At Apple’s “show time” services event today, it announced a new Apple Card credit card, promising to improve things about the credit card experience with simpler applications, no fees, lower interest rates, and better rewards.
[…]Instead of a points-based reward program, Apple Card gives cash back rewards in the form of Daily Cash, which is applied straight to your Apple Card to spend or put toward your purchases. Apple is offering 2 percent cash back on purchases made through Apple Pay using an Apple Card, and purchases from Apple will get 3 percent cash back. Purchases made through the physical card will get just 1 percent cash back, though.
I can’t shake the image of those shady “cash-4-gold” stores with a dude spinning an arrow sign outside out of my head. Is this really what Apple’s been reduced to? A credit card company?
Thom Holwerda,
At least they partnered with a reputable bank known for always being above shady wallstreet practices.
“As rumored, Apple is partnering with Goldman Sachs for Apple Card, with Mastercard handling payment processing”
…hahaha.
I hear you Thom, it’s may be disappointing to those who want apple to stay focused on their hardware business, but alas between this article and the last announcement that most of apple’s revenue comes from consumer microtransactions, it may be time to come to terms with the fact that apple’s business is just following the money, as businesses do. That’s pointing them to taking a cut of more consumer transactions.
Of course there’s no reason they can’t do both hardware and financial services, but in the past their mac lines suffered greatly when their singular focus was growing the iphone + IOS walled garden side of the business, so I think it’s a legitimate question to ask where apple’s commitments will be going forward. Of course this will need to be answered by apple’s actions as a company rather than some meaningless PR statement.
Apple has the money to do practically anything, but as the mobile market continues to mature my prediction is that pressure from wallstreet shareholders will ultimately cause apple to grow horizontally into more markets like amazon has done.
apple cards, apple news, apple tv. these are good services. they just copied a banks, some news on demand service and netflix. good for them, they will certainly earn a lot of money on these. but apple didn’t showed anything revolutionary. after Steve Jobs death apple is not innovative anymore. it’s like other big money companies.
Apple Arcade is interesting because the games won’t have microtransactions. But a credit card? Really? Next, the Apple Car Rentals.
Rent-seeking
The new credit card was going to be called Hypercard