Apple and Goldman Sachs’s hotly anticipated new credit card is apparently weeks away from launch.
The release will be the culmination of an intense, high-stakes development process for the Silicon Valley giant and the Wall Street stalwart.
People who own an iPhone will be able to sign up for the card via the Wallet app.
The closely watched collaboration between Apple and Goldman Sachs represents one of the most ambitious attempts between an old-world finance titan and a tech company. It also involved the mixing of two very different corporate cultures.
“Apple is a great partner and we together are excited about delivering a product that we think customers will love,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said. Representatives for Apple declined to comment.
In March, Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon and some of the bank’s highest-ranking executives visited Cupertino, California, to attend the much-anticipated announcement of the card. On stage, Tim Cook and Apple Pay executive Jennifer Bailey delivered the news with characteristic Apple fanfare.
For Apple, the credit card is thought of as a way to bring in more recurring revenue from iPhone users and further enmesh them in its web of services.
The companies divvied up responsibilities for developing and managing the project. Apple designed the card and will handle its software interface for iPhones. Goldman Sachs is responsible for the underlying infrastructure, managing payment disputes, handling transaction data and collating information for monthly statements.
At the time of the announcement, Solomon told staff that the partnership was “a major step in the growth of our consumer franchise”, and added that the bank’s lack of legacy credit card technology made it the “best partner” for the effort.
In addition to its stark white appearance and digital-first design, the credit card aims to entice customers with no fees, deep iPhone integration, a unique system for tracking spending and a privacy-centric approach. The product has been designed to be used primarily via Apple Pay.
However, the company will also issue users an actual card for merchants that don’t accept Apple Pay.
The Apple Card features a cash-back rewards structure instead of points, offering users 1% on purchases made with the physical card, 2% for Apple Pay transactions and 3% for purchases of Apple products or services.