According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has started testing Apple Pay Later in the US. The beta testing is currently only available for retail employees in the country, as per the report.

After months and months of speculation, Apple officially announced the “Buy Now, Pay Later” at its WWDC event in June 2022. However, the company is yet to officially release it. The company has reportedly been working on launching the feature for the past few months, and now according to Bloomberg, it could launch in the US soon.

According to the report, Apple is testing the feature with more than 80,000 retail employees in the U.S. Moreover, Gurman believes that the feature might be made available to the public with iOS 16.4, which is expected to enter beta testing in the near future. However, the launch timeline is subject to change based on the results of the testing phase.

In addition, the report mentions that Apple is working on another financing option called “Apple Pay Monthly Installments” in partnership with Goldman Sachs. This service would work similarly to Apple Pay Later but will allow customers to pay for larger transactions over several months, with interest added. However, this feature has yet to be officially announced by the company.

What is Apple Pay Later?

Apple Pay Later is the new feature of Apple Pay that allows users in the US to split the cost of purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees. The feature will be directly integrated into Apple Pay when launched.

For example, let’s say you want to purchase a new iPhone for $1000 through Apple Pay. Instead of paying the entire amount upfront, you can opt to use Apple Pay Later to split the cost into four equal payments of $250 spread over six weeks.

Users will be able to view, track, and repay their Apple Pay Later payments within the app. The feature can be applied for when checking out with Apple Pay or in the Wallet app, and it is accepted wherever Apple Pay is accepted. 

Source: Bloomberg