Apple’s new credit card, Apple Card, is set to launch as early as the first half of August, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The card was announced by Apple in March, after years of speculation that Apple would move further into more traditional financial markets. Apple’s AppStore and its Apple Pay app have already attracted millions of customers to register their credit cards issued by traditional banks to make quick online purchases from the online store.
Apple is collaborating with Goldman Sachs Group on the project but hasn’t divulged more details. Apple has not commented on the timing of the release, still saying on its Web site that it is “coming this summer.”
People who own an iPhone will be able to sign up for the card via the Wallet app, and there will be built-in Apple Card support in the latest iOS 12.4 update, according to the story in Bloomberg.
Sachs will handle much of the heavy lifting on the card, including underlying infrastructure, managing payment disputes, handling transaction data and collating information for monthly statements, Bloomberg said.
Apple designed the card and will handle its software interface for iPhones.
There have been some differences between the two companies on the development, but the card is now in testing. It is designed to have a privacy-centric approach using Apple Pay on phones rather than as a physical card. However, a physical card, all white, will be issued to consumers for using with merchants that don’t accept Apple Pay.
The card is structured with a cash-back reward system instead of points and there won’t be any card fees. Users will get 1% cash back on purchases made with the physical card, 2% for Apple Pay transactions and 3% for purchases of Apple products or services.
One unusual feature of Apple Card is that it will estimate in real time the interest a purchaser will end up paying based on any payment amount chosen. Apple said in March that its goal “is to provide interest rates that are among the lowest in the industry.”
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