Looks cool but service is awful

[TechThule]

I got in last August. It was cool to plonk down, at first. But I no longer use it except for Apple purchases. I thought others might be interested in the issues I experienced.
I was traveling abroad at the end of September, so I paid my balance 5 days early. The app would only allow me to pay the transactions that were cleared. It would not allow me to pay off the posted transactions. At the end of October I also paid a few days early. Same deal. Then an interest charge appeared Nov 2. (By the way, one of the things I don't like about the app is there is no detail, explaining what the charge is for. Just the amount.) So I opened the app to dispute the charge, via text. Only the "message cannot be delivered" popped up. Repeatedly. My messages app works just fine for all my other contacts. Just Apple. So I called Goldman Sachs and a very nice service rep agreed the charge was unfair and said they would take it off. That was November 2 and it's still on my bill. I called a week later and was assured the complaint was registered and it just takes a few days. I can understand they're having teething problems, but two weeks? Unacceptable.
Another glitch I encountered is when I use the card at a restaurant. Usually you give them the card and they print out a receipt to which you can add a tip. Not with the Apple Card. I got the receipt, but there was no line to add a tip. Several waitstaff have told me that they were stiffed by the Apple Card. The customer wrote a tip on the receipt, but there was no way to add it to the charge. Who cares about tipping waitstaff? Me, for one.
I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to pay pending charges. If I leave a positive balance in my other credit card accounts no one has ever complained.
I am accustomed to prompt and courteous responses to issues I raise.
I dislike the lack of detail on exactly what the charges are for. In some cases it doesn't even tell me the vendor. WWT?
And the inability to send messages is just bizarro.
Oh, and I can confirm that storing it in your wallet discolors the surface. But I don't care anymore.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Sorry to hear about your frustrations. Not surprising. Look at the horrible history of GS. They have no business running a credit card operation and the fact that Apple partnered with them speaks volumes about the current state (judgement, morals, interest in customer service etc.) of things at Apple.

The antiquated level of banking and credit card processes in the US is adding to your problems. In countries which have long ago modernised, the waiter brings a mobile handheld terminal to your table (so the card never goes beyond where you can see it) and as part of the transaction, you can choose to input a tip if you wish.

In places where this is not the process, and even if it is the process, I find it is preferable to give a cash tip to the waiter in person before departing the establishment.

 

[ecschwarz]

Another glitch I encountered is when I use the card at a restaurant. Usually you give them the card and they print out a receipt to which you can add a tip. Not with the Apple Card. I got the receipt, but there was no line to add a tip. Several waitstaff have told me that they were stiffed by the Apple Card. The customer wrote a tip on the receipt, but there was no way to add it to the charge. Who cares about tipping waitstaff? Me, for one.

This may be related to the change that Mastercard (and other card networks) no longer require a signature on purchases and poorly-programmed POS software reads that as "skip printing a tip and signature line, we're done" - I'd venture to guess that behavior is also the case with any Mastercard at that restaurant (but obviously the Apple Card is trendy/memorable/etc. where the waitstaff see it as the pattern).

At my job's cafeteria, we used standalone First Data terminals and when the changes were made (all card networks did it within a few months of each other), everything but Discover skipped the signature prompt. Since no tips were involved, it was fine, but it seems that Bank of America (their payment processor) didn't push out an update to include Discover. When they switched food service providers, everything got replaced and the new one is running Ingenico terminals (no idea of the payment processor) and nothing is prompted for a signature.

For your other concerns, I've seen some people have really bad luck with customer service and specific features - I hope you're able to get that sorted out a bit or (most likely) find a different card that works. I'd chalk it up to some early bugs, sloppiness, and who knows what else.

 

[TechThule]

Thanks for the insight into the different data terminals. However, I have a different MasterCard, from another bank, and it works the way it ought to. So there's something about GS' implementation that is unique, not MasterCard.

I reported a dispute about the interest charge that was posted to my account on Nov 2. It's been over two weeks, so I called again. They told me it could take two billing cycles to resolve my dispute. In what parallel universe is this acceptable?

 

[ecschwarz]

Thanks for the insight into the different data terminals. However, I have a different MasterCard, from another bank, and it works the way it ought to. So there's something about GS' implementation that is unique, not MasterCard.

