Due to “technical and engineering” challenges, Apple Pay Later might not be available until next year.
According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple Pay Later is experiencing some “major” problems that may push out the debut date till next year. The function, which lets you make a payment through Apple Pay and then pay it back in four installments without interest, is Apple’s take on a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service.
Apple has launched a customized service called Apple Pay Later to compete in the lucrative “buy now, pay later” market. The program will initially launch in the United States later this year, as it was announced earlier this week at the 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference. Any purchase or installment made with Apple Pay is eligible for Pay Later, which will be integrated into the Apple Wallet. When Apple first debuted the Pay Later program at WWDC in June, it stated that it would be available with iOS 16. However, Apple Pay Later hasn’t shown in iOS 16 yet, and the small print on Apple’s iOS 16 page cryptically states that it will “come in a future release.” As Gurman notes, the only feature of iOS 16 that hasn’t been launched yet that doesn’t have a release date listed is Apple Pay Later. Key sharing and no-setup Siri shortcuts are among the other improvements that are slated for release this year. Apple may not even introduce Apple Pay Later until the spring 2023 release of iOS 16.4, according to Gurman, who claims that “Apple isn’t confident when Apple Pay Later will be ready for launch.” Gurman continues, “I’ve heard there have been some really major technical and engineering issues in rolling out the service, which has caused the delays. These issues, whose nature is unknown, will require Apple to assume new financial obligations. According to reports from Bloomberg and CNBC published in June, Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of the corporation, will manage the loans for Apple Pay Later while remaining independent of Apple’s core operations. Users who have access to Apple Pay will get Apple Pay Later. Customers in India won’t have access to the payment feature just yet because it isn’t available there. Many of Apple’s functions, including Apple Pay, Fitness+, and even News, are still missing, but the company has not publicly stated why. We can only hypothesize as to the possible causes, which could include factors like market share. For purchases made online and in applications on the iPhone and iPad, Apple Pay Later will be integrated into the Wallet app. Along with the future Apple Pay Later service, additional new capabilities added to iOS 16’s Wallet app include the ability to track online orders. For Apple Card, the company’s Mastercard-based credit card, Apple presently works in partnership with Goldman Sachs to execute credit checks and lending; however, for Apple Pay Later, Apple will perform these services internally. Since BNPL services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay may put users at risk, government regulators are beginning to pay them more attention. In comparison to consumers who don’t utilize the service, research shows that BNPL clients struggle to make their payments and are more likely to go into overdraft. As the capability will be integrated right into the iPhone, Apple Pay Later might potentially reach even more customers than other BNPL services once it is implemented. It’s intriguing to learn that Apple is having technical problems launching a Pay Later option. According to earlier reports by Gurman, the corporation has been developing such a function for more than a year. To carry out credit checks and customer approvals, it even went out of its way to establish a subsidiary company named Apple Financing. All of those actions imply that the corporation views financial services as a crucial component of its future
