Apple’s new financial services have hit more delays
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Apple is reportedly facing “technical and technical setbacks,” which are putting the company’s financial services plans further behind schedule.
According to a recent report by Mark Gurman (via Bloomberg (opens in new tab)), including Apple Pay Later, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service first announced at Apple’s WWDC event in June 2022. Initially slated for a September 2022 launch, Gurman attributes the delay to the challenges of creating a “next generation financial system” to support the platform.
Apple pays afterwards (opens in new tab) is designed to allow “eligible applicants in the United States” to spread the cost of a purchase over six weeks interest-free and fee-free when using Apple Pay in a compatible online shopping cartwith only a gentle credit check.
Apple Pay financial services
CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple Pay Later has already been released for testing among certain company employees, implying a full release could finally arrive soon, some six months later than expected. Gurman also suggested it could be introduced as an update to the current iOS 16.3, rather than an upcoming variant like 16.4.
It is also rumored that Apple is working on an extended version of this, which will allow customers to finance larger purchases over a longer period of time, with additional costs and/or interest on top. The company has long relied on third parties to do this, including traditional banks and other fintech companies in most markets: a business model it hopes to shrink as it handles more processes in-house.
Finally, users of the US-only Apple Card will soon be able to earn interest on their Daily Cash rewards through a partnership with Goldman Sachs. Code to support the feature was first seen in iOS 16.1 (released in October 2022), and the banking giant later published the corresponding fine print in December, but several weeks have passed since any movement indicates this too could face lengthy delays .
Whether you’re a US customer waiting for one of the many upcoming financial services or a global customer waiting for the three-year-old Apple Card to arrive at your doorstep, it’s unclear exactly what’s holding back Apple’s plunge into personal finance and when it will finally keep his promises.