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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11894021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> is working on a subscription service for the <keyword id="11895165" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="iphone" source="Orion">iPhone</keyword> and other hardware, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/apple-aapl-is-working-on-a-hardware-subscription-service-for-iphones">reported</a> Thursday.</li><li>Bloomberg cited "people with knowledge of the matter." </li></ul>Apple is looking at a subscription service for the iPhone and other Apple hardware, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/apple-aapl-is-working-on-a-hardware-subscription-service-for-iphones">reported</a> Thursday.Citing "people with knowledge of the matter," the outlet wrote Apple is "working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware products, a move that could make device ownership similar to paying a monthly app fee." Sources told Bloomberg the project is still in the works and has not been announced (and thus declined to be identified).In the last few years, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/general-motors-stock-price-software-revenue-drives-autonomous-subscription-model-2021-10">recurring revenue</a> has been in vogue with startups, investors, and companies. Services like Klarna and Afterpay – which will soon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-loans-count-toward-credit-score-affirm-2022-3">count toward your credit score</a> – have also allowed consumers more flexibility to pay for items in installments. Apple has a financing option through its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fapple-card%2Fmonthly-installments%2F">Apple Card</a>, and you can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-iphone%2Fcarrier-offers">finance devices through carriers</a> like AT&amp;T and Verizon. But, "the service would be Apple's biggest push yet into automatically recurring sales, allowing users to subscribe to hardware for the first time," Bloomberg wrote.Bloomberg's report added that consumers would likely be able to subscribe through existing Apple IDs, and it would be analogous to paying for Apple Music every month. And, rather than pay installments that equal the price of the device, the charge would be some sort of monthly fee users could pick.Sources told Bloomberg the hardware subscription service is slated to launch at the end of 2022 but still might be pushed to next year or nixed. Apple's effort to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-13/apple-goldman-plan-buy-now-pay-later-service-to-rival-paypal">launch</a> a "buy now, pay later" option for Apple Pay took precedence, they told the outlet.Apple declined to comment for the Bloomberg story, and didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Apple is reportedly working on launching a subscription service for iPhones and other hardware

Happy hump day! I'm Dan DeFrancesco, filling in for Aaron Weinman. And while I might not have hair as nice as Aaron's, I promise that you are in good hands. Wall Street is in a bit of a limbo period as those returning from an extended holiday have found their colleagues who worked last week are now on vacation.Still, we've got plenty of interesting stories to catch you up on, including the blowup of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-key-trends-impacting-fintechs-2022-7">once-hot sector of fintech</a>, more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/archegos-bill-hwang-toxic-culture-collapse-employee-compensation-lawsuit-2022-7">fallout from the Archegos implosion</a>, and one group's return-to-office that no New Yorker could have predicted.Alright, let's get tucked in. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-on-wall-street">Sign up here to get 10 Things on Wall Street in your inbox.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-key-trends-impacting-fintechs-2022-7"></a>1. Buy now, pay later: On the surface it may not seem like the most novel of ideas. Paying for something by way of installments dates <a href="https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/credit/credit1a.html">all the way back to the 19th century</a>. Just like fashion, fintech has a habit of turning old trends into new ones via smart marketing and a flashy user experience. In 2021, there was arguably <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-key-trends-impacting-fintechs-2022-7">no greater example of this than buy now, pay later</a>, or BNPL for short. But the highs of last year — Super Bowl ads, IPOs, and eye-popping valuations — have been followed by extreme lows. Klarna has reportedly seen its private-market valuation plummet as it looks to raise additional funding while Affirm's share price has faced a similar drop in the public markets this year.Ann Gehan broke down the four biggest trends that have upended the BNPL market over the past 18 months, turning it from fintech darling to a sector in crisis. Check out our inside look at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-key-trends-impacting-fintechs-2022-7">what's fueling the massive disruptions in the once-hot BNPL space.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/archegos-bill-hwang-toxic-culture-collapse-employee-compensation-lawsuit-2022-7"></a><div type="image" title="Bill Hwang" height="4160" width="5546" msid="92702038" hostid="261"></div>2. A former employee of Archegos Capital Management is suing the shuttered family office for $50 million in lost bonuses. The 99-page lawsuit alleges Bill Hwang monitored some employees' religious views and misled analysts about career prospects. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/archegos-bill-hwang-toxic-culture-collapse-employee-compensation-lawsuit-2022-7">Here are the seven juciest bits from the lawsuit.</a>3. Crypto broker Voyager Digital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/06/crypto-firm-voyager-digital-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection.html">Per CNBC, </a>Voyager — which counts Sam Bankman-Fried's firm as its largest creditor — faced losses from exposure to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-backed-loans-crypto-crash-liquidity-crisis-bankruptcy-collapse-3ac-2022-7">Three Arrows Capital</a>.4. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia could take a hit on its investment in Klarna to the tune of roughly $2 billion. The Swedish buy now, pay later provider is reportedly raising new funding at a significantly lower valuation that would see CBA's stake in the startup drop from just under $2.5 billion in value to around $400 million, according to a Morgan Stanley research note, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/cba-facing-2bn-hit-from-buy-now-pay-later-play-klarna-20220705-p5az9b.html">The Sydney Morning Herald reports</a>. 5. Wall Street banks have largely emerged unscathed from the crypto crash. Banks' ability to stay mostly above the fray has come as plenty of small investors have taken a bath amid the recent market downturn, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/05/business/economy/wall-st-cryptocurrency-prices.html">the New York Times reports</a>. 6. Add this to the list of things that's becoming more expensive. The average monthly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-average-monthly-car-payment-hits-record-712-us-2022-7">car payment for Americans in June hit a record-high $712</a>.7. The latest segment of startups to take a nosedive could be space and aviation startups. Here's how VCs are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hundreds-of-aerospace-startups-at-risk-of-crumbling-vc-funding-2022-7">thinking about the market</a>. 8. When will the red-hot housing market cool down? Summer 2023, according to a real-estate appraisal consultant. Here's why <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-crash-bubble-real-estate-investing-buying-strategies-contrarian-2022-7">he says that could be the time to buy.</a>9. New York City isn't cheap. You need a net worth of at least $1.4 million to live in the financial hub, according to a Charles Schwab survey. And check out how much people say <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-needed-to-live-in-new-york-city-2022-7">you need to be considered "wealthy" in NYC.</a>10. An unlikely new tenant is taking up residence in the East River. Dolphins have been seen swimming in the lower Manhattan waterfront that's not historically known for its cleanliness, <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fdolphins-new-york-city-east-river-11657027374%3Fmod%3Dhp_featst_pos5">the Wall Street Journal reports</a>. Correction: Friday's edition of the <keyword id="11894123" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="newsletter" source="Orion">newsletter</keyword> misstated the amount that UBS agreed to pay to settle SEC allegations. The figure was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/ubs-pay-25-million-settle-us-sec-fraud-charges-2022-06-29/">$25 million</a>, not $250 million.Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Tips? Email <a href="mailto:ddefrancesco@insider.com">ddefrancesco@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/dandefrancesco">@dandefrancesco</a>.

