Apple and investment bank Goldman Sachs are working on a joint credit card, to be launched this spring, that will have some unique features in iOS’s Wallet app to help iPhone users manage their money, like setting spending goals and managing balances.
The Wall Street Journal has the story:
The card will be rolled out to employees for testing in the next few weeks and officially launch later this year, according to sources. The companies hope to lure cardholders by offering them extra features on Apple’s Wallet app, which will let them set spending goals, track their rewards and manage their balances, the people said.
Another cool feature would borrow visual cues from the fitness rings in the Activity app. In a similar fashion, “rings” in the Wallet app would close as users hit daily targets. Moreover, there could be notifications, based on analysis of cardholders’ spending patterns, when a user has paid more than usual for groceries one week.
The Apple Pay card will use Mastercard’s payment network, which is the second-largest in the US after Visa, some of the people said. Cardholders will earn cash back of about two percent on most purchases and potentially more on Apple gadgets and services.
Tellingly, the Wallet app has received some noteworthy visual changes in the iOS 12.2 beta, potentially foreshadowing the credit card’s arrival. The changes include, among other tweaks, new transitions and listing transaction information more clearly with a longer history available.
Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. have spent heavily to lure cardholders with travel points, airport lounge access and other generous perks. Neither Apple nor Goldman is eager to join that race, sources have said. Instead, the companies are betting that Apple customers will use the card because it is better integrated into the iPhone.
Having a credit card of its own would enable Apple to take a bigger slice of the swipe fees versus Apple Pay purchases via third-party credit or debit cards. Executives reportedly hope the card will boost use of Apple Pay, which has been “slow to catch on among users and merchants,” reads the report.
Executives apparently discussed making the new card the default in the Wallet app, but Apple’s contracts with banks are said to prevent it from doing so.
The companies at one point considered creating a more ambitious financial offering that would provide financial management beyond the credit card, but Apple executives worried that tapping into people’s bank accounts would raise privacy concerns, people familiar with the matter said.
The newspaper reported last year that the companies planned to launch branded Apple Pay card which would replace the current Apple Rewards card, a partnership between Apple and Barclays BCS, that already works with the company’s mobile payments system.
The publication also reported that Apple and Goldman could be working on a cheaper financing deal aimed at consumers purchasing smartphones, watches and other Apple devices.
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