美国国家公共电台 NPR--Apple rolls out Apple Pay Later — a buy now, pay later service

Apple rolls out Apple Pay Later — a buy now, pay later service

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Lauren Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center, about Apple allowing some iPhone users to pay for purchases up to $1,000 in installments² using Apple Pay Later.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Some iPhone users will soon be able to use their phones to pay for purchases in installments. It's called Apple Pay Later, and it lets users apply to split purchases up to a thousand bucks³ in four payments with no interest or fees, but is it risk free? Lauren Saunders is associate director at the National Consumer Law Center. Lauren, Apple says its Pay Later service was designed with financial health in mind. Are there any downsides?

LAUREN SAUNDERS: Well, buy now, pay later products, you know, can be better than a credit card if they help you avoid paying a lot of interest or amassing⁴ debt that you pay for months or years. But they can be tricky⁵ because they can make things look cheaper than they are, and people can add up debt in surprising ways.

MART?NEZ: Look cheaper than they are - that is a dangerous phrase, Lauren.

SAUNDERS: Right. Well, you're looking to buy something, and you think, can I afford it or not?

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

SAUNDERS: And you see this option, hey, pay 25% right now; pay the rest later. It makes things look cheaper, and stores like it for that reason because people spend more...

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

SAUNDERS: ...When they buy it using buy now, pay later.

MART?NEZ: And the whole buy now, pay letter thing is a rapidly growing industry. How is Apple Pay Later different from other pay-as-you-go providers or from just an old credit card?

SAUNDERS: Well, Apple Pay Later will be integrated into the Apple Wallet, so it would be very easy to use if you're buying something using an Apple device. They apparently⁶ are not going to give you the choice of linking your payments to a credit card, which is a good thing because you don't want to have the worst of both worlds - still paying interest on your credit card. But other than that, I think it'll be pretty similar to the other buy now, pay later products on the market - Klarna, Afterpay, et cetera.

MART?NEZ: What kind of consumers use buy now, pay later services?

SAUNDERS: Well, most people who use buy now, pay later do have other credit accounts. They tend to be younger. There is a higher percentage of people who are Black, Latino, females. And they tend to be lower income. A large percentage of people who have 20,000 to $50,000 of income use buy now, pay later.

MART?NEZ: And what kind of things are they buying with buy now, pay later?

SAUNDERS: Well, it started primarily with the fashion industry, but really, you can buy, you know, almost anything these days. You can buy airplane tickets, even groceries, certainly clothing, appliances. It's becoming quite widespread.

MART?NEZ: Is buy now, pay later regulated by the government like credit cards are?

SAUNDERS: Well, it should be. We think it's basically a credit card. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at that. But right now, the buy now, pay later companies are not giving you the same protections that you have with a credit card. You don't - there is no uniform set of fee disclosures. You don't get the same kind of charge-back protections if you don't get what you paid for. You don't get statements that collect all of your purchases in one place.

MART?NEZ: So if I have a dispute with someone that's selling me something, do I have a recourse at all with that?

SAUNDERS: The companies mostly have voluntary policies. And, you know, they do give you the right to dispute something, but it can get tricky if you return an item, but then you still have this loan. It's just not as seamless as it is with a credit card, and you don't have the same legal rights.

MART?NEZ: So, Lauren, as briefly⁷ as possible, is this overall just helpful for people who can't access traditional credit?

SAUNDERS: I think it's something to be wary⁸ of because people tend to use it thinking it's cheaper, but they can end up with a lot of debt that can be more problematic.

MART?NEZ: Lauren Saunders is with the National Consumer Law Center. Lauren, thanks.

SAUNDERS: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 amassing   

v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of taxonomy must necessarily involve the amassing of an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. 分类学研究一定要积累广博的植物知识。 来自辞典例句
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

5 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。