Apple has lifted the lid on iOS 16, with the latest iteration of the company’s mobile operating system now available to developers to preview. There are a myriad new features available in iOS 16, such as the ability to fully customise your lock screen, but of more immediate interest to us is Apple Pay Later.

As the name would suggest, this is Apple’s version of a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service that will be rolled out via iOS 16 in limited capacity.

This as Apple Pay Later will only be made available those in the US at the time of writing, so it remains to be seen if the service will reach countries like South Africa where BNPL was seen a sizeable uptake as a result of the pandemic.

As for Apple’s version, it will allow users to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase in four. These four payments are spread out over six weeks and will not feature any sort of fees or interest, according to the company.

That said, Apple has noted that, “A user’s card-issuing bank may charge a fee if the user’s debit card account contains insufficient funds.”

In terms of accessing the service once iOS 16 launches out of beta in September, it will be found in the Wallet app.

“Built into Apple Wallet and designed with users’ financial health in mind, Apple Pay Later makes it easy to view, track, and repay Apple Pay Later payments within Wallet. Users can apply for Apple Pay Later when they are checking out with Apple Pay, or in Wallet. Apple Pay Later is available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app, using the Mastercard network,” explained Apple.

It will be interesting to see what the uptake in such a feature is, especially BNPL services only look to increase in need and popularity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH9cezXEFS0