Apple Giving Retail Employees a Fresh Opportunity to Test Out the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ Service

Apple, the world’s leading tech giant, has recently changed its ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service. In what’s being seen as a move to boost retail sales and create a more flexible payment system, The company has extended this new payment feature to its retail employees. This means that retail workers now could take advantage of the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service and make purchases easier with convenient payment options.

By giving its retail employees access to the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service, the tech giant has shown its commitment to providing innovative solutions to its customers.

This move not only allows retail employees to purchase items on credit, but it also helps to strengthen the customer-employee relationship by providing employees with the freedom to purchase items without going into debt. By using the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service, retail employees can take advantage of the same benefits that customers enjoy.

As technology continues to evolve, it is inevitable that consumer banking and payment methods will have to keep up. Apple is no stranger to this notion, especially after they pioneered the concept of mobile payments with the introduction of Apple Pay in 2014. Now, the new move by the tech giant would allow retail employees to test out their newest payment initiative: the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service. The concept of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) has been gaining momentum in recent years, providing customers with a new way to manage their finances without the hassle of having to apply for an extra line of credit.

BNPL movement

Essentially, the service allows customers to break down their purchases into smaller installments over the span of several months, making the buying process easier and more manageable. With the tech giant taking part in the BNPL movement, customers can now expect to benefit from the same convenience and easy access to goods and services offered by the tech giant’s new service.

Apple’s new version of the service called Apple Pay Monthly Instalments

The tech behemoth contacted retail staffers this week to offer them a test version of the service, according to Apple workers who asked not to be identified. The offering, called Apple Pay Later, allows shoppers to split the payment for purchases into installments. The company previously rolled out a test for corporate employees.

The offering will vault Apple into a fast-growing financial market, but it’s already faced several setbacks. The service was first announced last June and was planned to be released last September as part of iOS 16. In lieu, it was delayed until 2023 after technical challenges, Bloomberg previously stated. The service will continue a new financial platform that Apple designed for in-house initiatives. 

The business has developed a related rollout strategy with past financial products. In 2019, it introduced the Apple Card credit card to retail staff about a month before a public debut.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

The first version of the new service will allow consumers to split a purchase made through Apple Pay into four installments paid over six weeks – without interest or fees. The company also has been developing a version of the service called Apple Pay Monthly Instalments, working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., that will split up the cost of large transactions over several months with interest. That offering has not been announced yet.

To launch Apple, Pay Later, the iPhone manufacturer set up a wholly owned subsidiary called Apple Financing LLC allowing the Cupertino, California-based company to handle lending itself, sidestepping partners. The company has around 270 stores in the US and over 80,000 employees across the country, permitting the company rapidly test the feature with a sizeable population.