Apple Inc and Affirm Holdings Inc’s PayBright are planning to launch a “buy now, pay later” program for Apple device purchases in Canada, stepping up the iPhone maker’s ambitions to offer more financial services.
The companies plan to debut the initiative this month at Apple’s online and physical retail stores in Canada, according to a message sent to Apple retail employees in the region which was obtained by Bloomberg News.
The service would let iPhone, Mac and iPad buyers in Canada pay for purchases over 12 or 24 months instead of at the time of the transaction.
Apple told staff it would offer the program interest free for a limited time after the launch.
It would become Apple’s first installment program in Canada in several years.
Apple has offered a buy now, pay later system for Apple purchases via its Apple Card with Goldman Sachs Group Inc in the US since last year, but the credit card is not available internationally.
Apple has also long offered monthly iPhone payment plans in some other nations.
Apple told staff in Canada that the program would roll out on Wednesday next week.
Spokespeople for Apple and Affirm declined to comment.
Canada is one of Apple’s largest retail markets with almost 30 stores, coming in behind the US, China and the UK.
Apple does not disclose how much revenue it generates in individual nations, but about 50 percent of smartphone sales in Canada in the second quarter last year were iPhones, Counterpoint Research data showed.
The monthly payments system for Canada would also support down payments via trade-ins of existing devices.
While AppleCare can also be included on the installment plan for the purchase of iPhones, iPads and Macs, the new offering would not include other Apple products such as the Apple Watch and AirPods, which are supported via monthly payments in the US with the Apple Card.
PayBright is a popular, Canada-based buy now, pay later service that was acquired by Affirm in December last year for more than US$260 million.
For Apple, the upcoming Canada system is just another step toward its expanded buy now, pay later plan.
The Cupertino, California-based company is working on a service called Apple Pay Later that would allow the cost of any item bought through Apple Pay to be spread over multiple payments.
It is working on two versions of the service: a zero-interest plan that consists of four payments, or a plan with interest that runs over several months.
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