Apple turns to Twitter to promote Apple Pay; the question is "why?"

Apple has started a new marketing campaign for Apple Pay on Twitter and it might indicate that something new is going to be announced by Apple for its mobile payment service. Millions have used Apple Pay and continue to do so allowing them to quickly check out of a store by putting their iPhone or Apple Watch up close to a point-of-sale machine. While Apple gets just 15 cents on every $100 rung up using the system, it is a volume business. Apple Pay is expected to generate as much as $4 billion in revenue for Apple this year.

A tweet from Hashimojis (via 9to5Mac) reveals that the #ApplePay and #PaytheAppleWay hashtags are both followed by the circled check mark or tick icon that appears after a successful payment using Apple Pay. If this is the beginning of a marketing campaign, Apple might follow it up soon with a television commercial that focuses on the feature especially since it has become available in more countries over the last few weeks.

Or, Apple could be ready to officially launch Apple Pay Later which is a service that loans users $50 to $1,000 that can be used for purchases made online or in-app on iPhone and iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay. The loan can be paid back in four equal installments over a period of six weeks. With Apple Pay Later, you'll know if your loan request was approved within seconds after applying, and Apple does not charge any fees or interest on the loan. The first installment is due immediately at the time of purchase with the remaining three payments due every two weeks.

Apple Pay Later had been in pre-release status, limited to certain customers for a few months; this might be the moment when Apple rolls out the service officially. Other possibilities for the appearance of the Twitter marketing campaign include a possible launch of Apple Pay Cash and/or the Apple Card in other countries.

Back in early December, Elon Musk said that Apple had resumed advertising on Twitter not too long after he publicly said that the company had stopped advertising on the site and wondered via a tweet whether the company hated "free speech in America."