Apple Card: five key points about the tech giant’s new payment solution

At Apple’s latest services event which took place on Monday in California, featuring CEO Tim Cook alongside a star-studded guest line up which included Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, a number of new offerings and innovations were unveiled.

Perhaps the most exciting of these for those of us in the fintech space is Apple Card, a credit card developed by the technology giant and issued by Goldman Sachs and MasterCard.

The card, which is at present only available in the US, will have a physical and digital version and acts as an extension of Apple Pay.

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Apple says it represents all things Apple stands for: “simplicity, transparency and privacy”, and that the new payment solution “builds on the incredible ease and security that millions of people love about ApplePay”.

Here are five key points about Apple’s new credit card:

• Sleek design: the card will be made of titanium and feature the iconic Apple logo – a great marketing tool to encourage more customers to utilise Apple Pay.

• A boost for Apple Pay: it looks like this will be much needed – currently, Apple Pay is used by less than half of all global iPhone users, so it is no surprise Apple is innovating to penetrate more of this potential market.

• Cash rewards: the card offers cashback of between 1% and 3% on purchases each time it is used. Cashback will be higher for purchases made at Apple’s own stores such as the App Store, and lower for those stores which do not accept Apple Pay, both online and instore.

• Within the app: the card will still be held in the Waller app on an iPhone, where it can be used in conjunction with Apple Pay, as well as in its physical format.

• Track your spending: the card aims to give users a better insight into what they spend, allocating each transaction a colour-coded category to show where the majority of money is going (for example, food and drink or entertainment). This could help empower users to take control over their spending.