‘Buy now, pay later’: Apple launches innovative service, but Brazil is left out

On March 28, last Tuesday, Apple made available in the United States a new installment payment feature called “Apple Pay Later“.

With this new service, it is possible to pay off a loan in up to six weeks using only the Apple Pay app. The loan amount can be a maximum of $50,000, with a minimum amount requested of $1,000.

However, unlike the features found in other loan installment methods, with this Apple feature, customers will not suffer any additional fees or interest on the amount to be paid.

Once the amount is requested and made available in the user’s account, it can be used anywhere that works with Apple Pay or even when purchasing products from the brand.

Arrival of the new feature

As soon as it was made available in the United States, Apple Pay Later ended up affecting the share value of some financial companies, such as Affirm, which provided its services to the company until recently.

According to reports, as soon as Apple Pay Later became available, Affirm’s share price began to change. The current scenario was commented on by Danni Hewson, who is currently the head of financial analysis at AJ Bell (an online investment platform).

“Apple Pay Later is absolutely going to take out some of the other competitors. Other companies would have taken a look at Apple’s announcement today because they are a ubiquitous name. This is going to take a bite out of the market share of other market players.”

Furthermore, according to the company itself, around 83% of retailers in the United States are already using Apple Pay Later!

But how will this work?

According to the information provided by Apple, payments for loans made using Apple Pay Later will be made through an installment program provided by Mastercard. There is no information yet as to whether this service will be rolled out to other countries, such as Brazil.