Here's what's fueling the massive disruptions in the once-hot buy now, pay later space

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sweden's buy-now-pay-later startup <keyword id="1614454" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Klarna">Klarna</keyword> is seeking to dominate the US market. </li><li>Klarna has over <a href="https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarna-continues-strong-us-growth-reaching-record-highs-in-customers-retail-partners-and-consumer-app-downloads/">6,000 US retail partners </a>and over 200,000 globally, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hm-has-a-new-strategy-to-avoid-retails-deadliest-mistake-2019-7">H&amp;M</a> and Peloton. </li><li>Its CEO said it outgrew the New York office during the pandemic, before having a chance to use it.</li></ul>Sweden's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/klarna-valuation-fundraise-buy-now-pay-later-funding-2021-3">widely successful</a> buy-now-pay-later startup Klarna has its sites set on dominating the US. In an interview with <a href="https://qz.com/2009266/klarnas-ceo-says-company-outgrew-new-york-office-before-using-it/">Quartz</a>, Klarna's CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski discussed plans for a possible IPO and growth in the US."It's mind-blowing to see the growth there," he said of the US, adding that this is set to become its biggest market in the coming months. "We're now onboarding over a thousand merchants on a monthly basis in the US" and the company has 60 million active users there," he said.Quartz writer John Detrixhe also referenced one of Siemiatkowski's recent tweets, Klarna had grown so quickly during the pandemic that it no longer fitted inside its New York office, which temporarily shuttered during the lockdown. Klarna has over <a href="https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarna-continues-strong-us-growth-reaching-record-highs-in-customers-retail-partners-and-consumer-app-downloads/">6,000 retail partners in the US</a> and more than 200,000 globally, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hm-has-a-new-strategy-to-avoid-retails-deadliest-mistake-2019-7">H&amp;M</a>, Nike, and Peloton. It counts <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-scarred-millennials-opt-for-buy-now-pay-later-shopping-2019-9">Afterpay and Affirm as its main competitors</a>.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/explosion-buy-now-pay-later-credit-klarna-regulation-2021-2">Inside the explosion of buy-now, pay-later services like Klarna, as regulators move to legislate a potentially $350 billion industry</a>Until now its focus has been on partnering with larger brands but it's beginning to shift to smaller businesses too, according to Siemiatkowski. The buy-now-pay-later model allows customers to spread the cost of a purchase over four payments. This model has raised concerns among critics and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/explosion-buy-now-pay-later-credit-klarna-regulation-2021-2">regulators</a> who said it is encouraging young people to spend beyond their means and get into debt. But Siemiatkowski said it's an alternative to a credit card that's available to all. "A lot of people that are using credit cards and are - by the way - living off the means of other people who are revolving... they're actually forgetting that a lot of people today don't have access to these products, and other people have taken an active choice not to participate in those products."And that means that they see the benefit of using buy-now-pay-later. And that's why they're rewarding merchants who are offering that," he said.

