Apple to roll out buy now, pay later service, with guardrails this spring

Wednesday, 29 March 2023, 03:03:00
Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later space with a few tweaks to the existing model including no option to pay with a credit card. The company will roll out the product to some consumers this spring, and will begin reporting the loans to credit bureaus in the fall. Here”s what you need to know. Since the start of the pandemic, the option to buy now, pay later has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among young and low-income consumers who may not have ready access to traditional credit. If you shop online for clothes or furniture, sneakers or concert tickets, you”ve seen the option at checkout to break the cost into smaller installments over time. Companies like Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna, and Paypal already offer the service, typically with late fees for missed payments and the option to use a credit card or bank account to make installment payments. Apple”s version, which is integrated with Apple Pay and facilitated by MasterCard, will require the consumer use a debit car
— Business Standard

North Korean hackers using stolen crypto to mine more crypto via cloud services: Report

Tuesday, 28 March 2023, 23:33:35
Cybersecurity firm Mandiant has graduated a new group of hackers who finance state goals and their own existence with the help of crypto laundering. The North Korean cybercrime operator APT43 is using cloud computing to launder cryptocurrency, a report from cybersecurity service Mandiant has found. According to the researchers, the North Korean group uses stolen crypto to mine for clean crypto. Mandiant, a Google subsidiary, has been tracking the North Korean Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group since 2018 but has only now graduated the group to an independent identity. Mandiant characterized the group as a major player that often cooperated with other groups. Although its main activity was spying on South Korea, Mandiant found that APT43 was likely engaged in raising funds for the North Korean regime and funding itself through its illicit operations. Apparently the group has been successful in those pursuits: APT43 steals and launders enough cryptocurrency to buy operational infrastructure in a manner aligned with North Koreas juche state ideology of self-reliance, therefore reducing fiscal strain on the central government.
— Coin Telegraph

Apple debuts buy now, pay later service that gives users ”interest-free loans”—as delinquent debt rates soar

Tuesday, 28 March 2023, 21:18:11
The service takes aim at rival buy now, pay later services including Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal.
— Fortune

Apple rolls out buy now, pay later service, with guardrails

Tuesday, 28 March 2023, 20:54:09
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later space with a few tweaks to the existing model — including no option to pay with a credit card. The company will roll out the product to some consumers this spring, and will begin reporting the loans to credit bureaus in the fall. Here’s what you need to know. Since the start of the pandemic, the option to “buy now, pay later” has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among young and low-income consumers who may not have ready access to traditional credit. If you shop online for clothes or furniture, sneakers or concert tickets, you’ve seen the option at checkout to break the cost into smaller installments over time. Companies like Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna, and Paypal already offer the service, typically with late fees for missed payments and the option to use a credit card or bank account to make installment payments. Apple’s version, which is integrated with Apple Pay and facilitated by MasterCard, will require the consumer use a debit card and a bank account to make those payments, the company said, and will not charge flat or percentage late fees.
— WNYT

PayPal Stock: Getting Ahead Of The Sleepy Tech Story (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Tuesday, 28 March 2023, 15:42:10
We think PayPal is a very capable compounding candidate if management simply takes the story into their hands to the best of their ability. Read my PYPL”s bull thesis here.
— Seeking Alpha