Tim Cook Touts 'Incredible' Response to Apple Card Savings Account on iPhone

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week said initial response to the new Apple Card Savings feature has been "incredible" following its launch last month.

Speaking on Apple's quarterly earnings call, Cook said both the savings account and the new Apple Pay Later financing feature help customers to live a "healthier financial life," adding that he is "very excited about the first days of both of them."

Apple Card users can now open a high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs and start earning interest on their Daily Cash cashback balance and other deposited money, with no fees or minimum balance requirement. The account currently offers a 4.15% APY, a rate Apple said was "more than 10 times the national average" as of late March. The account can be set up and completely managed in the Wallet app on the iPhone.

Forbes this week reported that around 240,000 Apple Card savings accounts were opened in the first week, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, but the Apple Card savings account's APY remains unchanged for now. It's unclear if or when Goldman Sachs will increase the account's APY in response to the rate hike, as many other banks offering high-yield savings accounts commonly do.

Apple's credit card and the savings account are available in the U.S. only.

Article Link: Tim Cook Touts 'Incredible' Response to Apple Card Savings Account on iPhone

 

[ader42]

Bring to the UK soon please Tim!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

It was an extremely easy setup. Apple should expand this feature to Canada and the U.K. tho.

 

[macsplusmacs]

I have not set up mine yet, I mean its just going straight back to apple (new hardware) anyway....

 

[sleven]

Must one be an Apple Card user first before being able to open a savings account? Total newb here.

 

[djcerla]

Many people trust Apple more than any bank. No comparison. This is going to be huge.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Must one be an Apple Card user first before being able to open a savings account? Total newb here.

Correct! Need to have an Apple Card.

Apple Card | Apply

Apple Card | Drive | Self-Service Template.

apply.applecard.apple

 

[sleven]

Many people trust Apple more than any bank. No comparison. This is going to be huge.

Certainly after all the big banking issues in the news as of late.

 

[tonywalker23]

Today is Apple Savings… tomorrow is iLoan for the iCar.

 

[BGPL]

"Pay later" is not healthy... it's a fancy way of saying "more debt". Americans especially are in way too much debt, and "pay later" plans aren't helping.

 

[raziel101]

As long as that interest rate doesn’t drop.

 

[Will Co]

But alas, not in the UK. Yet. Ever?

 

[sw1tcher]

Speaking on Apple's quarterly earnings call, Cook said both the savings account and the new Apple Pay Later financing feature help customers to live a "healthier financial life," adding that he is "very excited about the first days of both of them."

🤣 Someone who needs to use Apple Pay Later is probably not living a healthy financial life. 1%ers like Tim Apple are living in a different reality

 

[munpip214]

It's unclear if or when Goldman Sachs will increase the account's APY in response to the rate hike, as many other banks offering high-yield savings accounts commonly do

Hopefully they will update this soon. I assume they would to remain competitive

 

[Sasparilla]

A good chunk of Apple Pay users have money in Apple Cash just sitting there - so the savings account is a very good resource - presumably with low friction.

Regarding bringing either items to other countries, few industries are as nationally tied up and regulated to the hilt (typically very appropriately based on history) like financial services / banking (probably none of those industries would want to allow Apple to let such things in). Would expect a long wait.

 

[sw1tcher]

Many people trust Apple more than any bank. No comparison. This is going to be huge.

So there are a lot of clueless Apple users out there then? The deposited money goes to Goldman Sachs, it doesn't stay with Apple.

 

[dandyryan]

i liked the 4.15% apy 🤷‍♂️

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Today is Apple Savings… tomorrow is iLoan for the iCar.

And if I can buy one through my phone with a solid lease option and direct to consumer then I’ll do it. Hopefully a better version of Tesla.

 

[platinumaqua]

Great for apple. However since I don’t want to be on the upgrade treadmill so I won’t be signing up for this.

 

[CosmoCopus]

How is racking up more debt on a credit card make for a "healthier financial life,"? They will say anything..

 

[Return Zero]

In with those saying pay later is not financially healthy. I can’t think of a single circumstance under which it could possibly improve anyone’s financial health. If it’s that small an amount and you can’t pay now, you should probably skip the purchase and put that savings account to use. It is solely a tool to increase people’s willingness to pay.

The savings account is a nice chaser, though. Will be interesting if they don’t move rates up soon after the fed increase. If the fed had decreased I bet that rate would have come down instantly, haha. I have savings with Betterment… they moved from 4.35 to 4.5 right after the announcement (to take effect starting next week). There are better options out there but Apple’s ease of use is hard to beat, as usual.

 

[Roosterking]

How is racking up more debt on a credit card make for a "healthier financial life,"? They will say anything..

The savings account (through Goldman Sachs) is just that. As long as you have an Apple Card, you can get one and transfer money into the savings account up to $250K, while earning 4.15%. Not bad at all with zero risk, although GS can adjust the rate at any time.

 

[uptownnyc]

As long as that interest rate doesn’t drop.

It's largely tied to the benchmark rate set by the Fed. So yes -- if that drops, then you can expect this to drop as-well, just like the other savings accounts. Apple's rate isn't some magical rate that isn't tied to the larger financial system -- they've just got a user base that they can easily onboard to a product like this, and a lot of user trust.

 

[TonyC28]

I’m a fan so far.

 

[harriska2]

Until they allow a spouse to be a co-signer/owner, mine will stay at $4 or whatever I collect from Apple Pay rewards. I‘d transfer money into the savings account but no way will I allow it to be difficult for my spouse to get to it in case something happens to me.