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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Apple stopped accepting new Apple Pay Later loans in the United States on June 17–18, 2024. The company did not say a regulator ordered the shutdown. Instead, Apple said it would replace its own short-term lending product with installment offers from banks, card issuers and outside lenders inside Apple Pay. Existing borrowers kept their loans and could continue repayments in Apple Wallet.
What Apple actually discontinued
Apple ended new borrowing through Apple Pay Later, a U.S.-only product that Apple introduced to select users in March 2023 and rolled out more broadly later that year. This did not end Apple Pay, Apple’s wallet and checkout service, or every form of Apple financing.
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Apple iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe – Navy | $59.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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- Apple Pay Later: Apple’s first-party, short-term installment loan.
- Apple Pay: The wallet and payment network, which continues to support financing offers from participating lenders.
- Apple Card Monthly Installments: A separate 0% APR option for eligible Apple Card customers and qualifying Apple purchases.
- Partner financing: Loans or card-based installment plans offered by companies such as Affirm, Klarna, banks and card issuers through Apple Pay.
- Apple Upgrade: A later Klarna-backed device lease launched in the United States in 2026, not a replacement Apple Pay Later loan.
Apple’s developer documentation now marks Apple Pay Later availability as deprecated: Apple Pay Later availability.
When the shutdown happened
- Apple announced Apple Pay Later in March 2023, initially limiting access to selected U.S. users. The original announcement is available from Apple.
- On June 17, 2024, Apple announced that it would stop issuing new Apple Pay Later loans.
- Reports said new-loan acceptance would end beginning June 18, 2024. Open loans were not canceled or immediately accelerated.
Customers with existing balances could view and manage them in Apple Wallet, make scheduled payments and use the existing support and refund processes. The change applied to new loans, not to the repayment of loans already issued. See Apple’s Apple Pay Later legal terms and its support guidance.
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- Designed with both style and function in mind, the new iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe is the perfect way to keep your ID and credit cards close at hand.
- It supports Find My, so you can be notified of your wallet’s last known location if it gets separated from your phone.
- Made from durable micro-twill, the material has a smooth and seamless feel.
- The FineWoven material in this accessory is made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled content and significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to leather.
- The wallet features strong built-in magnets that allow it to effortlessly snap into place on the back of your iPhone.
How Apple Pay Later worked
Eligible U.S. customers applied in Apple Wallet. Under the announced terms, the product:
| Feature | Original Apple Pay Later terms |
|---|---|
| Maximum purchase | Up to $1,000 |
| Repayment | Four equal payments over six weeks |
| Interest and late fees | Apple advertised no interest or late fees under the product terms |
| Lending entity | Apple Financing LLC, a wholly owned Apple subsidiary |
| Goldman Sachs role | Issuer of the Mastercard payment credential associated with the service |
| Geographic availability | United States |
“No interest” did not mean no financial obligations. Borrowers still had to make scheduled payments, and account, dispute and collection consequences could apply under the legal agreement.
Why Apple said it was ending the product
Apple’s public explanation was strategic. The company said it would move toward a broader installment-loan system involving credit cards, debit cards, banks and other lenders enabled through Apple Pay. Apple described that approach as a way to make flexible payments available to more people and in more markets.
That shift can reduce the work Apple must do itself: underwriting applicants, servicing accounts, handling credit disputes, meeting lending requirements across jurisdictions and carrying or arranging credit risk. It also lets Apple show offers from lenders that already have merchant relationships and lending infrastructure. Those are business inferences, not reasons Apple publicly confirmed.
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Apple Pay Later was also limited to the United States and to Apple Pay’s acceptance environment. Affirm, Klarna and Afterpay already operate broader merchant and servicing networks. Apple could expand payment flexibility faster by displaying partner offers than by building a multinational lending operation of its own.
The company’s broader effort to restructure parts of its financial-services relationship with Goldman Sachs was additional context, but the public record does not establish that the partnership alone caused the shutdown. Contemporary reporting includes Reuters and TechCrunch.
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- Designed with both style and function in mind, the new iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe is the perfect way to keep your ID and credit cards close at hand.
- It supports Find My, so you can be notified of your wallet’s last known location if it gets separated from your phone.
- Made from durable micro-twill, the material has a smooth and seamless feel.
- The FineWoven material in this accessory is made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled content and significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to leather.
- The wallet features strong built-in magnets that allow it to effortlessly snap into place on the back of your iPhone.
How regulation fits—and where the evidence stops
Buy now, pay later products were facing increased scrutiny over disclosures, repayment transparency, refunds, disputes, credit reporting, affordability checks and consumer overextension. Regulators increasingly treated “pay in four” products as consumer credit rather than merely a checkout feature.
