iPhone Subscription Service, Apple Pay Later Financial Services Delayed: Mark Gurman

The delays in Apple's fintech projects reportedly stem from engineering and technical challenges

Written by Manas Mitul, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 13 February 2023 19:15 IST

iPhone Subscription Service, Apple Pay Later Financial Services Delayed: Mark Gurman

Photo Credit: Apple

Apple Card Savings account service was announced in October

Highlights

Apple Pay Later was announced in June last year
The company's Savings account for Apple Card was unveiled in October
Apple is yet to officially announce its iPhone subscription service

Apple's upcoming financial services, which include a buy-now-pay-later service Apple Pay Later, Apple Card Savings account, and an unannounced iPhone subscription program, have reportedly been delayed. The Cupertino, California-based company's upcoming offerings are reportedly facing engineering and technical issues, leading to delays. Apple announced its Pay Later service and Apple Card Savings account integrated with its Wallet app last year. Additionally, a yet-unannounced iPhone hardware subscription service and an Apple Pay Monthly Instalments service are in the works, but have also reportedly hit obstacles.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman states that Apple's planned financial services are facing technical challenges. In his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says that Apple has found its push into the financial vertical more difficult than expected. “I believe the delays to all four initiatives stem from engineering challenges, as well as work on a next-generation financial system that will support them,” he explains.

According to Gurman, Apple is developing in-house technology to handle interest calculations, rewards, credit checks, approvals, and transaction histories, all of which are currently handled by external partners. Apple's upcoming services are another step towards reducing its reliance on third parties.

Apple’s iPhone Subscription Service Could Launch Year End: Mark Gurman

According to Gurman, Apple's Pay Later service should roll out to the public by March or April after being delayed for several months. The feature is currently in beta for Apple's corporate and retail employees. Apple Pay Later launched last year in June, offering to split purchases up into four equal payments over six weeks. Apple had then said that it was planning to fund loans for its Pay Later service off its corporate balance sheet.

The company had announced its Savings account feature for Apple Cards in October, which would allow users to “save their Daily Cash and grow their rewards in a high-yield Savings account from Goldman Sachs.” While the service was expected to launch in coming months, Gurman reports that there has been no word on the upcoming feature.

Apple Says Will Fund Pay Later Loans Off Its Own Balance Sheet

The unannounced iPhone hardware subscription service, which would let users buy iPhone models on a subscription-style monthly payments basis, was reportedly supposed to launch in 2022 or 2023. While there's no word on a new launch timeline, the service should debut eventually, according to Gurman.

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company's latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Apple, Apple Pay Later, iPhone sub

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More