Apple may launch its credit card as soon as next month in collaboration with Goldman Sachs
- Apple is set to roll out its first-ever credit card as soon as next month
- Users will be able to sign up for the card using the Wallet app in iOS 12.4
- The card will be powered with the help of mega bank, Goldman Sachs
- For Apple, the move represents a stark turn toward a more service-based model
Apple’s first-ever credit card could find its way into people’s wallets as soon as next month says a recent report.
According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, Apple is planning on rolling out the card, a collaboration with mega bank Goldman Sachs, in the coming weeks.
The release would fulfill a timeline set forth by Apple in March when the company first announced the card.
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Apple is paving the way for its new credit card which will be able to use Apple pay via contactless payments and also function as a traditional card.
Once released, Bloomberg reports that customers will be able to sign up for the card through their phones’ Wallet app which also contains built in support for those running version 12.4 iOS or newer.
Infrastructure to support the card has already been embedded into the Apple’s new iOS so activating its usage will essentially be at the push of a button for Apple.
Some of the company’s employees have already had access to the card for several weeks.
Bloomberg reports that during the card’s development the two institutions — who have never worked together previously — disagreed on what the outlet describes as the card’s ‘underlying technology.’
Through Apple Wallet customers will be able to monitor their credit activity, make payments and get support for their card.
Ultimately, those disagreements appear to have been resolved in time to meet Apple’s slated summer release.
For Apple, the decision to roll out a credit card marks yet another step toward expanding its service-based offerings, a facet of the company’s business that has increasingly moved center stage.
In the year ahead, Apple will also roll out several premium services, including Apple TV+, the company’s Netflix rival, and Apple Arcade, for streamable online video games.
Apple is set to release several new services in the weeks to come, including Apple TV+ which will offer viewers loads of original content.
Apple Card will not have any annual or late fees, and boasts interest rates that are ‘among the lowest in the industry,’ Apple says.
Notably, all of the identifying information usually printed on the card itself, apart from the owner’s name, is now stored in the Apple Wallet.
According to Apple, this ‘can be used right away for purchases using Apple Pay, to put toward their Apple Card balance or send to friends and family in Messages.’
A higher reward of 3 percent cash back will go to customers who use Apple Card on the firm’s services, be it purchases at the Apple Store or the App Store.
WHAT IS APPLE ARCADE?
Apple is launching a subscription-based gaming service that will let users play across mobile, desktop, and Apple TV.
Called Apple Arcade, the platform will live as a tab inside the App Store and gives users access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, the firm says.
It will feature games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more.
Games will be across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. And, users will be able to pick up where they left off on a different device.
Apple has not yet revealed any details on pricing, but says it will be coming to 150 countries in Fall 2019.
Apple introduced Apple Arcade in a star-studded event at the Steve Jobs Theater
