March 25th saw Apple unveil a slew of new software products at its event at the Steve Jobs Theater. Most media reports focused on Apple’s new video streaming service intended to compete with Netflix, Apple TV+, but the event was also filled with other announcements.



Apple has developed Apple Card together with Goldman Sachs



The Cupertino-based company also unveiled a fresh news subscription service, Apple News+, and an upcoming gaming bundle subscription, Apple Arcade. However, perhaps the most surprising announcement was the launch of the ”Apple Card” credit card.



First and foremost, Apple Card will feature native integration with Apple Wallet. As such, it is built on the back of Apple Pay and is said to work globally wherever Apple Pay is accepted. Moreover, the card has been developed together with Goldman Sachs, and Mastercard reportedly handles the payment processing.



In addition to this, Apple Card will offer 2% cash-back on all purchases, as well as a 3% cashback on any app or Apple purchases. The design of the card is clearly influenced by Apple’s acclaimed industrial design, and consists of a physical titanium card with just the holder’s name and the Apple logo etched onto it, along with a credit card chip.



As such, the card is noticeably devoid of any physical markings for the credit card number, expiry date, and CVV. Instead, these details are all stored within the digital Apple Wallet application.



Apple Card comes as Apple is facing a growth conundrum



However, the news that Apple is heading into the credit card market has been met with some skepticism, as well as outright ridicule. However, the fact remains that a credit card is hardly revolutionary – whether or not it comes with a sleek design.



With other software giants, such as Facebook, reportedly working on their own cryptocurrency, a credit card seems a little antiquated. However, Apple Card could perhaps herald future innovation from Apple within the consumer credit business.



Despite being the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, Apple is faced with a serious growth conundrum. The company’s iPhone sales have plateaued, and consumers are waiting longer between upgrading their iPhones, iPads and MacBooks than ever before.



This is why Apple is currently pushing towards aggressively growing its Services division, in an attempt to leverage the sizable amount of iOS devices on the market.



The App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay have until now been some of the only major sources of revenue in this division. It remains to be seen whether Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade and Apple Card can boost Apple’s Services division.

Image Credits: “fortune.com”