Apple to Scrutinize Customer History for New ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Service
With Apple Inc. pushing into the lending business with a “buy now, pay later” service, the company is laying out rules for how it will approve transactions. One key factor: whether you've been a good customer in the past.
The Apple Pay Later service — announced last year but still in the testing phase — will evaluate borrowers based on their spending history and even which of the company's devices they own. The program, which lets shoppers make purchases and then pay over installments, also will look at whether customers have applied for an Apple Card credit card and the other cards they have linked to their Apple Pay accounts.
The offering is part of a broader push into financial services, which is seen as a big growth opportunity for the tech giant but also one with potential pitfalls. Already, the Pay Later service is running behind schedule: It was originally expected last year. The company also is working on a homegrown infrastructure for financial products that will help decrease its reliance on banking partners.
The lending criteria were revealed as part of a test of the service with Apple employees, who can now use the option for their own personal purchases. The evaluations determine whether the company is willing to lend money to applicants and how big an amount it will approve. Many testers are seeing loan approvals for $1,000 and under.
Apple Pay Later loan offers expire after 30 days and applications will sometimes require a copy of a government identification card, full social security number and two-step verification on an Apple account, according to the notes in the test version of the service. Loan status with Apple Pay Later won't affect access to other company services.
A spokeswoman for
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