I reported a dispute about the interest charge that was posted to my account on Nov 2. It's been over two weeks, so I called again. They told me it could take two billing cycles to resolve my dispute. In what parallel universe is this acceptable?

Nice to see you were able to test and get data points—the only other time when I had heard that one Mastercard worked and the Apple Card didn't was somehow that the payment processor didn't properly recognize the BIN that Goldman Sachs was using since it was new. By now, you'd think that most would have resolved that.

As for the dispute, that seems long to me. BofA always felt slow on disputes, but not two-billing-cycles slow.

 

[tmiw]

The antiquated level of banking and credit card processes in the US is adding to your problems. In countries which have long ago modernised, the waiter brings a mobile handheld terminal to your table (so the card never goes beyond where you can see it) and as part of the transaction, you can choose to input a tip if you wish.

I wouldn't expect this to be the case any time soon. In my experience, the vast majority of chip using restaurants in the US still take cards away and bring a paper receipt back. Of course, they also manage to still print the tip line on the receipt (except for the place OP went to, apparently).

At my job's cafeteria, we used standalone First Data terminals and when the changes were made (all card networks did it within a few months of each other), everything but Discover skipped the signature prompt. Since no tips were involved, it was fine, but it seems that Bank of America (their payment processor) didn't push out an update to include Discover. When they switched food service providers, everything got replaced and the new one is running Ingenico terminals (no idea of the payment processor) and nothing is prompted for a signature.

A few restaurants here use First Data and they seem to print a tip line despite not needing signature, FWIW.

Nice to see you were able to test and get data points—the only other time when I had heard that one Mastercard worked and the Apple Card didn't was somehow that the payment processor didn't properly recognize the BIN that Goldman Sachs was using since it was new. By now, you'd think that most would have resolved that.

Actually, it's probably because "no CVM" is the only one listed on the card's CVM list (which is what chip enabled terminals use to determine whether PIN or signature's required). I imagine any other cards with such a configuration--if they existed--would cause the same issue at that restaurant, regardless of network.

 

[TechThule]

Another month and another headache. I paid off my balance, in full, a couple of days early. I have stopped using the card, so there were no pending charges. But early Saturday morning an interest charge appeared. It's only $1.5, but there is no reason to charge me interest, as I had a zero balance.
Once again, messages from the Wallet app are "undeliverable." So I had to call GS and, after 30' was told they would credit me the interest.
I noticed that, even though they credited me the interest for last month, when you look at the app it is still listed as an interest charge for October. Which makes me wonder if GS is doing this so they can report more interest charges than they actually receive?

 

[compwiz1202]

This may be related to the change that Mastercard (and other card networks) no longer require a signature on purchases and poorly-programmed POS software reads that as "skip printing a tip and signature line, we're done" - I'd venture to guess that behavior is also the case with any Mastercard at that restaurant (but obviously the Apple Card is trendy/memorable/etc. where the waitstaff see it as the pattern).

At my job's cafeteria, we used standalone First Data terminals and when the changes were made (all card networks did it within a few months of each other), everything but Discover skipped the signature prompt. Since no tips were involved, it was fine, but it seems that Bank of America (their payment processor) didn't push out an update to include Discover. When they switched food service providers, everything got replaced and the new one is running Ingenico terminals (no idea of the payment processor) and nothing is prompted for a signature.

For your other concerns, I've seen some people have really bad luck with customer service and specific features - I hope you're able to get that sorted out a bit or (most likely) find a different card that works. I'd chalk it up to some early bugs, sloppiness, and who knows what else.

My Apple Pay Discover is weird at work too. It won't work over half the time at the vending machine while my VISA never fails. And it will still print TWO receipts even if I tap no thanks. If I use my VISA, it actually won't print the receipt like I request.

 

[jetjaguar]

That sucks. I’m really not a fan of this card anymore. Might just end up cancelling.

 

[mlody]

My Apple Pay Discover is weird at work too. It won't work over half the time at the vending machine while my VISA never fails. And it will still print TWO receipts even if I tap no thanks. If I use my VISA, it actually won't print the receipt like I request.

I also have problems with both Discover and Apple Cash card at the vending machines at work. I usually have to try 2-3 times before they work. The card reader shows a message - network error and locks up for good 10-15 sec before it is ready. No issues with Visa.