In the United States, Australia and Europe, buy now, pay
later is marketed as an alternative to credit cards. The service has soared in
popularity during the pandemic as consumers seek other options to make
purchases that are easier on their wallets.
On Monday, Square Inc, the payments firm of Twitter Inc
co-founder Jack Dorsey, said it would acquire buy now, pay later pioneer
Afterpay Ltd for $29 billion, creating a transactions giant that will battle
banks and tech firms in the financial sector's fastest-growing business.
Square's deal for Afterpay would allow it to compete with
PayPal Holdings Inc and unlisted Swedish startup Klarna Inc, which was worth
$46 billion in its last fundraising in June.
Apple and Affirm plan to debut the program this month at
Apple stores in Canada, Bloomberg reported, citing a message sent to Apple
retail employees in the region.
The service will let iPhone, Mac and iPad buyers in Canada
pay for purchases over 12 or 24 months instead of in-full at the time of the
transaction, according to the Bloomberg report.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment and Affirm declined to comment.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple was working on a
service to let shoppers pay for purchases in installments and it would use
Goldman Sachs Group Inc as the lender for the loans made through Apple Pay.