarna.

According to Apple's website, the company has announced that they will no longer be providing new loans for Apple Pay Later.

However, they have assured that existing loans will not be impacted. The company announced its intention to provide users with the option to apply for buy now, pay later loans from external companies during the checkout process with Apple Pay, the company's payment system.

Last week, Apple announced that it will be adding Affirm as an option in the fall. Apple announced that Citigroup and Synchrony Financial will also be included in the rollout.

Apple's Scannable Code

In addition, the company is implementing a scannable code that will enable shoppers to conveniently use Apple Pay while browsing the internet.

The stock of Affirm closed at $30.81 on Monday. The share price has experienced a significant increase over the past 12 months, although it is still considerably lower than its peak of over $160 in late 2021.

Last year, Apple introduced its Pay Later program in the US using their own in-house platform. Apple has taken a new approach by directly providing loans to customers through a subsidiary. However, the process still required assistance from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and MasterCard Inc.

The new services in iOS 18 will be accessible worldwide via the company's Apple Pay platform. According to Apple, users with open loans will still have the ability to manage them through the Wallet app.