Numerous websites offer comparisons of consumer credit cards. Fees, incentives, terms and conditions, and payment options vary but not much. The Apple Card is going to change the landscape. Apple has completely rethought everything about the credit card. Apple wanted to create a credit card which represents core principles the company believes in including simplicity, transparency, and privacy. The Apple Card builds on the ease of use and security millions of people like about Apple Pay. I use Apple Pay with my Apple Watch to make payments at Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Stop & Shop, Walgreens, and Whole Foods. Apple claims 74 of the top 100 U.S. merchants and approximately 65 percent of all retail locations across the country now support Apple Pay. For locations which do not support Apple Pay, the Apple Card can be used like any other credit card. The Apple Card will expand the company’s reach into consumer spending.
Most conventional credit card statements emphasize your minimum amount due. If that is what you pay, it costs you a lot in interest over time. When you are ready to make a payment on your Apple Card balance, the Apple Card app estimates how much interest you will pay based on whatever payment amount you choose. The calculations are done instantly, so you can make an informed decision about how much of your balance you want to pay down. In effect, the Apple Card encourages you to pay less interest.
The Apple card is built from the ground up to be secure and protect privacy. When a person first gets an Apple Card, a unique device number is created on an individual’s iPhone and locked away in the Secure Element chip inside the phone. Every purchase requires the device number and a one‑time security code which the iPhone creates at the time the purchase is authorized.
Apple Card doesn’t have any numbers on either side of it. If you hand over your card at a restaurant, you don’t have to worry someone might copy the credit card number. If you ever lose your card, you can freeze it and order a new one right in the Wallet app of your iPhone. The app also contains your transaction history and spending summaries in complete privacy. Apple’s Siri AI automatically categorizes your expenditures and create a taxonomy of your spending categories. Each category appears in the app in a different color. The AI will also be used for Apple Card customer service. The AI will hear and understand your question and use machine learning to compare your question to the millions of others it has heard. Hopefully, Siri will give you the answer you need.
Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York City. They will need to use your data to make Apple Card behind the scenes. However, knowing Apple’s commitment to privacy, I believe it when Apple says Goldman will never share or sell your data to third parties for marketing or advertising.
Authorization for purchases with Apple is effortless via Face ID or Touch ID, two of the most advanced security technologies available. If someone steals your iPhone, it would not be able to be used to make a purchase. In addition to buying things with your iPhone, you can use the Apple‑designed titanium card with hotels, restaurants, and merchants around the world.
The innovation behind Apple Card is significant. It will get the attention of all banks and, hopefully, inspire widespread development to create cards which are equal or better and follow Apple’s model for privacy and ease of use. Apple Card is planned to become available this Summer.
