New technologies are no longer enough for the famous American brand. Four years after the debut of its credit card, the giant Apple launched on Monday a savings account with high interest rates, in partnership with the American bank Goldman Sachs, a sign of its ambitions in the financial services sector. The offer is currently only reserved for holders of the Apple Card, the card it launched in 2019 and which had 6.7 million holders at the start of 2022, according to the consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors.
The savings account does not require a minimum balance and does not include account maintenance fees, according to a statement released on Monday. It offers a rate of 4.15% per year, compared to 0.37% on average in the United States, according to figures from the Deposit Guarantee Agency (FDIC), and can be managed from the Wallet application on iPhone .
Google had given up in 2021
Several tech giants have tried, with varying success, to gain a foothold in financial services, a powerful tool for building user loyalty. At the end of 2021, Google had given up launching its online banking service Plex after several years of development of the project.
Several American media have reported in recent years on the possible arrival of Amazon in this market, but the group from Seattle (Washington State) would have finally thrown in the towel.
The caution with which the technology sector approaches financial services is due, in large part, to the heavy regulatory constraints associated with this activity, which requires substantial investment.