The Apple Card began rolling out on August 6, 2019, with a wider availability expected by the end of the month. Apple’s long-term goal is to have the card made broadly accessible to every iPhone owner, according to The Verge. In the meantime, Apple has selected random people from the hundreds of thousands who registered online to be among the first users of the credit service. The card is issued by Goldman Sachs and it uses the Mastercard network.
There were also some qualifications to be met to be in receipt of the Apple-branded credit card, notably being an Apple customer (the signup process requires access to iOS 12.4). Also having access to Apple Pay helps, although the card can be used as a physical card in most places. The card’s connection to the Apple Pay feature for contactless payments via iPhone is a big attraction. The only downside is there are many merchants that do not accept Apple Pay.
Another attraction with the card is, the Edition reports, the expectation that the use of the card will award three percent cash back on Apple products, such as iPhones and software subscriptions — plus two percent on any Apple Pay purchases and one percent on any other purchases.
The cashback can be back into the user’s account every day via a feature the company terms “Daily Cash”; alternatively, the cashback can be used to pay down a person’s iPhone bill or the money can be send to friends through Apple Cash. A further advantage is that Apple is not planning to charge any late fees, annual fees, or international fees on this card.
