Apple Pay Later appears to be getting ready for launch with Apple allowing retail employees to take the feature for a spin.
The buy now, pay later feature will allow people to make a purchase with a value of up to $1,000 and then spread the cost across six weeks and four installments.
Like many schemes of its kind, Apple Pay Later won't charge any fees or interest so long as all payments are made on time.
Apple has now reportedly handed a test version of Apple Pay Later out to its retail employees - it currently has more than 80,000 of them across around 270 stores across the United States.
Apple Financing LLC
While Apple isn't a bank as such, Bloomberg reports that it did set up Apple Financing LLC as a wholly owned subsidiary in order to get Apple Pay Later up and running. But Apple is said to be working on an off-shoot feature called Apple Pay Monthly that will use Goldman Sachs as the financial clout behind it, just like Apple Card.
Apple Pay Monthly would reportedly be designed for larger purchases that could be split across several months and accrue interest. With Apple Pay Later limited to purchases of less than $1,000, Apple Pay Monthly would be the option for those looking to finance Apple's best iPhones, most Macs, and the rumored mixed reality headset dubbed Reality Pro.
It still isn't clear when Apple Pay Later will be available for everyone to use, but the fact it's now being tested suggests it's closer to public availability than ever. The feature was originally announced alongside iOS 16 but missed the September 2022 release window and is now listed as a 2023 feature. Apple Pay Later will be available anywhere that accepts standard Apple Pay but only in the United States.
