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An already busy week in the buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) market got even busier Tuesday after a report indicated that Apple Inc. plans to work with Affirm Holdings Inc. on an installment offering for those looking to buy various Apple devices in Canada.
Affirm shares
AFRM,
gained 3% in Tuesday trading and were up another 2.7% in the extended session following the Bloomberg report, which comes a day after Affirm shares rocketed 14.6% on the news that Square Inc.
SQ,
planned to acquire BNPL rival Afterpay Ltd.
AFTPY,
APT,
in a $29 billion deal that valued Afterpay at a 31% premium to its prior close. The announcement helped bake a merger premium into Affirm’s stock, noted an analyst.
See more: Square makes ‘game-changing’ play for Afterpay in big bet on buy-now pay-later wave
The Bloomberg report indicated that Apple
AAPL,
will be working with PayBright, a Canadian BNPL company acquired by Affirm, on the installment option, which will let people pay for devices like iPhones over 12 to 24 months. The offering will be interest-free for a limited time after it launches on Aug. 11, per the report.
Apple didn’t respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment on the plans. A spokesperson for Affirm declined to comment.
The arrangement with Apple “could be nicely additive” to Apple’s fiscal 2022 revenue, wrote Barclays analyst Ramsey El-Assal.
The buy now, pay later wave: Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm and rivals hope to take U.S. by storm
Apple’s reported plans to work with Affirm on the installment option for Canadian hardware purchases mark the latest twist in Apple’s BNPL story. Bloomberg reported in mid-July that Apple was exploring its own BNPL offering in conjunction with the Apple Pay product, which would allow people to make more general purchases in installments using the mobile wallet. Such a service would put Apple into competition with BNPL providers like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna, as well as PayPal Holdings Inc.
PYPL,
which recently rolled out its own installment option.
