Apple Card turns five – still waiting for internationalization
Apple has now been offering its own digital credit card in its home market for half a decade. A review and outlook.
Advertising for the Apple Card: still only in the USA – five years later.
(Image: Apple)
This week, Apple is celebrating a milestone birthday for a product that Europeans probably only get to see on vacation (or with Americans): the Apple Card, Apple's in-house credit card, turns five. It has been on the market since August 2019 and marked – Apple's major entry into the financial services sector after Apple Pay –.
Fully integrated, fully USA
The Apple Card is deeply integrated into the Group's ecosystem. Users order the card on the iPhone and can then use it (almost) immediately on the Apple Watch, Mac or iPad, receive the bill on the iPhone and also make all settings there. The product is also – customer-friendly despite high interest rates if you do not pay the amount in full each month – and there are no hidden fees. However, rumours of internationalization were repeatedly dashed. There were also repeated internal problems: Apple's banking partner Goldman Sachs (GS) has wanted out of the business for some time.
The Apple Card is also available physically. The product, which is based on the MasterCard network, is also sent out as a beautifully designed titanium card that can be used if, by chance, a store does not allow contactless payment with Apple Pay. GS initially seemed to be the ideal partner: At the time of the Apple Card launch, the financial giant was just about to invest in the retail business, wanting to enter the UK first and then possibly the EU. However, the strategy has since been buried as it cost the bank a lot of money. As a result, the Apple Card always remained a local product; Apple did not even manage to supply other English-speaking countries.
Questions about the future of the Apple Card
In practical use, there were also occasional problems over the five years. For example, Apple and GS initially had to put up with accusations of discrimination when activating the offer. The very successful Apple Savings savings account, which is linked to the card, has had difficulties with payout speed in the meantime. Finally, there was also criticism of the service provided by GS because its hotline and email service was less responsive than Apple customers were used to from other services.
The future of the Apple Card remains up in the air: Goldman Sachs will have to find a new partner in the coming years as soon as the contract expires. American Express, which pursues a similar service concept to Apple and is also available internationally, has always been considered a possible candidate. However, it could be that the business is not lucrative enough for the company. Alternatively, Apple could also become a bank itself and thus be a direct credit card issuer –, but this has not even been on the table in the rumor mill so far.
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