Goldman CEO Boasts Of High Apple Card Demand

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon called the Apple Card “the most successful credit-card launch ever,” CNBC reported on Tuesday (Oct. 15).

“In three short years, we have raised $55 billion in deposits on the Marcus platform, generated $5 billion in loans, and built a new credit-card platform and launched Apple Card … which we believe is the most successful credit-card launch ever,” Solomon said on a conference call to investors, according to the report.

The Apple Card was developed jointly by Apple and Goldman Sachs, both new to the credit card space. As per earlier reports, Apple will control most aspects of its credit card with Goldman Sachs — new to the consumer lending market as of 2016 — is the issuer. Mastercard is the global payment network.

Touching on other Goldman Sachs news, the CEO told investors the bank is working on a new corporate cash management business and on “next generation” electronic trading platforms. 

Solomon said on the call that there has been a lot of demand for the Apple Card since its Aug. 20 launch. “We’ve been pleased to see a high level of consumer demand for the product. From an operational and risk perspective, we’ve handled the inflows smoothly and without comprising our credit underwriting standards,” he said.

The Apple Card doesn’t charge any extraneous fees, like annual dues, late charges or over-limit fees. Interest just accrues on unpaid balances.

The Apple Card also offers a “Daily Cash” rewards program, which gives cardholders back 2 percent when they use the Apple Card with Apple Pay, and 3 percent on all Apple purchases, like the Apple or iTunes Store. 

Apple also has a titanium Apple Card offering 1 percent back on all purchases. 

The card fully utilizes iPhone capabilities — customer support can be reached 24/7 by sending a text — and uses machine learning. Apple Maps will ensure transactions are clearly labeled by map and name in  the Wallet app, and it will also show customers a weekly and monthly spending summary.