Apple Promises Its New Credit Card Is A Privacy-Protecting Beast

Apple Promises Its New Credit Card Is A Privacy-Protecting Beast

Following its presentation on Apple News+, the company revealed that it has partnered with Goldman Sachs on a credit card done the Apple way: minimalist, titanium and laser-etched, and focused on privacy and security.

The card is simplistic: it comes totally free of a signature, card number, or other information beyond your name. It is, as far as credit cards go and true to Apple form, pretty freaking beautiful. But the features of Apple Card are what make it interesting.

First, it comes paired with Apple Pay, meaning users are able to manage their card and account right from their phones. Apple Card holders are able to easily track their spending in-app, and it will also use machine learning and Apple Maps to colour-code by categories and locations, which Apple will serve up in weekly and monthly user-specific reports.

Basically, it’ll show you how your spending is trending on a weekly or monthly basis. The idea behind this system is to give its users a better idea of how and where they spend their money to better inform their financial decisions.

It may have its moments, but Apple is notoriously focused on privacy and security, and it sounds like Apple Card will be no exception to its principles.

On the privacy front, Apple says that it will never track what cardholders buy, where they buy it, or how much they paid. It also says that it won’t store or sell your data, either. The same pledge to not sell your data also applies to Apple’s partners, Mastercard and Goldman Sachs.

Beyond the simplistic hardware element of the physical card itself, purchases must be authorised with Face ID or Touch ID and a one-time security code. That means the likelihood that anyone could make off with your card and do some damage damn near impossible.

Another Apple Card perk is that it’ll come free of fees—meaning not only no annual fees but also no late or overdraft fees — and the company says interest rates will be low by comparison with industry standard rates.

Last but not least: Rewards. Apple says it’ll add a percentage of every purchase back to customers through its Daily Cash program. The company says that breaks down as 3 per cent on all purchases made with Apple, 2 per cent when you use Apple Pay, 1 per cent when using the physical card.

Honestly, it all has us wondering what’s the catch? Since you’re likely already wondering how to get one, the company says it’ll arrive sometime this year.

[Apple]


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