It wasn’t all that long ago that it was rumored Apple, along with Goldman Sachs, was moving into the “buy now, pay later” market. It’s lucrative, to say the least, and now it looks like Apple has indeed endeavored to make it happen. But it looks like it’ll be a semi-limited one to start.
According to a report today from Bloomberg, Apple is teaming up with Affirm –a company well known for its “buy now, pay later” initiatives– to launch a similar payment scheme in Canada. The new option will apparently be an alternative to the Apple Card installments, which are available to Apple Card customers in the United States.
This new installment option will be available for a range of Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad models, and Mac. There will be options to pay over time, either within 12 months or 24 months, and there will be 0% interest at launch.
The report states Apple and Affirm’s BNPL payment option will launch in Canada on Wednesday, August 11, 2021:
The companies plan to debut the initiative this month at Apple’s online and physical retail stores in Canada, according to a message sent to Apple retail employees in the region, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. The service will let iPhone, Mac, and iPad buyers in Canada pay for purchases over 12 or 24 months instead of in-full at the time of the transaction. Apple told staff it will offer the program interest-free for a limited time after the launch.
…
Some customers visiting Apple want to buy now and pay later,’ Apple told staff in Canada. ‘Now, they have a new option that lets them pay over time for their favorite Apple products.’ The company also told staff the program would roll out on Aug. 11. Spokespeople for Apple and Affirm declined to comment.
Going further, the new payment option will also let customers add AppleCare if they want. And customers will be able to apply any trade-in credit towards the purchase price as well. As mentioned above, it’s a bit limited at launch. The Apple and Affirm partnership will only cover the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with its monthly payment option at launch.
PayBright, another BNPL option, which was acquired by Affirm recently, will be handling the actual transactions.
While this could be the culmination of that initial rumor we mentioned earlier, it’s also possible this is something else entirely. As it stands, Apple may still be planning to launch its own buy now, pay later payment option with Goldman Sachs. We’ll just have to wait and see how that one pans out.