Apple has announced the discontinuation of its Apple Pay Later service, confirming to TechCrunch that it will no longer accept new loans. This decision comes as the tech giant prepares to integrate loans through the third-party service Affirm into Apple Pay later this year.
The announcement was made at Apple’s developer conference last week, highlighting that the presence of both services would be redundant.
The Apple Pay Later service was first unveiled at WWDC 2022 and became available to all U.S. users just seven months ago. Despite its recent launch, the service is already being phased out in favor of a more comprehensive partnership with Affirm. This upcoming integration will allow U.S. users to apply for loans directly through Affirm when they check out with Apple Pay, as stated in a newsroom post following Apple’s WWDC keynote.
Can Existing Customers Still Use Apple Pay Later?
TechCrunch has reported that the Pay Later option is no longer available when checking out with Apple Pay, and it is not accepting new loan applications. However, customers with existing payment plans through Apple Pay Later can continue to manage their loans through the Apple Wallet app.
In a broader move, starting later this year, Apple plans to introduce a new global installment loan offering. This will enable users worldwide to access installment loans offered through various credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay.
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