Paul Morris·

Apple Will Reportedly Launch Its Own Credit Card This Year

The Wall Street Journal is reporting on the potential of an Apple credit card. According to the report, the Cupertino-based technology giant will form a partnership with banking giant Goldman Sachs to offer a credit card which integrates deeply with Apple Wallet.

Apple already finds itself deeply rooted in the finances and spending habits of consumers who use its products. Millions of global users have debit and credit cards registered against their Apple IDs for quick and frictionless spending.

A large percentage of those users also have cards registered in the Apple Wallet app for use with systems that support contactless payments via the Apple Pay system. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense that the company is looking to extend its financial grasp by offering an Apple-branded credit card.

Sources who claim to be familiar with the situation are suggesting that internal testing of the Apple/Goldman Sachs credit card will begin as early as next week. This internal testing will be in advance of its public launch, which would presumably have the same checks and assurances in place for existing cards to ensure financial affordability.

Once released, the suggestion is that the card would allow Apple users to have deeper integration with the Wallet app on devices like iPhone and iPad in order to expose things like spending habits, set spending goals, and easily and efficiently manage balances.

A lot of challenger banks globally are already starting to offer this fine-tuned control over spending and spending habits so it isn’t a shock to see Apple taking the same level of control. Both Apple and Goldman Sachs are exploring options and alternatives to try and replace declining revenues in other areas of their operations. The benefits of the card for users are easy to recognize and document but it will be extremely interesting to see how Apple’s existing financial partners react to the news.

Cards currently added to Apple Wallet don’t really come with any additional functionality other than that they are able to be used digitally via Apple Pay. If this partnership does actually mean the card will have deeper integration, then it potentially risks souring some relationships. We don’t need to wait long to find out with the card rumored to be launching as early as this spring.

(Source: WSJ)

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