Buy-now-pay-later startup Klarna is booming so fast that it outgrew its New York office before it had a chance to move in

<ul class="summary-list"><li>PayPal saw the use of its buy-now-pay-later (<keyword id="9522245" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bnpl" source="Orion">BNPL</keyword>) service soar on <keyword id="12123388" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-friday" source="Orion">Black Friday</keyword>, CNBC reported.</li><li>The same was true for other BNPL platforms too.</li></ul>PayPal saw the use of its buy-now-pay-later payment service soar on Black Friday. In an interview with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/30/paypal-ceo-use-of-buy-now-pay-later-option-soared-on-black-friday.html">CNBC's Jim Cramer</a>, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said that the volume of sales on its Pay in 4 service jumped by 400% this Black Friday, compared with the previous year. "We did some 750,000 transactions alone in one day on Black Friday," he told the outlet, describing its payment instalment service as "one of the stars" of the holiday season.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-pay-in-4-could-increase-dominance-in-bnpl-market-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">Pay in 4</a> was introduced in the US in 2020 and allows users to spread purchases across four payments interest-free. This level of growth on BNPL was the same across the board. According to data from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-2021-sales-stats-performance-online-in-store-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Adobe Analytics spending across BNPL services</a> was up 422% in November, while the volume of orders was up 438% on these platforms from 2019 levels.<keyword id="11965228" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="klarna" source="Orion">Klarna</keyword>, one of the leading players in the sector, said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/black-friday-klarna-buy-now-pay-later">users spent 298% more</a> on its buy-now-pay-later services this Black Friday compared with last year. With inflation at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-report-october-cpi-scarier-runaway-price-growth-transitory-outlook-2021-11">30-year highs,</a> consumers may well be opting for BNPL options to spread the cost of pricier goods. Critics say this comes with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/18/the-surge-in-buy-now-pay-later-and-why-we-should-be-worried" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">financial risk, </a>however. As customers only pay for products after they have received them, it can be tempting to spend more than they have and rack up debt.This leaves shoppers with a financial headache after the holidays, Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData <keyword id="11893588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail" source="Orion">Retail</keyword>, previously told Insider. And as BNPL is typically easier to access than a new credit card because there aren't hard credit checks, customers who are less financially stable are likely to be more vulnerable.

PayPal CEO says spending via its buy-now-pay-later service soared 400% on Black Friday, as inflation bites and shoppers feel the pinch

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Payments firm <keyword id="1614454" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Klarna">Klarna</keyword> has raised $1 billion in new funding, tripling its valuation to $31 billion.</li><li>This makes "buy now, pay later" giant Klarna the most valuable private startup in Europe.</li><li>The new round of funding included a mix of new and existing investors.</li></ul>Swedish "buy now, pay later" payments company Klarna has nearly tripled its valuation to $31 billion in less than six months, after it announced on Monday a new $1 billion fundraising round.The new round, which makes Klarna the most valuable European startup, was oversubscribed four times and included a combination of new and existing investors.The firm completed a $650 million funding round in September from a group of investors led by Silver Lake that valued it at $11 billion.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/klarna-fintech-giant-reports-sevenfold-increase-in-losses-2020-8">Klarna</a> also said it would pledge 1% of the capital raised to a newly created initiative that focuses on key sustainability challenges around the world and would launch on April 22 on World Earth Day.Reuters had reported last week that the company, which competes with PayPal and Australia's AfterPay, was finalizing another private funding round.Klarna, which was founded in 2015, has 90 million active consumers and 250,000 merchants on its payments service, according to its <a href="https://www.klarna.com/uk/about-us/">website</a>. <keyword id="6370208" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Payment">Payment</keyword> services such as Klarna that let customers delay payment for online purchases have raised <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/explosion-buy-now-pay-later-credit-klarna-regulation-2021-2">concerns among authorities that young people are falling into debt</a>.The UK government said February 8 it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/explosion-buy-now-pay-later-credit-klarna-regulation-2021-2">plans to regulate these kind of services</a>, after a report produced by the financial regulator's former chief, Christopher Woolard argued that "buy now, pay later" schemes could be "harmful" if left unregulated.

