Apple and Goldman Sachs Reportedly Teaming Up for New Credit Card
Apple and Goldman Sachs are teaming up for a new credit card, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The aim of the Apple Pay-branded card — which could be released in 2019 — is to expand Apple’s mobile payments and also help Goldman Sachs expand into consumer banking, according to the report.
Specifics on the card are thin: It’s unclear what any rewards would be for consumers or which card carrier Apple and Goldman would use. WSJ did report, however, that “the partnership will extend into other services including Goldman offering in-store loans to Apple customers buying iPhones and other gadgets.”
In 2016, Goldman Sachs expanded into consumer banking with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, which offers financial services like personal loans. It also purchased the financial planning app Clarity Money earlier this year. A credit card would be another arm in the investment banking firm’s play toward consumer finance.
For Apple, the goal is to burnish other services outside of retail, according to WSJ. Apple Pay was launched by Apple in 2014, and though it has grown in users year-over-year, according to 9to5Mac, a 2018 report from the venture capital firm Loup Ventures estimates that only 5% of U.S. iPhones have Apple Pay activated.
Apple has had a rewards card with Barclays, which offered 0% interest and a limited APR of 0% for 6 to 18 months and Apple gift card rewards. The new card with Goldman Sachs will replace that, according to WSJ.
Both Goldman Sachs and Apple declined to comment about the Wall Street Journal report to Fortune.