Apple is quietly challenging a title from The Wall Street Journal which claims the tech giant has “pulled the plug” on its partnership with Goldman Sachs, which covers the Apple Card credit card and savings account. Instead, Apple says the two companies remain focused on providing “an incredible experience” to customers, in a statement provided to TechCrunch. However, the Journal reports that this is not the case – citing unnamed sources, it claims that the tech giant has sent a proposal to Goldman to exit their partnership in 12 to 15 months.
No such exit has been officially announced at this time, but there have been several reports detailing how the partnership had soured over the years, including a July 2023 article from The information.
That report noted the problems Goldman is facing with the Apple Card, such as how it is losing out on traditional forms of credit card revenue, such as annual fees, late fees and foreign transaction fees. Instead, it earns commissions from loans issued to cardholders who finance their Apple products in monthly installments. The article also referred to some of the bad PR Apple Card received after a viral tweet said some women with good credit were getting worse terms than their husbands. While regulators found no wrongdoing, the incident left a stain on Apple’s reputation.
Later, as Goldman moved away from its consumer strategy, The the Wall Street Journal reported that the bank began shopping its Apple partnership to American Express. JPMorgan Chase was also named as another potential partner. Today, the WSJ points to other problems, including Apple’s insistence that all cardholders be charged at the beginning of the month, causing customer service headaches and its push to approve most applicants.
While Apple isn’t specifically saying the WSJ is completely wrong, it did issue a statement that leaves little room for doubt as to the status of the deal:
“Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them live healthier financial lives,” the company said in a statement. “The award-winning Apple Card has been well received by consumers, and we will continue to innovate and provide the best tools and services for them,” Apple said.
The statement could be interpreted in many ways. In a read, Apple says the deal is still ongoing and nothing has changed until then apple announces he’s got. In another reading, Apple simply wants to sow doubt about any negotiations it may have going on so as not to worry its existing customers that Apple Mastercards will suddenly turn into Amex, for example.
However, it’s worth noting that Apple won’t go on the record about the WSJ’s headline, details in its report, or speculation about new partnerships beyond the statement provided. This also leaves room for doubt, as Apple is not transparent about the specific points the WSJ is making.
Talk of the possible end of the Apple-Goldman deal has continued to grow in recent months, despite Goldman announcing a year ago that the deal extended until 2029. While that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for companies to get out of the deal, it does mean there are contractual obligations that would make it so difficult for both parties. As The Information also reported, Goldman cannot simply offload the business without Apple’s approval. In addition, the report noted that Apple also has an agreement to operate the Apple Card through Mastercard’s network at least until 2026. While Apple could work with another bank, the report set the time frame for the deal to be revealed Goldman in about 18 months — which is according to new WSJ estimates. When there is smoke…
