Gurman: Chase Bank is 'Ideal Partner' to Take Over Apple Card Deal

[Squuiid]

Oh yes, “ideal partner”…

US banks named as being among least ethical UK operators

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www.theguardian.com

 

[ThunderRobot]

If Apple does end up working with Chase, Gurman points out that the Apple Savings account might have to go or that Apple might have to find a different partner for it. Chase does not offer high-yield savings accounts that are on par with the 4.15 percent return rate that the Apple Savings account provides under Goldman Sachs.

The world exists beyond the shores of the USA. Chase offers a 4.1% savings account in the UK and probably other regions. It's index linked to the Bank of England base rate and seems to be doing fine for them.

It's not a stretch to assume they could do the same in the USA if they wanted the business.

 

[Will Co]

Cool with this. Chase have been advertising in the UK for a few months now. Maybe this means we'd get Apple Card in the UK.

 

[George Bailey]

Dunno about this one. Chase can easily take the card, but they’re also known for maximising their profits with credit cards. I can’t see the Apple Card features remaining intact as we know them if Chase takes over.

I have three Chase-issued cards. It's very easy to deal with them. They have an Apple "store" for points redemption, and each November the points from the Sapphire card are worth 25% more in that store. So this year I moved up to the iPhone 15 Pro at a nice discount to the retail price.

 

[MJWaters1985]

I’d think Barclays would be in the running for taking the portfolio. Barclays was previously Apple’s partner on their financing card, are a Mastercard issuer, have a high interest savings product, and a global presence that would position them well for expansion. Seems like a good fit to me.

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

Remember most credit card companies, and especially Chase, call people who pay off their balance every month "deadbeats."

No they don't, they rely on credit scoring models which highly prefer extremely low utilization.

 

[10anta]

An advantage of Chase would be that they have a presence in the UK, thus Apple Card might be available in more enthusiastic customer countries.

American Express is also here, but has a reputation for being rejected by a lot of retailers due to high transaction fees (and APRs).

 

[bbotte]

The part about high yield savings is wrong, had friends call Chase to speak about pulling their money out to deposit in Apple's Savings account, and Chase just matched the high yield rate. So they do....

 

[bigjnyc]

I agree with AMEX but Apple may have “kicked themselves” in that AMEX is super picky on whom they offer credit to. They do NOT lend to subprime borrowers and since Apple pushed GS to lend to as many people possible, including subprime, they’re now suffering the consequences as their loss rate is too high. AMEX does indeed carry the world class prestige that Apple loves, but too many losses for AMEX comfort.

This is why I think Capital One makes the most sense... Subprime is their bread and butter, they have a few card offerings that cater to subprime borrowers

Chase pays very close to 0% on their typical savings accounts. Curious to see how this plays out with Apple.

They could use chase for the credit card and use a different bank for the savings account, they don't have to be one and the same... In fact they could use a combination of banks for the savings and consumers would be none the wiser as long as they have access to their money.

 

[CrapShack]

I have found Chase to be one of the least customer-friendly companies I've ever dealt with. Amex or CapOne would be better, they actually act like they appreciate you, not that YOU should be honored to be THEIR customer.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Yeah, I'm sure Chase wants all those subprime Apple Card users.

TIL what subprime really means. Yikes. It really is. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea for everyone involved.

I have Chase cards and accounts. They are usually pretty reliable but I dislike how these gigantic corporations/banks are gobbling everything around us. Pretty soon we will be ruled by a dozen of entities. Good luck fighting this trend.

Don't worry. We have a highly effective Commerce Department and Justice Department. They're all over things like this. That's why they broke up ol' Ma Bell! They would never allow banks to acquire each other across state lines. All their regulations are tip top, heavily enforced, and in the consumer's best interest.

I hope the sarcasm drips so heavily from every word the /s tag is not necessary.

 

[otozuz]

Apple launched the Savings account in Spring 2023. If they already knew Goldman Sachs wanted out, my guess would be that they were already planning for a transition to another bank. They're still letting people open Saving accounts; I don't think that would be the case if they were considering shutting it down.

 

[t0rqx]

Anyone able to explain the business model behind the Apple Card?

 

[bigjnyc]

Anyone able to explain the business model behind the Apple Card?

Give credit lines to everybody and anybody so they can easily buy many apple iphones and computers.... Collect money from sales and stick the bank with the defaults. End result: Apple sales go up, Goldman loses 4Billion and counting.

 

[dmr727]

Chase has been good to us over the years. Their savings/CD rates have always sucked, but nobody should be using a brick and mortar bank for those services anyway.

 

[bigjnyc]

Chase has been good to us over the years. Their savings/CD rates have always sucked, but nobody should be using a brick and mortar bank for those services anyway.

Exactly this... If you have money just sitting in a conventional savings account then you are essentially losing money with the rate of inflation.

 

[cocky jeremy]

needs to stay with MC or transition to Visa, Amex acceptance is way poorer than those two ... if Amex is the choice, I'm out

I can't think of a single time I ran into someone not accepting AMEX.

