Apple is reportedly working on a new payment feature called 'Apple Pay Later' that will let users pay for purchases at a later date.
Apple Pay Later will be available for purchases made at either retail or online stores, Bloomberg reports, citing insiders 'with knowledge of the matter'.
The feature would let Apple Pay users split their payments into four interest-free installments, or across several months with interest, according to Bloomberg.
There's no official word from Apple regarding if the product is actually in development on when it would be released.
It sounds similar to Klarna, which was founded in 2005 and encourages users to 'Shop Like A Queen' in adverts.
Other 'buy now, pay later' (BNPL) providers include Clearpay, Laybuy, Affirm, Afterpay and even e-commerce giant PayPal, which lets users pay in four installments.
According to Reuters, Bloomberg's report has dragged down shares of other companies in the BNPL sector, including Afterpay and Sezzle.
Apple is reportedly working on Apple Pay Later to help encourage sales. The feature would be available through Apple Pay, it digital wallet through which users can pay with a number of cards
BNPL helps to increase sales by easing the financial burden of particularly expensive online purchases.
But critics have suggested it just gets users into debt and encourages them to buy products they can't actually afford.
Such fears fuelled the UK government's decision, announced in February this year, that the sector will become subject to regulation from the Financial Conduct Authority.
'Buy now, pay later products are rapidly increasing in popularity, with the volume of transactions tripling in 2020 as the pandemic drove online shopping, and there is now a significant risk that these agreements could cause harm to consumers,' government said at the time.
Apple appears undeterred and is keen to tap the market, the Bloomberg report suggests, although it's likely such a feature would launch in the US first before to a wider rollout.
Apple makes money from Apple Pay by taking a tiny fraction of every