'Buy now, pay later' giant Klarna has tripled its valuation to $31 billion, making it Europe's most valuable private startup

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11893181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> will soon let shoppers delay full payment on items costing more than $50.</li><li><keyword id="11965225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="affirm" source="Orion">Affirm</keyword> shares soared more than 40% after it announced its partnership with Amazon.</li><li>E-Commerce companies are moving to consolidate their positions in the "buy now, pay later" space.</li></ul>Amazon is entering the delayed pay arena after announcing its partnership with "buy now, pay later" platform provider Affirm on Friday.The e-commerce giant's "pay-over-time" option will be available at checkout, allowing Amazon consumers to split the cost of purchases of $50 or more into smaller monthly installments dispersed over a longer period of time.The total cost of the purchase will be always be displayed, Affirm said, and customers will not have to pay any more than the agreed amount. Affirm also said that while some of the Amazon customer loans will bear interest, others will come at 0% APR, with no late or hidden fees."By partnering with Amazon we're bringing the transparency, predictability and affordability that Affirm provides today to the millions of people who shop on Amazon.com in the U.S.," Senior Vice President of Sales at Affirm Eric Morse said in a <a href="https://www.affirm.com/press/releases/amazon-partners-with-affirm">statement</a>. The buy-now-pay-later model has become more popular among younger generations of consumers, who typically desire flexible payment options and are more willing to use this method of <keyword id="11965227" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="credit" source="Orion">credit</keyword> than to pay the full price upfront. Its market is heating up as e-commerce companies are looking to make deals and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-potential-acquisition-targets-bnpl-deals-payments-2021-8">capitalize on pay-later companies</a>, like Affirm, <keyword id="11965228" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="klarna" source="Orion">Klarna</keyword>, and <keyword id="6532321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="afterpay" source="Orion">Afterpay</keyword>. PayPal and Apple Pay have also introduced similar installment plans to their payment methods.Shares of Affirm jumped more than 40% following the announcement of the partnership, which added more than $80 million to its market cap. The Amazon partnership is expected to be a major advantage for Affirm, especially as COVID-19 pandemic-driven e-commerce <keyword id="11955699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="consumer" source="Orion">consumer</keyword> habits helped <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-bigger-than-walmart-overall-sales-2021-8">Amazon overtake Walmart for most sales</a>.The payment option is only available to a select few right now, but Amazon plans to release it broadly to all consumers in the coming months.

Amazon will let you buy stuff now and pay for it later through a new partnership with Affirm

<ul><li>The government has refused to make <keyword id="764355" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="5G">5G</keyword> spectrum cheaper on the recommendations of the <keyword id="30356" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telecom-Regulatory-Authority-of-India">Telecom Regulatory Authority of India</keyword> (TRAI). </li><li>The government is also looking at options to extend the payment time for the spectrum from 10 years to 16 years. </li><li>The government is also working on reducing the upfront price for the auction by 5-10%. </li></ul>The government has refused to make 5G spectrum cheaper ahead of the upcoming auctions. But it is providing a lifeline to telecom companies, making it easier for them to own it, by spreading payments for it, by over 16 years, according to a <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/telecom-operators-likely-to-get-16-years-to-pay-for-5g-spectrum-119071200058_1.html">Business Standard report</a>. This comes as good news for telecom companies like <keyword id="10926" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> <keyword id="2003276" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>, <keyword id="6354287" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> and <keyword id="15492" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword> Idea, who have raised concerns over the high base price set by the government. To ease the burden of already debt-laden companies, the government is known to be studying options to lower the upfront payment to 5-10% of the total value of the spectrum they purchase. This development has come after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> (TRAI) stuck at its recommended reserve price of ₹492 crore per MHz for the prized 5G spectrum which can provide ultra high-speed Internet connections. This move, if taken, will be in line with the recommendations of the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) made last year in January. It said spectrum should be paid for in 10-16 years, to solve the sector’s difficulties. Tough environment Lowering margins and increased competition have pushed many telcos into the red. Bharti Airtel has a net debt of ₹108,235 crore as on <a href="https://www.livemint.com/industry/telecom/airtel-arpu-grows-6-5-to-rs-123-in-jan-mar-2019-1559240368545.html">May 2019</a>. Vodafone Idea is in no better position as it has <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/vodafone-idea-q4-loss-narrows-to-rs-4847-3-cr-revenue-arpu-up-on-quarter/69310775">debt to the </a>tune of ₹118,00 crore. Reliance Jio which kickstarted the data price war has shored up its parent company debt. Its current liabilities with a variety of businesses under it from oil to retail went by ₹27,000 crore in a year, leaving it with less headroom for heavy investments. As expected, the telecom provides have been unhappy with the prices. “These prices are exorbitant, given that the state of 5G ecosystem is still nascent. So, we would hope that the government brings the prices of spectrum,” <a href="https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/telecom-operators-likely-to-get-16-years-to-pay-for-5g-spectrum/">said</a> Bharti Airtel MD and CEO. Vodafone-Idea chief executive Balesh Sharma also termed the prices as exorbitant, while Reliance Jio’s Senior Vice President V L Shankar said “We need large bandwidth of 5G and at attractive prices.” In 2016, telecom operators had missed the auction of 700 MHz 5G spectrum auctioned last year.

