ith Apple expanding and looking for new services, Apple Pay Later is their latest innovation that could challenge PayPal and other competitors. Find out more here.
Apple are always on the hunt for a way in which they can one-up their competitors. This is not just their competitors in terms of hardware developers but also software competitors such as PayPal. Their latest challenge comes in the form of a pay-later scheme called Apple Pay Later.
Apple Pay’s Position
Apple Pay, as a digital payment method, has positioned itself as a key player in both online transactions and in-store transactions. It has successfully challenged PayPal in the online market, now available on many retail and service websites as a payment option alongside PayPal and traditional bank transfer. These alternative payment methods – the likes of Apple Pay, Neteller, and Skrill – are integral to the consumer experiences within key markets. For instance, gamers who play online slots at Dunder prefer the faster deposit and withdrawn transactions with digital wallets.
Apple Pay’s legitimacy in the online marketplace cannot be doubted, and that’s also the case for in-store marketplaces too. The latest development of Apple Pay Later simply expands the product and its services, further challenging PayPal’s dominance.
Stretching Out Payments
The concept of breaking down payments and spreading them over several instalments is not a new idea. It has been around for quite some time, and has been used to great success. There are many companies beyond Apple and PayPal that have popularised this type of payment. One of the most well-known is Swedish brand Klarna.
Apple Pay has enjoyed a lot of success since it was first launched, and is now one of the many forms of contactless payment that we have a choice of using nowadays. Their goal, ultimately, will no doubt be to have users accept this style of payment too, and would want to see it offered as a payment option by all retailers that also currently accept Apple Pay. With 46.9% of smartphone owners in the US using an iPhone, it only makes sense that Apple would want to develop a system that appeals directly to this market.
Who Could Use Apple Pay Later?
If Apple Pay Later does pick up interest, we could see it rolled out across many types of business. It is linked to a bank card, so it can be used in any number of transactions across the internet.
Exposure is going to be key here. If Apple wants to compete with PayPal, they need to make sure that they are offering this new feature in all the same places that PayPal are.
Can Apple Combat PayPal in This Way?
It might sound lie a typical corporate battle to have Apple challenge PayPal with this new payment system, but it is not as simple as it sounds. Though Apple is one of the biggest and most valuable corporations on the planet, they are going to be taking on PayPal. They have spent many years building a trusted and solid reputation, and it might take more than one might imagine for Apple to take it on.
Even if a customer is a loyal Apple user, they might still be accustomed to using PayPal to pay for online goods. For this reason, Apple will have to lay a lot of groundwork to ensure that their customers are indeed making the switch between the two payment systems as easily as possible.
Apple is one company that is always determined to grow and flourish. Following the success of Apple Pay, it is unsurprising that they have turned their eye to instalment payments as their next area to tackle. It will be interesting to see if this will take hold in the same way that Apple Pay and other contactless payment schemes have done previously.