Apple announces its own credit card

Many of us have credit cards from banks or credit unions. Some of us have credit cards from big supermarkets, department stores or airlines. And now Apple has announced that it is launching its own branded credit card, backed up by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard.

The Apple Card has been designed to work alongside the iPhone’s Apple Pay service, and offers cashback on purchases along with fintech solutions to help you better manage your spending and pay less interest on your purchases.

According to Apple, the interest rates on the Apple Card will range from 13.24% to 24.24% based on creditworthiness as of March 2019. To put this in perspective, purchase rates on rewards credit cards on RateCity range from 12.8% to 22.74% as of March 2019.

Some of the features of the Apple Card include:

• Cashback on purchases – You can get 3% back as Daily Cash when you buy from Apple (e.g. the App Store or iTunes); 2% when using Apple Pay on your phone; and 1% when using the physical card at retailers where Apple Pay is not accepted. This Daily Cash becomes available in the Apple Wallet app, and can be used for almost any purpose you choose.

• Clear payment summaries – Categorising and graphing different spending categories by colour can help you to review where your money’s going at a glance.

• Pinpoint transactions on a map – Handy for identifying charges you don’t recognise.

• No fees – No annual, cash advance, over-the-limit, or late fees, though late or missed payments will result in additional interest accumulating toward your balance.

• Interest estimates in advance – When you’re about to make a payment on your Apple Card, the app will estimate how this payment will affect your next interest charge at the end of the month. You can use this knowledge to help you adjust your repayments and minimise interest charges on your Apple Card.

• Security technology – Apple has designed the physical Apple Card with no numbers printed on the front or back, instead storing this information digitally. Each transaction must be authorised using Face ID or Touch ID, to help secure your personal and financial details.

So, when is the Apple Card being released? For people in the USA, sometime later this year, according to Apple.

Until a release date is announced for Australia, the option is available to start using a bank account with Apple Pay. You can set up your account and get familiar with the system before the Apple Card launches in this country.

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