Tech giant Apple is the most recent company to add a “Buy Now, Pay Later” or “BNPL” option to its services.
This option, dubbed “Apple Pay Later, allows customers to split the payment of purchases into four installments over six weeks, with the first installment charged at the time of sale.
“Apple Pay Later” was first teased last year and is now rolling out to select users in the United States, and according to a company release, the plan is to offer all eligible customers over the next few months.
These services have recently surged in popularity due to a growing number of customers using them to stretch budgets at a time when high inflation and broader economic uncertainty are the norms.
However, some economists and consumer advocates are concerned that such services might increase consumer debt. Since the installment process might make it seem that a buyer is spending little or next to nothing on a purchase, leading the buyer to make perhaps other, riskier purchases they wouldn’t make otherwise. And thus, unwittingly increase debt.
Apple, for its part, claims it has introduced safeguards to avoid such a scenario for customers.
Other trendy services that provide the same payment option include Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, and Zip.