Apple supplies shoppers with a new way to pay

The tech giant is introducing an internally managed delayed payment scheme.

Pay Later? No problem

Apple has previously relied on third parties to offer customers delayed payment options. Now, it will sidestep those partners with a new breakout initiative that pushes the brand deeper into the financial services industry – Apple Pay Later. Apple Pay Later will allow customers to split the costs of any Apple Pay transaction over four installments across six weeks. Neat!

The company is also working on a longer-term “buy now, pay later” program and bringing associated financial services in-house, like credit checks and loan decisions. Apple is even working on its own payment processing engine so that it can handle every stage of the payment journey. We all knew Apple was warming to the idea of moving into fintech, but who knew they were so far ahead in their journey.

Money managing moves

As everyone and their mother knows, Apple started its life as a computer company and blossomed into a tech giant. When the brand began to expand into financial services with offerings like Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, it was initially backed by third-party credit processors and banks. Now, baby Apple’s all grown up and is ready to start standing on its own two feet.

Very few companies can match Apple’s financial resources, and the company is putting them to work on new projects like Apple Pay Later. We’re talking about nearly $200 billion in cash and marketable securities at the end of the last quarter. When you’re so rich you get to cut straight to the front of the line, who are we to be surprised that Apple is moving into whole new sectors.