 

[sparkinstx]

Chase is the last bank I would choose. My mother-in-law has an account with them, and she's been hit with a couple of fraudulent transactions recently (like stealing $4k out of her savings, and sending it to pay a Discover bill), and they never sent her any kind of notifications like "Did you make this charge?" We pulled all her funds and stuck them in another bank. Chase is a joke - almost as bad as Wells Fargo.

 

[Rogifan]

Chase is the last bank I would choose. My mother-in-law has an account with them, and she's been hit with a couple of fraudulent transactions recently (like stealing $4k out of her savings, and sending it to pay a Discover bill), and they never sent her any kind of notifications like "Did you make this charge?" We pulled all her funds and stuck them in another bank. Chase is a joke - almost as bad as Wells Fargo.

My elderly parents had an issue like this with Wells Fargo. Took forever to resolve. We pulled all their money out of Wells and they’re with a credit union. I’ve been with Capital One for 15 years no issues. I’ve been moving my GS savings balance to their HYSA which pays 4.3%. I wish I would have researched before applying for the GS account as I never would have opened one.

 

[gregmancuso]

No, it's not. I have a Marcus HYSA at 4.5% right now. Amex is only offering 4.3. I literally had an Amex HYSA and moved it all to GS back when Amex was at 4.15.

Apple Card savings is not Marcus. Apple Card savings is only 4.15%.

 

[steevn]

Pretty much. They’re probably the main choice. I don’t really use Apple card as it is besides the default for iTunes. I get like a 2 dollar charge each month for iCloud. Apple Card kinda sucks.

I agree, I don’t want to completely say it sucks since there are much worse cards out there, but it’s rewards structure is pretty abysmal.

1.5% cards are about as low cash back as people are willing to go, 3% at a few retailers is not bad but at the same time plenty of cards beat that unless someone has specifically high spend at one of Apples 3% merchants, which seems hard to believe.

The Wallet app experience and its Apple financing are its greatest features to most people I would assume, but as far as I’m concerned it needs to be a 1.5%-2% cash back on ALL spending(mobile and swiping card) and ALSO have higher percentage categories if they choose.

It’s current rewards structure is clearly for people that want the simplicity and streamlined experience of Apple but don’t understand how to maximize their spending for the most cash back/points.

Goldman Sachs has always been terrible though. Apple Card has had a few outages in the past and made me not even trust using the card so I closed it. I closed it two years ago and Goldman Sachs STILL reports it as an open and in good standing account, I don’t even know how this has happened but I don’t care to spend any time trying to resolve it either.

 

[cardfan]

I agree, I don’t want to completely say it sucks since there are much worse cards out there, but it’s rewards structure is pretty abysmal.

1.5% cards are about as low cash back as people are willing to go, 3% at a few retailers is not bad but at the same time plenty of cards beat that unless someone has specifically high spend at one of Apples 3% merchants, which seems hard to believe.

The Wallet app experience and its Apple financing are its greatest features to most people I would assume, but as far as I’m concerned it needs to be a 1.5%-2% cash back on ALL spending(mobile and swiping card) and ALSO have higher percentage categories if they choose.

It’s current rewards structure is clearly for people that want the simplicity and streamlined experience of Apple but don’t understand how to maximize their spending for the most cash back/points.

Goldman Sachs has always been terrible though. Apple Card has had a few outages in the past and made me not even trust using the card so I closed it. I closed it two years ago and Goldman Sachs STILL reports it as an open and in good standing account, I don’t even know how this has happened but I don’t care to spend any time trying to resolve it either.

For a card with so much subprime accounts, it's probably one of the best if you can't get the best credit cards. The app is nice.

Should an apple branded card be offering cash back everywhere or should that be its main thing when so many do this already? Amazon's is 5%. Redeem credits on amazon when purchasing. Best Buy is 5-6%. Or I'm using a chase card to get points which are much more valuable for me than a simple cash back card.

This isn't a card I want to use everywhere and honestly I doubt Apple could make it compelling enough for me to do so unless it stepped up and quit offering cash back. Offer 5-6% rewards points to be redeemed at Apple and we're talking or at least I'm now considering buying at Apple vs best buy or others. Throw in applecare+ (2 years) on everything I buy with it and we're really talking and I don't ever consider others.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

I already pay off my Apple Card balance monthly so getting it over to AMEX would be fine. Losing the 4.1% saving sucks, but I can move that money back to Schwab.

 

[jz0309]

I can't think of a single time I ran into someone not accepting AMEX.

A lot of small(ish) local stores that I use don’t.

 

[Drew1980]

A lot of small(ish) local stores that I use don’t.

I’ve noticed the same. I tend to shop small and those are the business that generally don’t accept AMEX. I also noticed in my international travels, particularly Mexico, acceptance is hit or miss. Keep in mind, too, that other countries like Mexico are able to advertise credit card and cash prices. Costco is an example in Mexico. All pricing is in cash and credit. When you’re that transparent about pricing, people will certainly pay cash.