Several months ago, Apple announced a new feature for Apple Pay designed to be able to split some large payments in a way that would be more comfortable. Baptized as Apple Pay Later (Apple Pay / Pay Later, approximately) we learned about this novelty during the last WWDC in June 2022 and now we hope that its arrival is “next”. This has been made known to us by Tim Cook during an interview with CNBC.
Yes ok Apple already finances most of its purchases through external partners, launching a service of this caliber is anything but a small task. The financial risk is significant, especially considering how widespread Apple Pay is as a payment method. More if we take into account the latest record figures for the service.
The buy now and pay later could arrive in Spain sooner rather than later
During yesterday’s financial results, Apple revealed that its services division achieved record numbers of $20.8 billion. A division that includes Apple Pay as well as Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+, and more. As Tim Cook himself commented during the press conference with investors, Apple Pay obtained a record number of purchases during the 2022 Christmas campaign. And he added that “We have seen absolute records in Spain”.
Staggering figures that put into perspective what launching a service should represent of splitting payments for a similar volume of transactions. More if we take into account that Apple Pay is available in millions of establishments in more than 70 countries.
While we expect Apple Pay Later to “launch soon,” according to Tim Cook, we certainly expect it to launch only in the United States. With these kinds of launches, it is most common for Apple to first roll out the infrastructure in its home country before expanding internationally. Interesting here, but the Spanish records, which can put ourselves in the priority queue for the arrival of Apple Pay Later in our country before in other territories.
The truth is that Tim Cook has communicated little to us about the launch plans, but seeing the situation, it is most likely that the release coincides with the arrival of iOS 16.4 of which we are still waiting for the first beta. According to rumors, Apple employees are already testing Apple Pay Later in beta mode, so it could be in a few weeks with the next iOS 16 update that we will see the official launch.