Apple's Pay Later is facing some “significant” setbacks that could delay its launch until next year, according to a report from Bloomberg. It was expected with the iOS 16 operating system. It would allow you to make a payment through Apple Pay and then pay it back in four installments without interest.

Bloomberg points out that while not coming out on the release date seems to be fashionable for Apple products, Apple Pay Later doesn’t include a timeframe for when we might expect its rollout. In fact, while even the vaguest of Apple vapourware is supposed to have a release date of "later this year" Apple will not even commit to that. 

Bloomberg believes that “Apple isn’t completely certain when Apple Pay Later will be ready for launch,” and predicts that we may not even see it until the release of iOS 16.4 in the spring of 2023.

Word on the street is that Apple is having fairly significant technical and engineering challenges in rolling out the service, leading to the delays. But for once it might not be the fault of Apple's software developers. The move from tech giant to loan company is pretty challenging and requires Apple to follow rules which it probably did not know existed. 

In June, reports from Bloomberg and CNBC indicated that the company’s subsidiary, Apple Financing LLC, will handle the lending for Apple Pay Later while remaining separate from Apple’s main business. Apple currently partners with Goldman Sachs to perform credit checks and lending for Apple Card, the company’s Mastercard-based credit card, but it’s bringing these services in-house for Apple Pay Later.

At the same time, Government regulators are starting to pay closer attention to BNPL services, such as Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay, as they could potentially pose a risk to customers. BNPL customers struggle to make their payments and are more likely to overdraft when compared to people who don’t use the service.

So the government is becoming more worried that poor people will use Apple Pay Later to buy more products they can't afford and get into debt to the fruity cargo cult. Of course, there is nothing to worry about. Apple is really good to its users and never act as a loan shark.