5G spectrum auctions might have a ‘buy now pay later’ scheme

<ul><li><keyword id="11983441" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="affirm-stock" source="Orion">Affirm stock</keyword> fell 6% on Monday after <keyword id="11894021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> announced its own Buy Now, Pay Later payment option.</li><li><keyword id="12211805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="apple-pay" source="Orion">Apple Pay</keyword> Later allows users to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments with no interest.</li><li>The new offering from Apple works with any merchant that already supports Apple Pay, and does not require a new POS terminal.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/afrm-stock">Affirm</a> stock sank as much as 6% on Monday after <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aapl-stock">Apple</a> announced its own buy now, pay later payment option at its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-edit-button-unsend-imessages-texts-ios16-2022-6">annual WWDC event.</a>Apple announced Apple Pay Later, which is fully integrated into Apple's digital wallet and allows its users to pay back any purchase made with Apple Pay in four installments. Apple said its buy now, pay later option boasts zero interest rates and no late fees.The new payment option from Apple has long been rumoured, which is perhaps why <keyword id="11965225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="affirm" source="Orion">Affirm</keyword> pared its losses and traded down just 3% about one hour after Apple's announcement. Still, Affirm is down 75% year-to-date, and is off more than 86% from its 52-week high. Apple Pay Later is available wherever Apple Pay can be used, including for in-app purchases and shopping on the web. Additionally, the new payment installment plan is fully integrated with existing point-of-sale terminals, so retailers won't need to upgrade their POS systems to enable Apple Pay Later.Any purchase made with Apple Pay Later can be tracked and managed through the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone. Apple's first foray into the buy now, pay later space was with its Apple Credit Card, which allowed users to make monthly installment payments with 0% interest for specific Apple products purchased at Apple Store locations.Now Apple will compete with the likes of Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay in the buy now, pay later space, but Apple highlighted its plans to launch the service were more of an effort to help its iPhone users completely replace their physical wallet. The company is working towards that goal by launching state-approved digital drivers licenses, among other features.<keyword id="11940162" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="apple-stock" source="Orion">Apple stock</keyword> traded up half a percent in Monday trades. The company also unveiled new MacBooks, and iOS 16 for the iPhone. Speculation has mounted that Apple may unveil an augmented reality product. The conference is still ongoing.

Affirm sinks after Apple announces its own buy-now-pay-later option at WWDC event

