What you should know
- Account holders of the Apple Card receive 3% cash back on Apple Pay purchases made at certain retailers, and 2% cash back on purchases made from other retailers that accept the Apple Card via Apple Pay. The cashback amount is calculated daily and can be transferred into an interest-bearing savings account.
- Apple has reportedly proposed to Goldman Sachs to end their partnership within the next 12 to 15 months. This would require Apple to find a new financial partner to continue offering the Apple Card and its high-yielding savings account.
- While Apple provides the card through its Wallet app, Goldman Sachs is responsible for the back-end operations. An Apple representative stated that both companies are committed to providing an excellent customer experience.
- Goldman Sachs originally planned for its consumer credit division, which includes the Apple Card, to break even in 2022. However, this goal has been postponed to 2025. If Goldman Sachs decides to end the partnership, it is expected that Apple will announce a partnership with another firm quickly.
Full Story
So, you’ve got an Apple Card, right? You know, the one that gives you 3% back on all your Apple Pay purchases. Yeah, that one. You use it at the Apple Store, the App Store, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens, Nike, Panera Bread, T-Mobile, ExxonMobil, and Ace Hardware. And for all other retailers that accept Apple Card via Apple Pay, you get 2% cash back. Not too shabby, huh?
Here’s the kicker though, your cashback is tallied daily. You can even sweep it into a savings account that earns interest. Pretty cool, right?
But here’s some news. A little birdie (okay, it was a person familiar with the situation) told CNBC’s Leslie Picker that Apple might be breaking up with Goldman Sachs. Apparently, the plan is to dissolve the partnership within the next 12 to 15 months.
Now, this could be a problem. Apple would need to find a new financial partner to keep the Apple Card and their high-yielding savings account alive. Goldman Sachs currently runs the back-end operations, and Apple offers the card via its Wallet app.
An Apple rep told CNBC, “Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them lead healthier financial lives. The award-winning Apple Card has seen a great reception from consumers, and we will continue to innovate and deliver the best tools and services for them.”
But who’s the new partner gonna be? That’s the million-dollar question. American Express was rumored to be interested back in July. But nothing’s confirmed yet.
Goldman Sachs originally hoped to break even with its consumer credit division, which includes the Apple Card, by 2022. But now, that’s been pushed back to 2025. Last year, Wolfe Research analyst Bill Carcache said, “The Apple Card portfolio may generate lower revenues and face higher loss content relative to the industry average.”
So, if Goldman does want out, we’d expect Apple to announce a partnership with another firm pretty quickly. We’ll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned, folks.
