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Apple Reportedly Ending Partnership with Goldman Sachs
It looks as though Apple and Goldman Sachs will be moving forward with a break-up of their partnership.
What’s happening:
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple has now proposed that it and Goldman Sachs end their contract within the next 12 to 15 months. This development comes after months of reports that Goldman had been looking to exit the agreement. The partnership was slated to last through 2029. It’s currently unclear whether Apple has already lined up a new partner for its Apple Card credit card, savings account, and other financial products or not.
While the launch of the Apple Card in 2019 was widely regarded as a success, Goldman figures have shown that the bank has lost upwards of a billion dollars on the product. Those losses are partially being blamed on the card’s higher-than-normal charge-off rate, which is believed to be a result of Apple pushing Goldman to approve a wider range of applicants. The Journal also notes that other Apple instances have led to headaches for Goldman, including the idea of having all Apple Card statements issued on the first day of the month (and due on the last day).
Previously, it was reported that Goldman had discussed selling the Apple portfolio to American Express. However, Amex is said to have concerns about the program. Synchrony Financial — which originally bid on issuing the Apple Card — is also said to be exploring the possibility of taking over the offering now.
About Apple and Goldman Sachs’ products:
Despite originally being billed as “Created by Apple, not a bank,” Goldman Sachs has been the issuer of the unique Apple Card since Day 1. In fact, it marked the bank’s first credit card product and furthered its ventures into consumer markets. Since the debut of the card, the two companies have also collaborated on a high-yield savings account called Apple Card Savings and a “buy now, pay later” feature called Apple Pay Later — both of which officially launched earlier this year.
My thoughts:
What’s (reportedly) happening between Apple and Goldman Sachs continues to be fascinating. Moreover, if Goldman does end up abandoning the Apple Card, it would seem likely that they’d also give up on their other consumer-facing products such as Marcus. Meanwhile, as for the Apple Card itself, it’s hard to say what a new partnership would look like. After all, while Apple remains a huge brand and would seemingly still have command of the product, certainly other institutions will be wary based on Goldman’s apparent experience.
Assuming everything in WSJ’s report is correct, it seems as though we should be hearing more about the future of the Apple Card soon enough.
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