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I shopped using buy now, pay later service <keyword id="6532321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="afterpay" source="Orion">Afterpay</keyword> for the first time. </li><li>It was easy to set up and resulted in four lower payments than my initial bill with zero interest.</li><li>While it was empowering to spend in a new way, having a middle-man can be stressful. </li></ul>Back in 2008, in the midst of the Great Recession, the rapper T.I. released a song titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJACVmankY">"Whatever You Like."</a>The track is a celebration of financial irresponsibility in the face of love; an ode to spending lavishly today without worrying too much about the consequences of tomorrow. It's this song that played in a loop in my head as I embarked on my first foray into <keyword id="11896038" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shopping" source="Orion">shopping</keyword> using "buy now, pay later." I shopped with Afterpay, an Australian financial technology firm that offers the ability to make a purchase and pay it off over time, also known as <keyword id="9522245" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bnpl" source="Orion">BNPL</keyword>. Traditional retailers in the past have offered layaway - where the store held onto the item until you could pay it off - the retailers of today are willing to hand over the goods while you pay off the total price over time. Afterpay has been around since 2018, and in August, it was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorseys-square-buy-afterpay-for-29-billion-in-stock-2021-8">acquired by payments platform Square</a> for $29 billion in stock, a move borne out of what <keyword id="11893999" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="square" source="Orion">Square</keyword> CEO Jack Dorsey described as "a shared purpose." "We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles," Dorsey said at the time. Afterpay says it now <a href="https://www.afterpay.com/en-US/how-it-works">works with over 100,000 brands</a> and boasts 16 million customers and counting. But it's one of a handful of BNPL companies, including Klarna and Affirm, competing for shoppers' dollars, and for good reason: the number of consumers turning to BNPL as a way to pay for their purchases is predicted to surge 81.2% in 2021, <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/afterpay-klarna-deliver-strong-performance-following-summer-spending-surge-recent-growth-initiatives">according to Insider Intelligence data</a>. With all that in mind, I decided to try BNPL myself. <h2>The purchasing process</h2>While I'd like to say I researched the merits of every BNPL provider before I began shopping, that's not the case - and I highly doubt that's how most users approach these services, either. I decided to use Afterpay simply because it's partnered with <keyword id="12229633" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anthropologie" source="Orion">Anthropologie</keyword>, a company whose clothes, shoes, accessories, and housewares I really like and trust. Plus, knowing that Afterpay had recently been acquired by Square, I had a base level of faith in the service. My decision to use BNPL was borne, like I'm sure it is for a lot of consumers, out of a desire to have new things combined with a desire to not spend a lot of money. I'm going on a 10-day vacation soon, the longest trip I've ever taken, and I needed some additional tank tops, dresses, and sandals for such a lengthy getaway. And so, after perusing Anthro's summer sale, I filled a cart with seven items that totaled $309.65. When I was ready to check-out, the option to use Afterpay popped up - rather than pay for my purchases in a lump sum, it said I could pay it off in four interest-free installments of $77.41, a much more palatable amount on my credit card statement.<div type="image" title="Anthropologie cart checkout screen with Afterpay option circled" height="856" width="1547" msid="86707544" hostid="261"></div>After I selected the Afterpay option, I was redirected to the company's website to finish my transaction. Once there, I entered my credit card information and agreed to Afterpay's terms, which stated that I was on the hook for the total payment with no interest. My first payment of $77.41 was due up front, with the next payment due two weeks after the fact, and the two subsequent weeks after that - all told, it would take six weeks to pay off the total bill. Afterpay set me up with a portal that showed my payment schedule and how much I still owe on that order, plus my spending limit, instituted by Afterpay: The platform will allow me to spend an additional $417.71, and promised that this limit will increase over time as I spend more and pay my purchases off on time, similar to a traditional credit card. If I choose to make more Afterpay purchases, they'll all be listed in this portal so I can keep track of my payments. One thing that Afterpay makes very clear is that it can't handle returns for you, and I was nervous: If one of the items I ordered didn't work out, would I still be on the hook to pay Afterpay? The short answer is no, but only because I ordered from a retailer with a pretty standard returns policy - if I don't care for an item, I can return it to Anthropologie within 60 days and Afterpay will adjust my payments accordingly to account for the refund. This ended up coming into play soon after I placed my order: One of the items I ordered ended up being out of stock and Anthropologie had to cancel it. Afterpay adjusted almost immediately, reducing my final payment to $27.47. <div type="image" title="Afterpay account screen with pink arrow pointing to final payment amount" height="621" width="1343" msid="86707547" hostid="261"></div><h2>The upsides - and potential downsides</h2>It's hard not to wonder if BNPL is too good to be true - there has to be some hidden catch, right? And the fact is, there could be. Some BNPL services, though not all of them, will report missed payments to credit bureaus, which could result in a hit to your credit. You could also rack up late fees, and if you stop paying altogether, your account could be sent to collections, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/does-bnpl-affect-credit-5188061">according to Investopedia</a>. Afterpay says it won't report a missed payment, mainly because most people don't spend a lot of money via the service. "We don't believe in preventing people from accessing Afterpay because they may have had an old debt from a long time ago. And we don't believe that missing a payment with Afterpay should result in a bad credit history - especially when the average purchase is only around $150 (which may surprise you)," the company says. Instead, Afterpay will charge you a late fee for missed payments, which starts at $8 and can go up to $68, or 25% of the total purchase price, whichever is less. It will also pause your account until you pay up. To me, a late fee is preferable than paying interest, but I'm hoping it never comes to that, which is why I hunted around Afterpay's site for a way to set up automatic payments. I couldn't find one, so I asked Afterpay about it and it turns out, the payments are automatic without you having to set anything up.A spokesperson for the company explained that the day before your payment is due, you'll get a reminder to check that you have enough funds for the transaction to go through. The next day, the payment will automatically be deducted from the card you have on file. While I'm relieved to hear that the payments are automatic, this could probably be a bit clearer for consumers. <h2>A new way of spending</h2>Afterpay, and BNPL services more broadly, are marketed as a way to provide more choice to consumers, to create a new form of financial freedom and give shoppers more purchasing power. I have to admit that it felt momentarily empowering to be able to shop however I wanted, to spend in a new way - like the song says, "Go get it, I buy it." But what T.I. didn't rap about, and what's easy to forget, is that nothing is free. While BNPL is another option for consumers, it's also locking them into another financial relationship. As someone who only has one credit card and doesn't take a lot of financial risks, having another bill looming over my head is actually starting to stress me out a little bit - part of me wonders if I'll just end up paying up ahead of time, which the Afterpay spokesperson told me is very common among its customers.And while it's nice to be able to avoid one large payment, I'm certainly not saving money - I'm just tricking my brain into thinking I am. In fact, I probably spent more than I would have normally because the initial payment seemed comparatively small. For me personally, BNPL seems like the perfect option for larger purchases like, say, a new piece of furniture, since it alleviates sticker shock. But for now, for those everyday purchases, maybe it's better that I don't have whatever I like.

