Apple hopes to turn its fortunes round in China with finance deals via Ant Financial
Apple is taking its strategy of interest-free financing deals to China, via a partnership with Alibaba’s payment arm Ant Financial.
Apple creates finance offers to boost its appeal in China
The type of deal is not new to Apple, which often partners with banks or credit card companies to offer an interest-free way to pay for Apple products month-by-month. This is the first time it has launched such a deal in China, a country in which it has struggled to gain market share of local giants.
According to Reuters, a slowing Chinese economy is also a driving factor in this move. The company is offering deals that offer a 271 yuan ($40.31) monthly payment to buy an iPhone XR, or 362 yuan each month for an iPhone XS.
The deal is being managed by a consumer credit service run by Ant Financial called Huabei.
The brand currently runs deals with Chinese banks but the ‘interest-free’ aspect is new to the Huabei deal, according to Reuters.
Alongside many other brands, Apple launched a major Chinese New Year campaign in China, using its technology to tell a story about the quirky food items that families encourage visitors to take back home.
In order to be less reliant on hardware sales, Apple has been increasing investments and marketing around services such as its Apple Store, and other ecosystem services. The latest of which is a subscription news service, yet the remuneration of licensing partners has placed pressure on its launch.