How Apple Pay Later Works: How To Take Advantage of the New Buy Now, Pay Later Program

Apple finally released their Apple Pay Later program, a Klarna type of “buy now, pay later” program (also known as BNPL). Announced back in 2022 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, many expected it to launch alongside iOS 16 but had to wait until now. 

With Apple Pay Later, you can split your Apple Pay purchases into four equal payments with no fees or interest added.

However, the Apple Pay Later function only lets you spread out payments over six weeks, unlike some programs which let you pay later in installments over a few months.

Right now, the Apple Pay Later loans you can access vary between $50 and $1,000, and the program is doing a limited US-only run.

“Apple Pay Later was designed with our users’ financial health in mind, so it has no fees and no interest, and can be used and managed within Wallet, making it easier for consumers to make informed and responsible borrowing decisions,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, in a release.

How to apply for Apple Pay Later

If you’re a US citizen or a lawful resident over 18 years of age, you are eligible for Apple Pay Later. What you need to have:

• An Apple Pay account set up with  a valid debit card, not credit card

• Two factor authentication enabled on your Apple ID

• The latest iOS update installed

• A way to verify your information if required with a Driver License or State-issued photo ID

Then, all you need to do to activate Apple Pay is to follow these steps available on Apple’s website. 

Since Apple Pay Later is a loan, basically, you are subject to Apple Financing rules, which means you might not be able to get a full Apple Pay Later loan. You can learn here how Apple Pay Later loan values are decided. 

Also read: Can You Trust It? How Accurate is Apple Watch Calories Tracker

When is Apple Pay Later available?

Right now, Apple Pay Later is available to select Apple users in the US. They will start receiving invitations on March 28. There’s no way to get ahead in the queue since  Apple says the Apple Pay Later invites are going to “randomly selected users”, but all eligible Apple Pay Later users will get access to the BNPL service later.

We also don’t know yet if Apple’s buy now, pay later program will be available in other regions.

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