In a surprising move, Apple has finally started allowing users to pay with PayPal for purchasing hardware and other products on its online store.
PayPal is one of the most popular payment services worldwide, as it allows for easy and secure online transactions with minimum hassle.
Up until now, this option to pay via PayPal was only available for less physical purchases such as things from the iTunes store and the App Store. Now interested customers can also pay for hardware and devices using PayPal in Apple's online store, but the privilege seems to be limited to the U.S. and the UK for now. At the same time, the option might work only on the web browser of the store at this point.
As previously mentioned, Apple has so far allowed users to use PayPal as a payment method for purchasing digital items such as books, apps, and music, and even this feature was missing from some markets. The addition of PayPal support for its online store, as first spotted by Re/code, now marks the first time Apple has enabled such a payment method for purchasing hardware as well.
This means that Apple fans who don't own a credit card or prefer online transactions via PayPal can finally take advantage of this option, at least if they're in the U.S. or the UK. Moreover, in addition to PayPal support, Apple is also offering PayPal Credit, which allows interested customers to use PayPal to pay for purchases in installments, with no interest.
This move sounds particularly surprising considering that the iMaker kicked off its own Apple Pay business not too long ago, challenging services such as PayPal. Nevertheless, it now seems like the two companies found a way to not only coexist, but also work together for the benefit of consumers - and most likely their own, of course.
It remains to be seen just when Apple will expand this option to other markets as well, not to mention its iOS app, but for now it all seems pretty promising.
For more information about Apple's new PayPal options and the special 18-month installment plan with PayPal Credit, head over to the company's U.S. website at this link, or find the UK version here.
