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Apple is planning a buy now pay later (BNPL) service as part of its new operating system, iOS 16, the BBC reports.

Apple Pay Later will allow users in the US to spread the cost of a purchase into four payments over six weeks, without paying interest or fees.

It forms part of a range of new iPhone features, including the ability to edit iMessages and a feature intended to help people in abusive relationships.

The features were unveiled at WWDC, the firm's annual developers' conference.

BNPL services - which are currently unregulated in the UK - have been criticised for the way they are used by low-income groups.

Panorama reported in December 2021 that an estimated 15 million adults of all ages in the UK are actively using BNPL, with the main operators offering the service in the UK being Klarna, Clearpay, Laybuy and PayPal.

Concerns have been raised over whether people are relying on it too much, after Citizens Advice found in March that one in 12 people are using BNPL services to cover essentials such as food and toiletries.

Citizens Advice also said young people, people in debt, and people claiming Universal Credit, were at least twice as likely to have used BNPL for these basic costs than other groups.