Santander recently announced that Zinia, its digital consumer finance platform, will become the new consumer finance provider for Apple in Germany.
Zinia will aim to offer customers purchasing Apple products “both in Apple stores and online at apple.de the option to defer payments by splitting the total amount into installments (3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months), or by deferring the payment 30 days after the shipment (online) or pick up in-store.”
As part of the launch of this new agreement, in the next months, Apple customers financing their purchases of “an iPhone with Zinia will be able to do so in 12 or 24 installments interest-free.”
Zinia will reportedly allow Apple customers “an agile, intuitive, and secure user experience to finance an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac or any other devices at Apple stores or the Apple Store online in just a few seconds.”
To complete a transaction, customers only “need to provide their phone number and date of birth, confirm the reception of a security code and follow a quick validation process by logging into their own online banking within the Apple Store online.”
All this, with the security and backing of “a major financial group like Santander.”
Since 2022, Zinia has been present in Germany “offering a range of financing solutions (buy now pay later and installments, among others).”
In the coming months will continue its expansion in Germany and “different European countries.”
Zinia is part of Santander’s Digital Consumer Bank, which “holds the Group’s consumer finance business, providing financial services in 16 European countries through more than 130,000 associated points of sale.”
As covered last month, Iberpay and Santander are the inaugural participants in the One-Leg Out (OLO) Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) scheme.
Iberpay will act as a Clearing and Settlement Mechanism (CSM) “for OCT Inst transactions via Santander, and will also “be a scheme participant in the role of OCT Inst Processor.”
This marks the first important milestone “for the scheme, which is open for adherence since November 2023.”
