Apple itself will handle the lending itself for the new Apple Pay Later program, sidestepping partners, reports Bloomberg.
Apple Pay Later was announced this week at the Worldwide Developer Conference and provides users in the US with a way to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees. Users can track, and repay Apple Pay Later payments within Wallet.
Users can apply for Apple Pay Later when they’re checking out with Apple Pay, or in Wallet. Additionally, with Apple Pay Order Tracking, users can receive detailed receipts and order tracking information in Wallet for Apple Pay purchases with participating merchants.
A wholly owned subsidiary will oversee credit checks and make decisions on loans for the service. The business — Apple Financing LLC — has necessary state lending licenses to offer the feature, though it operates separately from the main Apple corporation, the company said in response to Bloomberg questions.
The article says this marks the first time Apple is handling key financial tasks like loans, risk management and credit assessments. Until now, Apple’s financial services have been backed by third-party credit processors and banks. The Apple Card credit card, for instance, relies on Goldman Sachs Group for lending and credit assessment.