In May 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance indicating that many BNPL lenders could be subject to obligations similar to credit-card providers. Apple Pay Later stopped accepting new loans shortly afterward, but no public document identifies that guidance—or any named regulator—as the direct trigger.
In October 2024, the CFPB ordered Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay more than $89 million over Apple Card customer-service and transaction-dispute failures. Those orders concerned Apple Card operations, not a command to close Apple Pay Later: Apple consent order and Goldman Sachs consent order. The Associated Press account likewise does not establish a regulatory shutdown.
The defensible conclusion is narrower: regulatory scrutiny may have made first-party lending less attractive, but the public evidence supports a strategic move to partner financing—not a confirmed regulatory order forcing Apple to close the product.
What replaced Apple Pay Later
Apple continued building installment functionality into Apple Pay. Its 2024 announcement describes financing from cards, banks and other lenders, while a 2025 services announcement named additional partners and integrations. Actual offers depend on country, merchant, device, operating-system version, card issuer, lender approval and purchase type. They may be loans, card installments or other credit products, and they are not automatically fee-free.
Examples of alternatives include:
| Option | What it is | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay partner financing | Lender offers surfaced during Apple Pay checkout | Terms and approval vary by lender, merchant and transaction |
| Affirm | Merchant and Apple Pay installment loans | APR, term and credit reporting vary by applicant and purchase; compare total repayment at Affirm |
| Klarna | Pay-in-four and longer installment products | Each product has different fees, timing and eligibility; see Klarna U.S. |
| Afterpay | Pay-in-four and other consumer payment products | Check limits, late-payment rules and purchase eligibility at Afterpay |
| Apple Card Monthly Installments | 0% APR financing for eligible Apple purchases with Apple Card | Requires Apple Card approval and available credit; see Apple Support |
| Carrier financing | Installments or promotional credits through a wireless carrier | Discounts may require a qualifying plan and can be lost after switching carriers |
Apple’s 2026 move: Apple Upgrade is a lease
On July 28, 2026, Apple launched Apple Upgrade in the United States through Klarna. It covers eligible iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad purchases with 12-, 24- or, for some categories, 36-month terms. Apple listed starting monthly prices of $17.99 for iPhone, $11.99 for Apple Watch, $24.99 for Mac and $11.99 for iPad in its announcement: Apple Upgrade.
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- Designed with both style and function in mind, the new iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe is the perfect way to keep your ID and credit cards close at hand.
- It supports Find My, so you can be notified of your wallet’s last known location if it gets separated from your phone.
- Made from durable micro-twill, the material has a smooth and seamless feel.
- The FineWoven material in this accessory is made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled content and significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to leather.
- The wallet features strong built-in magnets that allow it to effortlessly snap into place on the back of your iPhone.
Apple Upgrade is a consumer lease, not a conventional loan or purchase plan. At the end of the lease, a customer may return the device and exit, return it and begin a new lease if eligible, or buy it with a one-time payment. Lease approval, credit approval, device condition and availability rules apply. Apple says applicants receive a soft credit inquiry that does not affect their credit score.
For illustration, Apple said an iPhone 17 Pro 256GB priced at $1,099 could carry a typical payment of $31.99 for 24 months or $45.99 for 12 months, excluding taxes and trade-in credit. Those are examples, not universal offers. Apple also said it would stop offering the iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments in the United States when Apple Upgrade launched.
How to choose an alternative
Compare the product type, not just the monthly payment:
- Total repayment: Add interest, fees, taxes, trade-in assumptions and any end-of-term purchase amount.
- Ownership: Confirm whether you own the device after the final payment or must return it, as with a lease.
- Credit terms: Check the inquiry type, approval standard and whether payments are reported to credit bureaus.
- Missed-payment consequences: Read late-fee, collection, account-restriction and device-return provisions.
- Eligibility limits: Verify the country, merchant, device, lender, issuer and purchase-type restrictions before relying on an offer.
- Carrier lock-in: For carrier financing, calculate the cost of maintaining the required wireless plan and the effect of switching providers.
Apple Card Monthly Installments may suit an eligible U.S. Apple Card user who wants a 0% APR purchase plan. A lease may suit someone who upgrades frequently and values a lower advertised payment over guaranteed ownership. Buying outright remains the simplest route for a customer who wants to avoid lender or carrier conditions.
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Apple did not abandon deferred payments. It abandoned its own standalone BNPL lender after a short U.S. rollout and shifted the lending role to partners. Regulation formed an important market backdrop, but Apple’s stated decision was to use banks and third-party providers; existing borrowers were allowed to finish their loans, and Apple later expanded payment flexibility through partner financing and Klarna-backed leasing.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
