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Meanwhile Amex have just launched this exact model in the UK called "Plan It", though it costs a fixed fee per month of the loan.

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That's actually not the same model. The important part of BNPL is that it's offered on the purchase, not as part of your credit card bill. That means the lender can decide not to offer it on any transaction they don't feel safe about, which is a more flexible than your bank/CC who have to trust you'll pay your entire bill.

Importantly, it's also usually the merchant (and/or the BNPL company) paying for the loan, not the consumer.

In other words, it's just a completely different model from retroactive, cardholder-paid flexible payment options for credit/charge card holders.

Am I incorrect in thinking Apple Pay Later only works with the Apple Card? Or was it available for all cards as long as you used Apple Pay to check out?

If that were the case I can see this being like the third party BNPL schemes such as Klarna sure. Otherwise it’s just semantics of where the option lives.

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