Apple Card

Apple Card is a credit card created by Apple, but developed by Goldman Sachs, designed primarily to be used with Apple Pay on Apple devices such as an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. On August 6, 2019, invitations to an early preview started being sent to randomly selected users who had previously signed up for email notifications ahead of Apple Card's official launch. It was released in the United States on August 20, 2019. (Additional cardholders and joint accounts are not supported.)

Apple Card was announced at an Apple Special Event on March 25, 2019. Unlike previous special events which have historically served as platforms to announce upcoming hardware, this event focused on new internet software and services. Other services announced at the event include Apple TV+, Apple News+, and Apple Arcade.

No fees
Apple Card does not include late, cash advance, international, overdraft, or annual credit card fees, except for applicable interest charges when carrying a balance, and any interchange fees, which are charged to the vendor.

Instant issuance
Users apply for Apple Card directly from within the Wallet app. If the user's application is approved, their digital Apple Card is made available for use across all of their devices instantly. Users also have the option to order a physical card for use at locations that don't accept contactless payments.

As well as the digital card used to make contactless payments, users receive a 16-digit virtual card number which can be used on websites and in apps that don't accept Apple Pay. The details of this virtual card are made available in the user's iCloud Keychain so they can be auto-filled into online forms, rather than having to be typed in by hand. Notably, Apple Card's CVV is auto-filled by Safari, unlike other credit cards stored in iCloud Keychain which require manual input of their CVV number.

In the event that a user suspects their virtual card number has been used on a website that has been compromised, they can generate a new virtual card number from the Wallet app, invalidating the old one.

Daily cash
The card features a cash-back reward program known as Daily Cash – the key differentiator being that cash-back is available daily, rather than at the end of each statement period.

Daily Cash uses a 3–2–1 model for rewards:


 * 3% for purchases from Apple (whether physical goods from Apple Retail Stores, the Apple Online Store, or the Apple Store App, or digital purchases from Apple's media stores, and subscriptions to Apple's various internet services). Starting August 20, 2019, the 3% cash-back rate was extended to include Uber and Uber Eats purchases made using Apple Pay. Recently added was Walgreens and Rite Aid.
 * 2% for purchases made using Apple Pay at any other merchant, including apps and websites.
 * 1% for purchases made using the physical titanium card.

Daily Cash is deposited into a user's Apple Cash card inside Apple Wallet, which can then be used to send money via iMessage, pay part or all of the card's balance, spend at retailers/in apps that accept Apple Pay, or be transferred to a bank account via wire transfer. If the customer does not have an Apple Cash account, then Daily Cash continues to accumulate, but can only be applied as a credit toward their statement balance.

Financial wellbeing
One of the core tenets of Apple Card is to provide users with easy-to-understand information on their spending, with transactions being collated and color-coded according to category (for example food and drinks, entertainment, travel, etc.). The face of the digital card in the Wallet app changes color according to the amount spent at various categories of merchant, with the colors corresponding to each merchant's category in Apple Maps.

Apple Maps is also used to provide more detailed transaction information than can be shown on a traditional credit card statement – when viewing individual transactions, users are presented with a precise map location for the merchant, along with additional information such as their logo, website and contact details (where available).

Users can view their historical spend with weekly and monthly activity summaries, and receive intelligent recommendations on how best to pay off their balance over time in the form of payment plans, in order to avoid paying unnecessary interest.

Privacy and security
A unique card number is created for each device and is stored in the device's secure element, a tamper-resistant security chip used by Apple Pay to handle transactions and on-device cryptographic functions. Each transaction uses its own one-time "dynamic security code", and is authorized with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.

As with Apple Cash, transaction history for Apple Card is stored on—and synced across—devices using CloudKit, and encrypted such that only the authorized account holder can view it. As an additional security and privacy measure, two-factor authentication must be enabled on the user's iCloud account in order to apply for Apple Card.

Titanium card
Apple has designed a titanium Apple Card for shopping at locations where Apple Pay contactless payment is not accepted. The card has no card number, CVV security code, expiration date, or signature printed on the card. The logos on the card are engraved, and the cardholder's name is printed.

On delivery, users with the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, XS, XS Max, and XR can activate the physical card by moving their phone near a NFC tag concealed within the card's packaging. Users with an iPhone X or earlier need to open the Wallet app before tapping the phone against the card.

The card may be permanently discolored by contact with leather or denim.

 One card per household 

Each individual in a household wanting to use the Apple Card must apply and each person with a card will receive a separate statement. Goldman Sachs will not issue more than one card per account.

Partnerships
For Apple Card's initial U.S. launch, Goldman Sachs takes the role of the issuing bank, with Mastercard serving as the payment network.

Criticism
On November 7, 2019, David Heinemeier Hansson posted on Twitter a series of tweets how he was given 20 times the credit limit compared to his wife who has a better credit score. He accused Goldman Sachs of gender discrimination by using algorithms to determine a person's credit limit. Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak also revealed in a tweet saying that he received 10 times the credit limit than his wife. In reaction to Hansson's tweets, the New York State Department of Financial Services launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs' practices.