Four years after the debut of its credit card, Apple on Monday launched a high-interest savings account in the United States in partnership with US bank Goldman Sachs, a sign of its ambitions in the financial services sector.
The offer is reserved for holders of the Apple Card, the card that launched in 2019 and had 6.7 million holders at the beginning of 2022, according to the consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors. Asked by AFP about the number of Apple Card owners, Apple did not immediately respond.
The savings account does not require a minimum balance and does not include account maintenance fees, according to a statement released Monday.
It offers an annual rate of 4.15%, compared to the 0.37% average in the United States, according to figures from the Deposit Insurance Agency (FDIC), and can be managed from the Wallet application on the iPhone.
Interested tech giants
Several tech giants have tried, with varying success, to gain a foothold in financial services, a powerful tool for building user loyalty.
At the end of 2021, Google had given up launching its Plex online banking service after several years of developing the project.
Several US media have reported in recent years on the possible arrival of Amazon in this market, but the group from Seattle (Washington state) would have finally thrown in the towel.
The caution with which the technology sector approaches financial services is due, in large part, to the strong regulatory restrictions associated with this activity, which requires significant investment.
Source: BFM TV
