Apple is turning your iPhone into fintech service taking on PayPal, Affirm and more

The company is turning into a financial services company.

At its developers conference Monday, the company announced a number of new features for its wallet app that will compete with products from other companies. Apple Pay Later is the big one. Affirm shares were down an additional 4% as of Tuesday morning after that announcement.

The new payments system will allow you to pay someone with your phone. It is a direct competitor to block's square. You will be able to track online orders you make with Apple Pay.

There is a growing suite of financial products within the Wallet app. Many of these features aren't designed to make money for Apple directly, but they do make Apple Pay more attractive for people who haven't tried it yet The more people use Apple Pay the better it is for Apple. It is one of the ways to keep customers locked into Apple and upgrade to a new phone when they are ready.

At a time of great economic uncertainty, Apple is introducing a new wallet feature. Inflation is high. The price of gas continues to hit new highs. There are lots of fears about a recession. If those trends persist throughout the year, it will be difficult for Apple to launch a new product that will get people to buy more stuff.

The buy now, pay later space has struggled recently as consumer spending shifts from goods to services. This year has been difficult for other companies in the field of financial technology andcryptocurrencies.

There is a long-term vision for Apple's wallet. The ultimate goal is for the digital wallet app to replace your physical wallet, according to executives.

Last year's feature that allows you to add your driver's license is only available in a few states in the U.S. and is expected to be added soon. You can only use the ID at the checkpoint. The feature that allows you to store a digital version of your car key on your phone has not been adopted by carmakers.

Yesterday, Apple told me there was nothing to worry about. The hope is that more people will use the technology.

Apple is building a foundation to provide a boost to its payments business by adding more functions into Apply Pay and wallet beyond just using your phone, instead of your credit card, to pay for things. More people are going to be exposed to these products because of Apple's scale.