Apple teams with Ant Financial, banks for interest-free iPhone

Apple has teamed up with Chinese payments giant Ant Financial Services Group and several local banks to offer interest-free financing, its first such move in the country as it looks to boost waning smartphone sales.

The US tech behemoth issued a rare revenue warning last month citing weaker iPhone sales in China, one of its most important markets, where consumer spending has taken a hit due to a slowdown in economic growth.

On its China website, Apple is promoting the new scheme, under which customers can pay 271 yuan ($40.31) each month to purchase an iPhone XR, and 362 yuan each month for an iPhone XS. Customers trading in old models can get cheaper installments.

Users buying products worth a minimum of 4,000 yuan worth from Apple would qualify for interest-free financing that can be paid over three, six, nine, 12 or 24 months, the website shows.

The 64GB versions of iPhone’s XR and XS models sell at official sticker prices of 6,499 yuan and 8,699, respectively.

Apple is offering

the

plan through Huabei, a consumer credit service run by Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of e- commerce giant Alibaba, Apple’s China website shows.

Apple and Ant Financial declined to comment on the scheme.

China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial bank of China also offer financing schemes for Apple products, with minimum purchases of 300 yuan, Apple’s China website shows.

Apple is facing headwinds in China where economic growth slowed in 2018 to the weakest pace in 28 years, exacerbated by a crippling trade war with the US. The US company is also battling mounting competition from Chinese handset makers.