The below article provides a good explanation of financing a new iPhone purchased directly from Apple at 0% interest rate. I've purchased a couple of iPhones financed by Apple's partner bank Citizens One and had no problem doing so. The article came from this website and is pasted following my signature:
https://www.imore.com/iphone-payments-faq Alan Lemly Apple's iPhone Payments financing option: Everything you need to know! Get a zero-percent interest loan directly from Apple with the iPhone Payments plan. Lory Gil 15 Apr 2020 Apple iPhone SE (2020) Source: Apple There are now three different ways to finance an iPhone through Apple. The first is the iPhone Upgrade Program, which the iPhone SE (2020) is not eligible for. The second is using your Apple Card to make monthly payments (a zero-percent interest loan), which is exclusive to those that have an Apple Card. The third is the iPhone Payments plan, which is a zero-percent interest loan from Apple that makes it possible for you to buy a new iPhone without having to pay the full price upfront. The iPhone Payments plan is different from the iPhone Upgrade program in one major way: you're not trading in your iPhone to upgrade next year. Here's everything you need to know! How is Apple iPhone Payments different from the iPhone Upgrade Program? On the surface, it may seem like the iPhone Upgrade Program and the iPhone Payments plan are the same, but they're not. They are entirely different finance programs with different features and restrictions. Best online learning tools for kids: ABCmouse, Reading IQ, & more The iPhone Upgrade program allows you to begin a sort-of leasing program with Apple, wherein you can trade in your current iPhone and upgrade to a new one in as early as six months with fees, or one year without additional fees. If, after two years, you want to upgrade, you can, but you don't have to trade in the iPhone you've been using on the iUP, it's yours to keep. With the iPhone Payments plan, you're simply taking out a two-year loan on an iPhone with a carrier plan, but the loan is done through Apple's financial collaborator, Citizens One. You won't be able to trade it in for an upgrade after one year. You have to pay the full loan (though you could pay the loan off early if you wanted to). On the iPhone Upgrade Program, AppleCare+ is folded into the cost, so your monthly payments are slightly higher, though you're not paying any fees. It's just the cost of an iPhone with AppleCare+ divided by 24 months. On the iPhone Payments plan, you don't have to buy AppleCare+. In fact, if you want it, you have to purchase it separately, which you can do on installments now. If you just want an iPhone, and don't need AppleCare+ and don't plan to upgrade every year, or even have a plan for future iPhone upgrading, the iPhone Payments plan will work for you. One final note: the iPhone SE (2020) is not eligible for the iPhone Upgrade Program, so if that's the phone you're buying, the iPhone Payments Plan is what you want. So I can't upgrade every year on the iPhone Payments plan? Correct. The iPhone Payments plan is a loan financing program that lets you make monthly payments across 24 months on an iPhone. Even if you get rid of the iPhone a year or the day after you've made your final payment, you must pay the full amount (though you can pay the loan off early). Do I have to get AppleCare+ with it? Nope! One complaint I heard from some people interested in the iPhone Upgrade Program is that they're forced to have AppleCare+, but with the iPhone Payments plan, you don't have to. In fact, if you want it, you have to purchase it separately from your loan. You can, however, make monthly payments for AppleCare+ now. What is the interest rate? Zero percent financing, my friend. That's right. You won't pay more than the actual cost of the iPhone plus taxes (through Apple), as if you were paying for it with cash upfront. Can I use my Apple Card as a payment option? You sure can. Once you're approved for the loan, you can use your Apple Card as your monthly payment option, which gives you that sweet 3% cashback reward every time you make a payment. Will there be a hard credit pull? Apple' states that "a credit check is required," but doesn't give a lot of detail as to whether it's a soft or hard pull on your credit report. If it's anything like the iPhone Upgrade Program, however, it'll be a soft pull until Citizens One determines it needs a deeper credit check. A note about credit freezes If you've put a credit freeze on your credit report, there are a few things you should know about applying for your iPhone Payments loan. A credit freeze is a way for you to restrict access to your credit report to protect you from identity theft. If you've put a freeze on your credit report, it doesn't affect your credit score or keep you from being able to apply for loans. There are some caveats though. When applying for a loan through the iPhone Payments plan for the first time, you can allow Citizens One run a credit check, but you'll want to first temporarily lift the freeze specifically for the credit report agency Citizen One will request your report from (either Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion). You can request a credit freeze lift for a specific amount of time or for a specific agency, in this case, Citizens One Bank. To find out which agency Citizens One will request your report from, call them at 1-888-201-6306. If you are unable to get this information, you can temporarily lift the freeze for all three agencies. Here are the numbers for the U.S. credit report agencies: Equifax — 1-800-349-9960 Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742 TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872 -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. 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