The recently-launched Apple Card is already under scrutiny by a regulator. The finance service is being investigated by a Wall Street organization after a tweet accusing it of being sexist has gone viral.

Allegations of discrimination

Bloomberg reports that the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has contacted Goldman Sachs, the firm that runs the Apple Card. This is due to technology entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hansson posting about how he has received a far greater credit limit than his wife. The businessman said that he and his wife have the same assets and file joint tax returns, yet Apple Card gave him preferential treatment.

“My wife and I filed joint tax returns, live in a community-property state, and have been married for a long time. Yet Apple’s black box algorithm thinks I deserve 20x the credit limit she does. No appeals work,” part of the tweet read.

This post gained so much popularity, that even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gave his verdict. Wozniak said that a similar thing happened to him and his wife when they applied.

“The same thing happened to us. I got 10x the credit limit. We have no separate bank or credit card accounts or any separate assets. Hard to get to a human for a correction though. It’s big tech in 2019,” he said in the tweet.

Investigation underway

A spokesperson for Linda Lacewell, the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services confirmed that there will be an investigation. The group will analyze the situation to see if any laws were compromised. The institution will also ensure that all Apple Card customers have been treated fairly.

“The department will be conducting an investigation to determine whether New York law was violated and ensure all consumers are treated equally regardless of sex,” the spokesperson said, as reported by Bloomberg.

Additionally, the organization also went on to say that Any algorithm, that results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class of people violates New York law. Whether the result is intentional or not.

Response from the bank

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs has also commented on the situation. The banking giant said that its decisions are based on credit and not on any other aspect.

“Our credit decisions are based on a customer’s creditworthiness and not on factors like gender, race, age, sexual orientation or any other basis prohibited by law,” said Goldman spokesman Andrew Williams, as reported by Bloomberg.

The Apple Card was only released in August and has already gained popularity. Apple also made a recent announcement that the card will be able to be used to purchase iPhone 11s. This will also be on interest-free finance for over 24 months. The card is currently only available in the US. However, it is expected that Apple will roll the service out across other countries shortly.

Altogether, what do you think about these allegations? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.