With Apple announcing its new credit card, powered by Goldman Sachs and MasterCard, we delve deeper into the company’s fintech division, explore the implications of the new venture, examine Apple’s financial services competition, and ask whether the Cupertino firm is spreading itself too thin as it expands its services arm and enters into unmarked territory…
INTRODUCING THE APPLE CARD
At Apple’s Spring Special Event (held March 25 at the Steve Jobs Theater), the company made it clear: it wants your money. Introducing Apple Card as a way to “help customers lead a healthier financial life,” Apple lifted the lid on its widely-rumored partnership with Goldman Sachs and MasterCard, as it ventures off into new markets to prop up its shareholder price.
As markets like China become increasingly challenging (not forgetting the US-China battle) and the global smartphone market enters into a period of saturation, the company hopes to deliver to shareholders in new ways: this time, with an Apple-branded credit card that takes it into a whole new sector. Of course, Apple isn’t a virgin in the financial sphere, introducing Apple Pay in 2014, but launching its own financial product is a whole different ball game. Through a new intuitive interface, a lack of fees and a new payment structure, Apple gives consumers greater control and understanding of their debt, and another incentive to stay inside of the iOS ecosystem.
Speaking of fees, Apple hopes to differentiate from competitors like American Express, Chase and Capital One by imposing no annual fees, international fees, fees for making a late payment or fees for exceeding your credit limit. Whilst there are no late fees as such, if you’re late making a payment, it will result in “additional accumulating toward your balance”.
Replacing a plastic card with your iPhone seems like an evolution, and with Apple promising transparency and privacy unlike any other credit card vendor in the United States, it may be on to a winner. But what will the firm do differently from the rest, and will consumers bite?
NEXT-LEVEL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
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