Apple Introduces Apple Card: The Apple Credit Card

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If you’re an iPhone user, you’ve probably used Apple Pay before. This is the service that lets you use your credit card through your iPhone. You can authenticate with your iPhone, pay online or in person. It’s a great feature, and I love the fact that I don’t have to hunt through my purse or backpack for my wallet. Just look at my phone, tap it to the reader, and we’re good to go.

Now that same ease of use is coming to a credit card made by Apple. And, as you’d expect from a credit card made by Apple, it’s not like other credit cards. Apple focused on security and helping you manage expenses, pay off debt with as little interest as possible, and quickly earn cash rewards.

Surprisingly, it might be the one of the most exciting things Apple revealed at their event.

The Apple Card

Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard to create a credit card that can be accepted anywhere. It’s also a unique card. Apple cares about privacy, and will not sell your credit card data or purchases to anyone. Yes, most credit card companies sell your purchase information to advertisers. In fact, it’s one of the ways Google tracks your movements, even if you’re not using Google Maps or allowing location history tracking. If you use the credit card you’ve registered with Google to buy apps, they can track you. But not if you use the Apple Card.

The Apple Card is a credit card with absolutely no fees and, according to Apple, “lower interest.” There are no annual, late, international, over limit, or any kind of fees. If you miss a payment, you only have to worry about interest. It’s a convenient card for people who increasingly rely on credit for purchases. We’re living in a debt economy, and most Americans are in debt.

Show Me the Money (Rewards!)

Apple set out to make their card as simple, secure, and private as possible. But that alone won’t get people to switch. Many cards offer rewards programs that make abandoning them difficult. But Apple’s got you there too. Every purchase with your Apple Card will earn you 2% cash back which will go immediately into your Apple Cash card. At the end of each day, you get 2% of all purchases added to your Daily Cash, and 3% if the card was used for any Apple purchases. No more waiting a few weeks for your cash rewards, they’re ready to spend or transfer to a friend right away.

Furthermore, you can transfer money from your Apple Cash card to a debit card for your bank instantly if it’s already in Apple Wallet. If it’s not, you can still do a bank transfer, but this can take 1-3 days, like most bank transfers.

The Apple Card App

Apple’s app is crafted to make tracking your expenses and paying off your balance quick and easy. It can help you set up a payment plan to pay as little interest as possible, identify payments, and track expenses by category. Spending a little too much on bars and Lyfts? Apple’s going to guilt you for that.

Furthermore, Apple helps identify where you spent your money. Often credit card statements can be difficult to read. But since Apple Card is on your phone, it can use on device machine learning along with your GPS location to figure out exactly where you spent your money. So, even if a company has an obscure name on credit statements, Apple will figure it out for you. That way, you can quickly catch fraudulent charges. Although, with Apple’s other security measures, including Face ID for all purchases, it’s hard to believe anyone will be able to steal this card.

The Apple Card app is already on your phone. It’s the Wallet app. Once you have your card in it, you can quickly access this information. Plus, you can find easy access to your credit card number and other information. Just like all the other cards in your wallet, the information is securely encrypted on your device, never uploaded or shared, so it’s far more secure than any other payment method.

The Actual Apple Card

Forget AirPods or your iPhone, this is going to be the weird financial flex of the year. Apple knows that some places just can’t take Apple Pay. They might not have an inexpensive reader from Square yet, perhaps they can’t afford the small percentage credit transactions cost, or maybe you’re paying at a bar or restaurant. There will be times when you have to hand over an actual credit card. That’s where the titanium—yes, titanium—Apple Card comes into play.

The Apple Card is a slab of titanium with a chip and magnetic strip. It features laser engraved Apple Logo, Master Card logo, and your name. That’s it. No credit card number, CCV, expiration date, or any other information. That means, if you lose your card, there’s nothing to worry about except some lost titanium. It’s otherwise nothing more than a card with your name on it, making stealing your credit info extremely difficult if not impossible.

The last time I had my credit card stolen it was someone trying to copy down the information and order through my name and card information. They got it and tried to place an order, but my card carrier caught them. Still, I had to change all my information. This has happened to me twice. Credit card companies are good at tracking when this happens, but fraudulent expenses are still a huge net loss for credit card companies and consumers.

If you need that info, or someone needs you to prove your identity, it’s easy with the Apple Card app or a photo ID. The app will still contain all the information for your card.

Release Date

The Apple Card will be out in summer of this year for qualified users. You’ll need to pass a credit check, and Apple hasn’t stated how high your credit score will need to be for this. However, if you’re already on Apple’s new iPhone every year program, you likely qualify. If not, make sure you pay off all your bills each month, use your current credit card for everything, and pay it off every week. That might boost your score in time for the summer.

The Apple Card is going to allow Apple to keep users completely in their ecosystem. You will be able to buy an iPhone with your Apple Card, finance it through Apple, collect the 3% Daily Cash, and use that to pay your friend for dinner. With the Apple Card, Apple will be involved in your daily life more than ever. However, unlike Google, Apple will do so without tracking you, selling your information, collecting information, or otherwise violating your privacy. Perhaps that’s worth becoming more deeply involved with the Apple ecosystem.

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Source: Apple Newsroom