I shopped using 'buy now, pay later,' and it's easy to see why services like Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm are taking over the retail world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Buy Now, Pay Later services have exploded in recent years, and the government is playing catch-up.</li><li>The <keyword id="12972965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="consumer-financial-protection-bureau" source="Orion">Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</keyword> opened an inquiry into the sector last month, citing debt concerns.</li></ul>Americans — and mainly Gen Zers — have been increasingly tapping Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services for instant gratification and delayed payment.That's sounding debt-risk alarms in Washington.The services essentially do what they say on the tin. Shoppers using BNPL take on short-term, often interest-free loans to pay for their purchases and sign on to a scheduled repayment plan to pay back the debt.But the services' surging popularity has raised concerns over how much debt these BNPL businesses are letting people assume, and how quickly it's happening. Additionally, a lack of oversight has also clouded whether the <keyword id="6355241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lending" source="Orion">lending</keyword> is safe, or potentially the foundation for a broader financial mess.The firms in question aren't just handing out free cash over the internet. Participating businesses pay BNPL services a small cut for the extra business — yet details around these terms and disclosures to consumers are murky.<h2>BNPL has led to a pandemic-era spending and debt boom</h2>BNPL services emerged before the pandemic, but the health crisis lit the fuse for their explosive growth. The businesses boomed as people stuck at home moved their shopping online. The option is most popular with younger consumers, with 61% of Gen Z having already used a BNPL service, according to a March survey conducted by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fthe-ascent%2Fresearch%2Fbuy-now-pay-later-statistics%2F">The Ascent</a>.That meteoric rise has sparked some concern with regulators around just how much debt risk BNPL could be creating. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened an inquiry into BNPL firms including <keyword id="11965225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="affirm" source="Orion">Affirm</keyword>, <keyword id="11965228" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="klarna" source="Orion">Klarna</keyword>, and <keyword id="6532321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="afterpay" source="Orion">Afterpay</keyword> <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-opens-inquiry-into-buy-now-pay-later-credit/">on December 16</a>, citing concerns around debt growth, data harvesting, and consumer disclosures. Since the services don't yet face the same regulations as other forms of borrowing, they pose new risks of a possible credit bubble, according to the agency."Buy now, pay later is the new version of the old layaway plan, but with modern, faster twists where the consumer gets the product immediately but gets the debt immediately too," Rohit Chopra, the bureau's director, said in a statement.The debt pile could be massive. Cornerstone Advisors estimates BNPL purchases totaled nearly $100 billion in 2021. That's up from just $24 billion the year prior. Separately, <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/buy-now-pay-later-outlook/#today">CB Insights</a> projects the global BNPL industry could surpass $1 trillion in yearly volume as early as 2025.<h2>Gen Z could be facing a debt cliff</h2>BNPL's top users are possibly an even bigger risk. The services have successfully attracted a younger audience that "might not be credit-worthy or have a lot of experience with traditional types of credit," Marisabel Torres, director of California policy at the Center for Responsible Lending, told Insider.Gen Z is also the most likely to be caught off guard when student loan repayment is set to resume in May. The generation's oldest members have spent more time post-graduation with their payments frozen than not due to the federal government's pandemic moratorium. The May 1 deadline could be "concerning" for those who can't balance student loan obligations with delayed BNPL payments, Torres said.It isn't just government authorities that are catching up to the BNPL boom. Credit-rating agencies including Equifax and TransUnion are still working on adding BNPL debt to their reports and aim to start the services in the coming weeks, <a href="https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/experian-transunion-bringing-buy-now-pay-later-loans-into-credit-reports">American Banker</a> reported earlier in January.The firms probably aren't too late to catch a major bubble, but their slow action is some cause for concern, especially with the financial crisis still a recent memory, Susan Sterne, president and chief economist at Economic Analysis Associates, told Insider. "The three big agencies that follow consumer debt have yet to really get their hands around this as its a relatively new concept," Sterne said. "They've been diligent post-financial crisis, but I guess nothing has changed. They should have been more aware of this."<h2>The fine print could trip up borrowers</h2>The <keyword id="12055000" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cfpb" source="Orion">CFPB</keyword>'s inquiry represents a "great first step," but the BNPL industry needs more transparency if it's to keep growing at its current pace, Torres said. Regulation can put new protections in place so buyers aren't tripped up by each services' differences. Even something as simple as returning an item can be confusing and put buyers at risk, Torres said. Where people can expect refunds in a certain number of days with a traditional purchase, those guidelines don't exist for BNPL shopping. One service could require someone to pay off the remainder of their loan, while another could give refunds of only the amount paid back.The complications around returning items are only one example where the law hasn't caught up to the industry. The longer the government waits, the greater the chance shoppers fall in the gaps between existing regulations, Torres said."We've been flooding the market with all this credit and no one's been keeping track of what's been happening," she said. "Unfortunately, if it seems too good to be true, it might be. This is not always the free financing option that it's marketed to be."

