Apple retires Pay Later service, introduces new instalment loans

Apple announced the discontinuation of the Apple Pay Later service, which was introduced a few months ago. The service, which allowed payments to be split into four instalments over six weeks, debuted in the United States in October 2023.

In exchange, Apple is introducing installment loan options with credit cards, debit cards, and lenders when making purchases with Apple Pay later this year.

In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple informed: "From the end of this year, users worldwide will be able to use installment loans offered by credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when making payments via Apple Pay. In connection with introducing this new global instalment loan offer, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the United States. Our goal is to provide users with easy, secure, and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will allow us to offer flexible payments to more users in more places worldwide, in cooperation with banks and lenders supporting Apple Pay."

Apple did not respond to The Verge's request for comment. Support documents indicate that "Apple Pay Later no longer offers new loans," but existing loans and purchases remain unchanged.

Apple Pay Later was announced along with iOS 16, but it was not part of the initial version of the system. In March 2023, the company began rolling out the service to randomly selected users, making it widely available in the United States in October. Thus, the service lasted less than 9 months and was unavailable in the United Kingdom.