June 18 (UPI) -- Apple on Monday said effective that day it no longer would offer Apple Pay Later, its "buy now, pay later" service that launched last year in the United States.
In making the announcement, the company outlined new features for the app that will roll out later this year.
"Starting later this year, users across the globe will be able to access installment loans offered through credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay," the tech company told 9to5Mac in a statement.
The company said existing customers with open Apple Pay Later loans will still be able to manage it via their Wallet app.
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Apple Pay Later was originally available to "randomly selected users" in March last year.
The Apple service launched fully nine months ago in October 2023 into the U.S. market and let users take out "pay later" loans, repaid over six weeks on a four payment plan.
And a Lending Tree survey indicated how more than 40% of Americans utilized Apple's buy now, pay later services.
A 2021 report by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau showed how the "buy now, pay later" market was a $24 billion industry that year, which was a $2 billion increase from 2019 two years prior, and that U.S. consumers struggled to pay back the loans.
It comes as Apple recently had announced new features and operating systems that will more fully employ artificial intelligence, and amid an ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought on by the Justice Department against Apple.
But Apple added that their reasoning for getting rid of the Apply Pay Later service was to focus more on the new features announced that day.
"Our focus continues to be on providing our users with access to easy, secure and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will enable us to bring flexible payments to more users, in more places across the globe, in collaboration with Apple Pay enabled banks and lenders."
