The Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker recently teamed up with Goldman Sachs to launch a high-yield savings account, promising a 4.15% return for Apple Card holders.
After disrupting most of the tech and digital world over the past few decades, Apple is now turning to the banking sector.
The Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker recently teamed up with Goldman Sachs to launch a high-yield savings account, promising a 4.15% return for Apple Card holders.
The annual percentage yield (APY) is ten times higher than the national average rate at 0.37%, according to government data. It closely follows the Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate at 4.75% to 5%.
Apple’s 4.15% return is also more appealing than the 3.9% offered by Goldman Sachs’ digital consumer bank, Marcus. Goldman CEO David Salomon sees small overlap between the two operations and will be watching closely to avoid the Marcus brand being overshadowed by Apple’s new offer. However, that might turn out to be trickier than expected.
Despite limiting deposits to $250,000 maximum (thus also curbing extremely high returns), Apple’s market-leading offer comes with no minimum and no fees. It has also managed to attract thousands of new clients—and billions of dollars in new deposits—in a matter of days.
As the saying goes, timing is everything: in a volatile market following the crash of tech-lender Silicon Valley Bank in March, many banking customers were already on the lookout for greater financial safety and better returns.
Apple is not new to finance, having launched its Apple Card in 2019 and its digital Apple Pay service in 2014. The company’s latest enterprise underscores a departure away from the traditional banking system.
With a market capitalization over $2 trillion, and 2 billion iPhone customers worldwide, there is little doubt that the tech multinational is looking to up its game in the banking field while at the same time widen its devoted client-base.
In an increasingly digitized world, where the economy is reeling and banks are becoming more of a liability by the day, the thought that Apple may one day lead the way to an all-digital financial system is starting to become a reality.