Why the government is raising an eyebrow at Gen Z's favorite new way to spend: 'Buy now, pay later'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The three major credit bureaus will start collecting data on "buy now, pay later" loans. </li><li><keyword id="13412939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="experian" source="Orion">Experian</keyword> will be the only one to count these loans toward — or against — credit scores for now. </li></ul>Accepting the enticing "buy now, pay later" offer you see while shopping online could start counting toward — or against — your credit score.That's because the three major US credit bureaus, <keyword id="12107777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="transunion" source="Orion">TransUnion</keyword>, <keyword id="13412940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="equifax" source="Orion">Equifax</keyword>, and Experian, will be collecting data on these purchases, according to their press releases. If you make payments on time, it could boost your credit score; if not, it could hurt it, which could in turn affect your ability to obtain a mortgage, credit card, or other loan. <keyword id="9522245" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bnpl" source="Orion">BNPL</keyword> loans such as those offered by Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and PayPal's "Pay 4" option have been growing increasingly popular over the past few years, <a href="https://themotleyfool.partnercentric.com/?campaign=78888&amp;pc_source=TheMotleyFool_Awin&amp;ued=https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/?awc=12195_1647964660_f6d5cfa98770dc94848fe3a78cd51101&amp;utm_source=aw&amp;utm_campaign=78888">especially</a> among Gen Z buyers. The services essentially do what they say, which is offer buyers short-term, often interest-free loans to pay for purchases. Shoppers sign up for a scheduled repayment plan and pay back the debt in installments. The rise of BNPL <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-now-pay-later-raise-government-concerns-debt-credit-risk-2022-1">led to</a> a pandemic-era spending and debt boom, prompting the the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-opens-inquiry-into-buy-now-pay-later-credit/">open</a> an inquiry into BNPL firms in December, citing concerns around debt growth, consumer protection laws, and data harvesting.The three bureaus are taking different approaches when it comes to incorporating the relatively new shopping phenomenon into the financial profiles of credit users. Equifax will be the only one of the three where a BNPL provider can choose to include BNPL loans in the calculation of your core credit score. TransUnion and Equifax will start collecting information about an individual's outstanding BNPL loans, but won't factor it into a credit report. Both TransUnion and Equifax, however, allowed for the possibility that they might do so in the future. "To protect consumer credit scores from immediate negative impact, detailed information related to each BNPL transaction will be stored separately from Experian's core <keyword id="13440764" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="credit-bureau" source="Orion">credit bureau</keyword> data," Experian <a href="https://www.experianplc.com/media/latest-news/2022/experian-s-industry-first-buy-now-pay-later-bureau-will-protect-consumer-credit-scores-and-provide-real-time-insights-to-drive-more-inclusive-and-responsible-lending">said</a> in a press release. <h2>Experts are cautious about buy now, pay later and its impact on credit scores</h2>TransUnion does plan to use BNPL loans to calculate consumers' credit scores in the future, but it will likely take credit bureaus and reporting models a few years to adjust, Liz Pagel, Senior Vice President at TransUnion, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/bnpl-loans-to-be-reported-on-credit-reports/">told</a> CNBC last week, and Experian's Chief Product Officer, Greg Wright, <a href="https://www.lendacademy.com/podcast-342-greg-wright-of-experian/?intcmp=insightsblog-btn-022322-bnpl-podcast">said</a> the same thing. For now, BNPL information will be separate from credit information in those two bureaus so that it doesn't negatively impact credit scores — but they won't be improving them either. Other than storing the data, Experian and TransUnion have not said what else they plan to do with it. Equifax, in contrast, will run bi-weekly reporting on BNPL loans. The bureau will account for BNPL lines of credit, and give the firms that generate scores the opportunity to view and decide how to incorporate the BNPL data, Equifax <a href="https://investor.equifax.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1204/equifax-first-to-formalize-inclusion-of-buy-now-pay">said</a> in a press release. Susan Sterne, president and chief economist at Economic Analysis Associates, told Insider's Ben Winck in January that the credit bureaus should have investigated the impact of BNPL sooner, due to the risk of a possible credit bubble. Credit bubbles describe a surge in forms of credit, such as loans. "The three big agencies that follow consumer debt have yet to really get their hands around this as it's a relatively new concept," Sterne said. "They've been diligent post-financial crisis, but I guess nothing has changed. They should have been more aware of this."

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